Ik314

Thought you all might enjoy the pics. Caught around 1130 in the morning last Saturday in a steady rain on the ever trusty Megabass 110+1 jr in matt shad color using 8 lb Yo-Zuri T7 fluorocarbon on a medium fast action Daiwa tatula spinning setup. Quite the battle from the kayak in swift water. 36 inches long and about 16.5 lbs!!

darn fine day! Congrats

Did you ever end up figuring anything out on them stripers ?

Awesome! Now go catch a whale with it

Thank you sir! They’re few and far between in there at this point, but the survivors tend to be nice sized and healthy fish - despite obvious battle wounds from big mean, hungry stripers

Probably a wise decision skipping NFOTW! That river is tricky enough without 1400+ cfs flowing !! I floated there Sunday & worked way too hard for one rainbow, one smallie & one other brown fish that will remain unmentioned (;

I’ve heard they’re all 17 inchers that can’t be kept anyway. Everyone should save themselves the cold disappointment and stay home in the warmth

Thanks!! I sent you a message with info!!!

I have managed to fully convert my good friend over from fishing rookie to seasoned fisherman dude status. He finally made it officially official by purchasing his own kayak. Found a good deal on a used Old Town sit on top kayak that was conveniently located in Norfork, which gave us the perfect excuse to check out some new water!!!! Floated the 4.5 mile stretch of the Norfork tailwater between Norfork Lake and the confluence with the White River, and then an additional 5 miles down the White. The Norfork tailwater is super fishy, and has some impressive drop offs and riffles. A little more sketchy than I expected in a few places. Tons of nice fish. The White River almost felt like floating down the Mississippi River to me!!! lol BIG water, tons of debris, kinda murky, not easy fishing. Have to pick your spots wisely, and be ready to lose some lures! caught a few small rainbows trolling the main channel, which was fun to do from the kayak. Also caught one really nice big wild rainbow in the picture perfect spot, just behind a snagged tree that was hung up in the middle of the river in deep fast water - right where he was supposed to be. We were far down river on the White, so I assume this is a section that prob doesn’t have as many browns this time of year, and also has more water than other sections thanks to the additional water from the Buffalo & Norfork . Didn’t get a big brown, or a brook trout (although my buddy Josh did, props to him), lost a big cutthroat, maybe caught a few cutbows, caught some really quality rainbows. Had an interesting mix of stockers and wild stream bred fish. I was very impressed with the fight from these fish, they’re clearly very strong from fighting that heavy flow all the time! Very fun to see some new water. The White isn’t easy fishing , but you feel like you have the chance at a monster at any time!!! Definitely going back, can’t wait to see higher up river on the White ok, most importantly, the pics….

I’m looking to do the same in a kayak soon! I know everything will depend on how much water is running, but Hoping some folks chime in with some good takeout ideas

Am I seeing something or is this possibly a hybrid ?

Undercut banks .

They have been crushing my jerkbaits lately , only land about one out of every 10 that I get to strike. Like others have mentioned, boy do they stink lol . I get a lot of follows from them and can often get a strike with some figure eights at the side of the kayak -Ike

Fall is in the air

I use pline fluorocarbon in 6 lb on spinning gear for all my river jerkbait fishing and it has performed great, including with some toothy critters and stripers

I personally enjoy catching the occasional oddball fish while targeting other species. I have encountered a nice array of oddballs recently while throwing my favorite lure, the megabass 110+1 JR. Figured you all might enjoy . Most of these fish put up great fights!, was especially impressed with the drum Ike

Dang Man I know the battle!!!! There are some seriously thick and quality smallies in the 17-19 range!!! I was beginning to think I missed my window for getting it done this year in the spring !!

Thanks you guys!!!! I should also score one for Lews. Although I thought I liked My diawa gear, I found a lews reel in one of my creeks a few Months ago , submerged and growing algae on it. I didn’t do anything but rinse it off and grease it up and that’s the reel that I fought this fish with yesterday! the drag performed flawlessly , probably better than my 200 dollar diawa that hasn’t been lost in a creek and I'm still not impressed with Ike

And just to clarify for anyone that is wondering. This old brute was released angry at the world but alive and well 🙂

Finally found the big smallmouth I’ve been hunting for this summer!! Just a hair past the 21 inch mark!! And boy was it a memorable ordeal. I was fishing a Megabass Popmax popper on an Ozarks stream via kayak. Noticed a spot coming up that just looked extra fishy with a nice submerged tree kind of on its own near some deep moving water. My first cast landed just beyond the tree and the first twitch of the popper instantly triggered a huge explosion. Totally whiffed it. Threw back at the tree and after about two twitches another huge swing and miss. Somehow I was fortunate enough to throw back a third time and as they say third time was the charm!!!!! This fish fought hard and jumped completely out of the water a couple times! Pretty pumped to join the 20+ inch club after catching my fair share of 18s and 19s while on the quest haha

dang fine smallie! Nice

Ha!!! I don’t fish any one stream, I fish all over the state!!

Thank you all for taking the time to read my post, or at least check out the pics 🙂 rps- thanks for noticing! I definitely am 100% catch and release when it comes to trout and bass!! I do keep a few walleye when they aren’t giant spawning females. And I have only ever fried them, but do you suggest I try them another way ?

What’s up everyone? My name is Ike Figured I should finally make a post. I have been a member for like 16 years or something, but I haven’t actually taken the time to log in for over 10 years. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been following the forum over the years. I regularly check in and read the current posts and updates from all you fine fishermen and women. Over this past year, my dad finally retired and we bought fishing kayaks. I also left a very demanding career that had largely kept me from fishing for the previous 7-8 years. So, after 20 some odd years of strictly fly fishing, the kayaks have forced us to pick up spinning tackle more frequently, and we have had an absolute blast. Younger me would be horrified by my turn to the dark side, but I really can’t deny the efficiency of conventional tackle at this point. I totally get why you hardcore fly fisherman are strictly fly guys, but just know that you’d catch more/bigger fish & with less effort, if you’d put down the fly rod for a bit. We have had an excellent winter and spring despite lots of high water. We mainly like to float or wade and fish about any and all rivers. One of our favorite fish to target are wild rainbow trout (you know, the ones that actually feed aggressively, fight hard, and have all their giant fins intact), and I am delighted to report, the state of Missouri has way more wild rainbows than many people think. We also had a lot of fun catching brown trout this past fall and winter, white bass and walleye in the early spring, and now we are getting into some fantastic smallies. I also had the delightful experience of catching my first striped bass this past weekend (and losing an even bigger one). really just posting to say thanks to everyone that shares information on these forums!! I personally have become absolutely addicted to throwing the jerkbait. The megabass 110+1 junior sized jerkbait is my absolute favorite, and I prefer natural looking or rainbow trout type colors, but I haven’t found a color yet that doesn’t work. My fishing goals for the rest of the year are as follows : 1. First Bowfin, 2. First Muskellunge, 3. First Blue catfish, 4. Brown trout over 30 inches, 5. Smallmouth over 21 inches 6. More striped bass Tight lines you all, and I will try to start making regular report posts!! What an incredible state Missouri is!!!!! If we happen to run in to each other on one of the many awesome rivers in Missouri, please say hey!!! -Ike

Drew03CMC, this a direct quote that made me assume he was clipping their fins, "I don't eat brownies because the majority that I catch are too big to taste good. I have a bad habit of clipping fins off big brownies so I will know if I have caught them before."