MNtransplant

I will try to keep it unused until then 😊

If any one has a used 6 foot version in good shape, id be willing to trade my 6'-6" rod. I like to use a 25 sized reel and i think the shorter rod would pair better...im in Springfield if anyone is interested. Thanks!

The fish i caught last night were mostly females. Some larger males and only 2-3 little dinks.

Yesterday was one of those days that made me wonder why I spent such a chunk of money on Simms waders and a new kayak this offseason..haha! Im sure they will both get plenty of use but something to be said for stalking from the bank too.

Well folks, I crushed em! I fished from 4 to 6:30 and put 11 on the stringer and threw back probably another 8 or 9. Had one stretch where i probably had 10 in 15 casts. Caught them on a small floating rapala which was a total blast. I dont want to be specific on where I found them because it was a tip from an anonymous source 😊. I will say they are not up the creeks yet and I was in more of a main lake area.

Well gang, im going to get out and try it this evening for a couple hours. Not enough time to load up the kayak so im going to head out on foot. Let me know if anyone wants to join and send me a PM. Im thinking Ill try around Orleans unless someone tells me different 😊 ill try to report the water conditions if nothing else.

@Flysmallie an overnight would be really cool. Would love to float with you sometime this Spring.

@Jhoff are you a john boater or a kayaker?

Happy almost March to everybody! Has anyone made plans for a float in March yet? I got out out to Lake Springfield to try out the new kayak that I bought used just make sure it didn't sink and now I'm super excited for White bass season!! Ive been chasing em on the Little Sac for 4 years now and this will be my first year with a flotation device. Please feel free to message me if anyone wants to plan a float in late March/early April. I'm middle of the road when it comes to knowing how to catch em out there so depending how good you are....I might be sharing my tips or asking for advice! Best of luck to everyone this Spring!

Thanks FlySmallie! I found a smokin deal on a lightly used 12T so once this freeze lets up Im excited to clean it up and start making it mine. Glad to know you have the same boat when I run into questions

Howdy OA family, I am in the market for a newer kayak for fishing and i had a few questions for those yak fisherman out there...I currently have a Ascend A10 sit in kayak that ive fished with a handful of times and it just isn't what Im looking for...when i wear bigger boots for winter fishing my feet barely fit into the nose of the boat and tend to cramp and get uncomfortable. Also with a sit in style, the seat is so low to the water I can't see anything or work a jerkbait or topwater very well. Ive been looking at several different models including the Ascend 10T and 12T as well as the newer Perception outlaw series. Ive seen some pretty simple seat mods on YouTube to get the seats higher on the ascend models. Wondering if anyone has experience doing these mods and if they actually help. Ideally Id like to either have a taller seat to fish from or the ability to stand up without going to a much heavier or more expensive boat. I have a roof rack on my little Hyundai sonata that id like to continue to use rather than a trailer so i think anything bigger than a 12ft is out of the question...thanks for reading this novel...send pictures of your modifications and or hiw you have other things setup on your yaks!

Ha! I wish i could remember, its right on the finder...i wanna say mid 40's but thats just a guess

Went out to Springfield to tryout my new Garmin fish finder...it worked great and found some fish... most were right off of wood in about 18-20'. Nothin big but still fun to fight em on a light rod and to catch em on jigs you made urself!

Where I'm from in Minnesota, 55 degree days in January don't happen, but since they do in Missouri, I went fishing of course. Didn't slay em but the quality was awesome. 4 casts in I enticed a 19"-er to sample my black 1/8oz Lilley's maribou jig, got a nice picture sorda by accident too. When it started getting a little darker I moved down to outlet one and caught one more 17" fish on a grey scud (it's always the grey scud😊) Tried the signature series jerkbaits after dark until my time ran out and had one small swipe at the 606 sculpin but couldn't connect. Now it's supposed to get cold and crappy for a few days so ill probably start tying some white bass jigs and flies for March. Cheers!

Awesome Blake, I was just getting ready to ask you how the night fishing has been...great report!

I got myself a new garmin fish finder for Christmas, whats the best way to mount the transducer? Any cool ideas besides thru the hull with duct seal or pvc arms off the side? Thanks!

