Kayak fishing Table Rock Lake in the summer: topwater plugs work VERY WELL!

In this short video, we are fishing Rebel topwater plugs early in the morning.  In the summer time, especially on Table Rock Lake in southern Missouri, early morning and evenings on topwaters with structure fish very well.  With the heat and sun, and with the water temperature higher this time of year, a lot of the big fish stay deep, and then come up on structure to forage before and after the heat of the day.

"Life is better on a kayak"

Mike

Our very first "Kayak Fishing The Midwest Podcast" with lifetime kayaker Ray Schroeder

Our very first podcast turned out to be a great conversation with lifetime kayaker, Ray Schroeder. A ton of great tips from the guy who taught me how to kayak, "Captain" Ray. You will enjoy this podcast- if you get a chance, give it a listen. We are planning our next podcast as we speak

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Kayak fishing on the Meremac River near Moselle, MO

The kayak fishing is really starting to heat up across the Ozarks.  Here is a video from the June 15th trip on the Meremac and Bourbouse Rivers in Franklin County.  This is a great paddle, even if you are not thinking of fishing.  The water on the Meremac side is clear, and absolutely incredible to paddle.  We have some more post available at www.fishmissouri.org

Kayak ON!

Mike

Best of July kayak bass fishing...Stockton, Beaver, Dardenelle, and Lake Sherwood

We have not had a lot of posts in regards to kayak touring over July...It has been so hot, the only way for me to do it is to use my Moken 13 SOT fishing kayak and get out and fish....and beach it on occasion and swim.
July was a great month in bass fishing....enjoy the video.  We have some trips planned with the sea kayak once it starts to cool down a little on us

You can see some cool fishing stories at www.fishmissouri.org

Paddle ON!

Mike

Kayaking the Maumelle River, Pulaski County, Arkansas March 2012

The Maumelle River in Pulaski County is a great trip that really is close to the Little Rock metro area.  The put in is the ramp at Pinnacle Mountain State Park.   I was using the sea kayak on this trip, and working on doing a little fishing as well (I "0-fered" on the fishing, but the paddle was well worth it).

The Maumelle is dammed up river, so there is little or no current, which makes it an easy paddle for those new to the sport or sea kayakers that just want a serene, calm kayak trip.  There is a lot of timber and sites in regards to blooming dogwood trees, kingfishers, and blue herons.   The river almost runs parallel to the Arkansas River.

I will be back soon to fish this stretch a little more intensive with my SOT fishing kayak.



Paddle ON!

Mike

Kayaking Maumelle River near Pinnacle Mountain, Arkansas

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Small stream paddling on the Loutre River, Montgomery County, MO. Sept 5th, 2011

The beginning slide of my Youtube video shows my 14' sea kayak attached to a kayak cart.  I debated even bringing this along....I am thankful I did!  I ended up doing about 4.5 miles, but much of it was dragging the kayak along the rock/sandbar to get to small pockets of water to paddle.  This would NOT be an enjoyable trip for an inexperienced paddler, or someone who was out of shape, or had any kind of joint injuries. 
So why did I continue to portage and move along the river?  I call it "Commitment to the paddle".  What else was I going to do that day, anyway?  Sit on the couch and watch other people be physically active?  I had told myself I wanted to explore this river.  I guess I get it from my military experience or something.  Seems like when you set out on a trip, you need to go all in...or don't go at all!

One of the rewards was the satisfaction of the trip.  This was a river I have been eyeballing for several years, always thinking "man, I would like to see what is up the river."  The second reward was getting on a bunch of fish towards the end of the trip (most were small, but I caught more than 10!).  I feel like it was a good day to get up on this river due to the wind anyhow.  If I would have been on, Horseshoe Lake, Illinois, for example, I probably would have had to "surf" the kayak back to shore.  Rivers and streams are much nicer on windy days.

Kayaking and Portaging the Loutre River, Missouri

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If you ever want to know the difference between a stream and a river, the Loutre will help you to define the difference between the two.  It is a stream for sure!

Paddle ON!

Mike

Kayaking the Kaskaskia River, Randoph County, Illinois August 21st, 2011

Kayaking the Kaskaskia River Illinois

This put in spot for the Kaskaskia River is right next to Baldwin Lake in Randoph County.  I had set out on this trip not only to get some miles in, but also to get some fishing in as well.  The river has been channelized (I believe they did that in 1969) so there is the main channel, and a ton of old river channel going in all directions.  My friend Ray and I had made an attempt in the winter to access the river at this point, but this area was frozen over at the time, so I was grateful to finally have a chance to paddle this spot.
The main channel has a ton of ski boat/ pleasure boat traffic on the weekends.  I was able to navigate through this with the kayak.  It was fortunate that the put in area of the river is a no wake area.  I paddled across the main channel and followed the original channel until the end of it.  The place is TEEMING with asian carp.  If you watch the Youtube video below, watch very carefully when the jon boat goes by.....you can see a couple of them jumping out of the water on the back end of the boat.  I had one jump out right by the kayak (I was throwing a rat-l-trap lure real fast in hopes of snagging one of them- I scared one right by the yak)
This is an interesting river....I would say that the attributes are more like the Mississippi River than a small stream (same kind of river fare in regards to the fishing).


This would be a river I would like to continue to explore.  I think we could do some major miles on this going into the fall and winter.

Paddle ON!

Mike

6.8 mile Kayak Trip on the Meremac and Big Rivers, St. Louis County, Missouri, August 7th, 2011

Kayaking the Meremac and Big Rivers, Missouri

This was just what the doctor had ordered!  It had been a couple of weeks since I have paddled due to pulling a muscle in my back and the crazy schedule...this was excellent!  It was super hot, so I took my time in the initial put in.  I put in at the Route 66 State park ramp and went upstream.  Caught a medium sized largemouth on a Chomper Hula Grub with a stand up jig in some structure and shade.  I did not have a lot of fishing success the rest of the day.

