Smallieguy87

Always enjoy reading your detailed reports Al. I hear from a few people who run the Meramec that it's getting a little odd now. It can be tough getting a pattern when the fish a stuck in those odd transitions between pre spawn and spawn. I do wonder if some of the bigger fish have or will be on beds in the next week or so. I know the larger smallmouth will sometimes spawn earlier. Thanks for the report Al.

That just makes me cringe haha. What's even better is when they have it mounted on a bait casting rod so there's this random trigger just out there in the breeze.....but hey at least they're out fishing.

I was unsure of the lack of anti reverse switch as well. Just caught a few fish with it today. Nothing big so I can't say if it will make a difference. I trust my drag system more then the switch though so different modes of thinking. You're 100% on finding one that fits your hand. A lot of people had problems with the Shimano symetre due to the bail actually hitting there fingers on retriever and it was due to the odd angle of the neck where it meets the reel seat.

Chief why not quote the entire post instead of cherry picking infromation? I don't own a boat. I can count on my hands the number of times I've been on a jet boat on any river. I'm a wade fishermen who occasionally gets to fish from a kayak. I avoid boats as much as possible. The whole thought of the being on the outside of that bend was for maximum visibility for anything coming toward them. Had nothing to do with the relative speed of either boat or which one was a riverpro and which one wasn't. If you watch the video carefully you'll see the guy or gal wave at them. In the end no one was hurt and every one got to fish. There's no need to have personal animosity turn a fishing report into something else.

Also wanted to menation that I have last year's stradic FJ and have waded with it several times and no issues so far. In my opinion the CI4 just isn't work the extra cash over an FJ and FK and thats coming from someone who's owned a CI4. I just don't care for the carbon body. I prefer the heavier but smoother feeling aluminum reels.

I have the new stradic FK and it's great. It's supposed to have a more sealed design to help keep water out but doesn't feature the reverse/anti reverse switch so you may or may not like that but it does help seal the reel. A cheaper option is the diawa lexa you can grab them cheap on ebay. I've had several and have dunked them a few times and they still operate 100%. Some one mentioned the quantum energy which is another good one but I'd also say the smoke is a great reel.

I'll be the first to say that I don't know as much about boat etiquette or who has the "right of way" on the water but I will say that the guy piloting the other boat waved so he didn't seem to peeved. My thought is maybe it would have been safer for the other boat to be on the outside of that bend so you can better see what's coming around then tucked more inside center....but hey I'm no expert.

Hah yeah I saw those guys! I'll go back and try and spot his house as he Flys by. That boat is sick.

No joke.I've got to network with a lot of great guys on here...I cosnider all of them better fishermen then me.

Welcome to the forums!

I can tell you guys the amount of detail and time out on the water with these as well as the crew working on them...well you'll be getting one hell of a bait. I think this will rock a lot of people's world.

Dude those videos are sweet. Unless you think it's revealing to much Intel haha

Not bad Considering the big cold front and blue bird skies. Well done guys and as always good pictures. I'm surprised the water stayed that warm considering how cold it's been at night and climbing back to about mid 50s is what I like to see. Hour and a half well spent.

I've seen some good size Largemouth come out of the big river. Nothing as big as the one in the picture but still good sized. I don't know enough about that portion of the Meramec to make an educated assessment but I know there's some decent Largemouth. It's always likely that some fish get displaced due to flooding especially the flooding that we had during the winter so who knows....either way great fish.

Wow! Thats a hoss of a largemouth! Great report man. I've caught a few decent Largemouth but none like that.

Welcome to the forums. I've considered fly fishing myself so it maybe you giving me advice sometime.

Those are some great pictures man! Thanks for the report.

Awesome videos man thanks for the share!

Coosa's are sweet man! I've had my eyes on em for awhile one day I'll be able to pull the trigger on one. Great pics and report man!

Awesome report man. You guys are on em that's for sure. Thanks for the reports and pictures! Definitely some good looking fish!

Haven't lost a rod and reel yet but have broke a paddle or two on the big before.

Very nice fish! The Big and can produce some great smallmouth and is really one of my favorite places to catch smallmouth. Nice work man!

Hah well atleast you pull it off lol you won't catch me wearing them in any temperature haha

Hey no problem man lol between the hair jokes in the last forum post and the sandals now I'm beginning to think this is smallie fishing surfer dude cali style lol but hey atleast you have hair....

Some awesome fish guys! And sweet mandals smalliebigs!