TroutRinger

There is an old school house not far off the river where Big Creek comes in (if I remember correctly).

So I used make an offer on eBay and scored a great deal on a new Tatula SV. The couple rods I ordered didn’t quite pan out (tip was too stiff to load even a 1/5 jig without really whipping it) so now I’m looking at the 6’ ML Crankin Stick from BPS (https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/bass-pro-shops-crankin-stick-split-grip-eva-casting-rod). They had a 7’ in the store that I’m certain would load a light lure so the 6’ should be gtg. I also found a Temple Fork Outfitters Loomis Signature series for ~$75 from Gander that I’m going to try. It’s longer than I wanted at 7’, but that’s the length I’ve used on kayaks for years without any real issue.

Coosa HD and Predator MX are designed for rivers. They both carry a lot of gear, are maneuverable, and have decent speed for their size. The MX is cheaper but doesn’t have as many bells and whistles. Coosa HD is better for camping with the larger hatch and removable chair. In normal years, kayaks start going on sale in September. I got my Coosa HD for 25% off with a bit of negotiation.

https://www.amazon.com/Carretes-pesca-KastKing-Crixus-superpoliméricas/dp/B07M5NP7MW?ref_=ast_sto_dp These? (every reel under $200, and many over $200, is made in China so whatevs)

Thought I’d revive this old thread as I have started dabbling in this. I’ve found several decent, affordable rod options, but curious if you all have any reasonably priced real recommendations? @Al Agnew the BPS reals you mentioned don’t appear to be made anymore and I didn’t see an obvious replacement. Tatula SV is a popular choice on forums but at $180, that’s more than I want spend on a reel that will spend most of its life in a canoe or kayak.

Did you all get a bunch of rain down there?

Are you dead set on wading or would you be willing to rent a canoe? That would open quite a bit of possibilities. Depending on water levels, the Jacks Fork can offer some wading opportunities, but it is not really a wading steam. You’ll hit a hole too deep to wade pretty quickly. The Current has very little wading opportunity anywhere that has smallmouth bass. Most people won’t share good wading streams on open forums, but they will share good stretches of floatable streams.

@Al Agnew, Crooked disappears at some point between Yelleville and the White. Do you know where that starts? I can tell from Street View that it is gone by the time it gets to the next bridge (6002).

Awesome day. That looks like some skinny water too.

If it is a state highway, there is a good chance there is a street view. Gravel roads are rarely covered. Paved county roads just kind of depend. Even if you can’t see the actual access, sometimes you can see the entrance to the last turnoff and can see if the road is private or not.

Surprised nobody mentioned street view yet. That can be very helpful.

225’s. It’s 450’s these days are nothing at all lol.

I always like the idea of trying new places (floating to me is 50% scenery too). But at the same time, it seems we always end up back at the same couple places that we know hold fish.

Al, Send me all your unlisted streams and I can use a GIS mapping software to calculate the distance for you 🤫

Do they even have room to turn?

Tackle HD Craw, Tackle HD Hellgrammite, Zara Spook Puppy, Bitsy Tube, and rebel wee craw over a 20-30 minute period.

Idk. The only evidence I can offer is are those 10+ year old smallmouth that survive heavily pressured areas. I saw (was unable to catch) an easily 15” smallmouth on sinking creek last weekend in an extremely popular area. I’m certain that fish has had lures in front of it at least two to three days per week all summer for the last decade plus. It gave zero interest in my lures while all the 10” bass were all over them. Not a coincidence.

Amazing that little rod didn’t snap.

Al, What size spinner baits do you generally use? I can never decide between the “full size”, traditional largemouth bass types and the slightly smaller, “medium-sized” ones.

Al, I generally agree about live bait on rivers and almost never use it. I will say, there are times when I’m sight fishing, and make several cast to a fish with multiple artificial lures that they either ignore or inspect and then around. Then, I put a live crawdad on, and they immediately hammer it.

Lot of good advice. Don’t think anyone hasn’t mentioned push water yet. This is the “smooth” water right above a rapid where the rocks or whatever makes the rapid “pushes” the water up. Most people don’t fish these because they are scouting the rapid, putting their gear down, etc. If this water is a foot or more deep, there are fish in it.

I may have this Friday off. Or if not, I may at least take a friend Saturday. I really want to get on the river this weekend barring flooding.

Little Niangua doesn’t look bad. It shows it’s going up, but I don’t think that will last.

Strike King Bitsy Tubes...is that what you’re using? I’ve caught 80% of my smallmouth on those. I shove 1/8 oz crappie jigs up the them for the hook. Various topwater baits are effective. I have had good success recently on the whopper plopper 90 and torpedos. Walk the dog lures are popular too. I pretty pretty much have those two tied on at all times. I usually have three rods. The third rod has a HD craw, Bomber Model A real craw, jig and pig, or Ned rig. A lot of people only fish the really obvious spots on a river. You know, the ones that look like they just hold fish. Don’t overlook other areas. -Push water: the area above a rapid where the water kind of pushes/rises before going over the rocks. -Shallow areas with current that are off the main channel: a lot of people I fish with will be casting into the deep area in the current. There are definitely fish there. If I see current moving on the other/shallow side, especially if there is a lot of low hanging limbs from the bank, I cast there and almost always catch more fish.

I just talked to a family that went floating on the Gasconade. They didn’t know the name of the access but they were coming from LOTO and said it was right off 44. They said the river was fast but not bad at all.