What a fish! This is what night fisherman dream about.

Got a chance to do a little longer trip yesterday so I started around 3:00 with the flyrod. What a blast! There was a good group of fish just down from outlet 2 that I got to cooperate after some trial and error...I started with a San Juan and tan beadhead scud but after I saw about 15-20 fish going nuts on midges on top I switched to a black midge about 3 feet under the indicator but couldn't get any takers....finally switched to a small peach egg over a size #12 scud from Chuck's shop and it was game on! I only brought 4-5 to hand but had another 5-6 long battles with fish that made huge runs, in the air acrobatics, and just shook me off...most were on the scud but did get or two on the egg. then after it got dark I tried the jerkbait game for a while. Caught one decent rainbow on a 606 in a sculpin color and had several other swipes at the 762 signature series but couldn't connect. I probably need another refresher course with @JestersHK soon. I wanted to keep going but leaks in both legs of my waders told me it was time to go home..and start shopping for new waders 😊

That is a gorgeous fish! Thanks for the tip

It's been a while since I've made a post...and even longer since the last time I took out out the old flyrod.. I even left the jerkbait rod at home so i wouldn't be tempted.. I for sure had some rust and lost/missed the first 4-5 hits on the nymph rig but I managed 2 really pretty rainbows. Both took the red San Juan worm and left the grey scud alone... After a slow period I did switch over to the jig rod and tried up towards the cable..only managed one chunky Kentucky but that was a fun fight too..got him on a brown and tan bucktail jig that I tie. I simply couldnt resist throwing a small jerkbait with my jig rod while I was there so I did try that right after dark for a little bit...had one bit hit right by the bank (or it felt big on a light action rod with 4lb line) a couple of big slow headshakes and it was off....never got a look at it. Seems like the water had some cloudiness to it and a really earthy type smell...could be the water turning over at Table Rock maybe?? But curious what other types of flies or lures you guys try when the water down there is less than clear. Wondering if a bright colored egg fly would work better or if black/dark jig colors seem to do better. Sure was fun getting a few on the flyrod, reminded me of how excited I was to try fly fishing for the 1st time around 4 years ago. Two flyrods and a fly tying bench later I'd say it's turned into an ok hobby!

Hey Mike, I have only been doin the jerkbait thing for a couple years but had a chance to fish once a week for about a 3 month stretch this Spring. My best lures were as follows: 1. Silver Shadow Rap in the 110 size 2. Spro McStick in a purple shad color (donated from @Ryan Miloshewski) 3. Berkley Cutter 110 in tablerock shad color At night tho, you can't beat the signature series jerkbaits that @duckydoty and Blake make at Lilley's...the 706 and 762 models were both killer on my night trips. Best colors were sculpin and french pearl. Good luck!

Have a kayak

So cool, what a great idea!

This is all great stuff! Thank you guys

This is a trout question that the bass nuts might be able to help with.. I night fish on Taneycomo throwing mostly small stickbaits and floating minnow baits and last night I had a terrible time getting fish to the net. Must have hooked 20-25 fish but only landed 4. I was using my 6'-9" medium light fast action spinning rod with braid tied to about a 6' section of 10 pound fluoro. I usually just tie the braid directly to the bait as it seems like that doesn't bother them at night but I had a leader on from the last outing so i went with it. I was back and forth between a few different lures so it wasnt dull hooks (both were new baits). I seemed to do a lot better a few weeks back keeping fish pinned with my 6'-11" medium extra fast action rod with braid direct to the bait but I wanted to try the medium light rod because it loads better throwing smaller baits for better distance. Is it worth looking into replacing my hooks with premium trebles? I know there are definitely some that are stickier than others. Are there theories about upsizing, downsizing, lighter wire, heavier wire, reverse barbed, etc. that might be helpful? Maybe going barbless would help with better hooksets? Is the hookset supposed to be different with trebled baits? Lastly, I've heard walleye anglers talk about setting your drag super light when fishing trebles for a better landing percentage...not sure I follow the logic but wondering if others have experience with this? Its mostly shallow water situations so I hook the fish, they come straight to the surface, thrash everywhere, and out pop the hooks... Thanks for any tricks to try! Happy fall fishing!