It is amazing how much the gravel bar at the Big River confluence point has changed.  The heavy current comes a lot further and has some weird undertows.
I took a quick break and did a quick swim....that is the greatest thing about kayaking in the summer time on river.  No matter how hot it gets, as long as you can bring some water and can get in it, you really never have to worry about overheating.

I paddled up the Big River to the bridge.  I got on film these huge carp that were laying in the sun.  I was able to sneak up on them and scare them a bit.  I stopped at the bridge due to an old rock dam/levee.  I could have portaged around it, but I figured it would be good to get back (glad I did- about 15 min after I got out of the water, we had a thunderstorm).

Quick note: the real shame of the Big River is how much man made debris is on the bottom of the river (i.e pieces of metal, concrete stuff, etc).  You can tell it has been like this for awhile.  I would image it got there from attempts by people up river to keep the banks from eroding....at least I would like to think that is why.

Paddle ON!

Mike

Arkansas River, Pulaski County, Arkansas July 14th, 2011: Nice quick paddle before the storm on the Arkansas River

Kayaking the Arkansas River just east of Little Rock, Arkansas

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This was a really great "after work" paddle.  Sometimes you need to just get out and do whatever you do to release the stress of the day- this was one of those paddles.  I did not have a lot of time or mileage on this one due to a storm that was moving in.  I could have paddled up the Arkansas River if I would have had enough time. 

The current did not seem to overwhelming for such a large river (I am used to looking at the Missouri River in St. Charles- much, much faster clip).  I think the kayak fishing here has a lot of potential as well.  I will need to come back here real soon and do some more exploring.  Arkansas is teaming with incredible kayak opportunities, beauty, and challenges...cannot wait to get the kayak back out on the water!

Paddle ON!

Mike

Elk River, McDonald County, Missouri: Nice 4.5 mile paddle, will be great fall/winter paddle!

We had some weather moving through, so I was not sure I was even going to be able to get this paddle done, due to that, but I decided to take a chance.  The Elk River in Missouri is interesting, due to the fact that there does not seem to be a lot of access points (very much like some of the rivers in Arkansas).  I went to a couple of points that were on my paddlers guide, that ended up being dead ends.  The area I went to (near Blue Eye, Missouri) was not even on the map as an access point.  It was located right next to a canoe livery/campground.

My title says it all.....ton of canoe traffic.  I do not mind other people on the river, but unfortunately this time of year, you get some people that do not have much of a respect for the rivers....they view Ozark streams as places to get drunk on, throw beer cans and trash all over the place, piss in the water (amongst other functions) and generally be loud and stupid.  I know for a fact all people that rent canoes are not like that, but it is the rest of them that gives it a bad name.  I was able to pick up a couple of pieces of trash and stow them until I got to shore, but this river really needs a clean up.  You would think that the canoe liveries located around the area would have some people a couple of times a week form some sort of a "stream team" to help out....it would be good for business!

The fishing was a bit off, but the paddle felt good.  I am looking forward to coming back to this place in the fall/winter when all the traffic dies down.
Paddle ON!

Mike

kayak fishing the Elk River, Missouri

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Kayaking the James River, Stone County, Missouri June 30th 2011: Nice 4.5 paddle on the James

Put in at the Hootentown access off Hwy O near Highlandville, MO. for a nice evening paddle on the James River, Just south of Springfield, Missouri.  This access point has a lot of people hanging out in the river, and has a large campground right by the access point.  Plenty of parking and a good ramp helps.  Paddled upstream as I always do and then drift fished down.  Fishing seemed to be a bit off...I bet if I had a bottom rig with nightcrawlers, I would have caught plenty of bluegill, but I was fishing for smallmouths, so the action was a bit off.
Check out the video....about half through it, I came up on a deer on the rock bank.  It could not get scent on my, so I was able to hang out on the side of the bank and film it for a few minutes.  I got it caught on film, so enjoy!
Great river to kayak.  Not quite as clear as the Elk River, but clear as a typical ozark stream.  Great paddle!

Paddle ON!

Mike

Kayaking 4 1/2 miles on the James River Missouri

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Kayak Fishing off Hatterras Island, Pamilico Sound, North Carolina: Wide variety of saltwater fish in the sound!

This is the video I posted to our http://www.fishmissouri.org/ site.  North Carolina does not really count as the "Midwest", however, we go out there every year for our annual family vacation, and I just had to post it.  If you get a chance to ever paddle the Outer Banks in North Carolina, you owe it to yourself to do so.  I did quite a few miles up and down the sound, and just basically fished and enjoyed the experience.  I ended up renting a Necky sit inside kayak in lieu of bringing either one of the kayaks from St. Louis.....I thought it was a good choice and really enjoyed the experience.
The sound is such an interesting place to paddle.  You can be at shore and it looks calm, but get about 1/2 mile out, and the waves can be pretty intense due to the wind (especially when they are going from east to west).
I cannot wait to get back and get on even more Outer Banks kayaking next year!

Paddle ON!

Mike

Lake Kincaid, Jackson County, Illinois May 29th 2011: Beautiful lake in the heart of the "Illinois Ozarks"

The weather in this part of the country has been so unusual.  We were just up at Coffeen Lake a couple of days ago and had a light windbreaker due to the temperatures and lack of sun.  On this trip, it got in the 90's and was very windy.


I put in at the boat launch at the National Forest Service area off Hwy 151.  If you keep going (coming in from the south) there is another boat launch that is all run down and delapidated.  I think next time I go, I am going to launch from there and see how far I can run up Kincaid Creek.  The launch traffic was fairly high due to the holiday weekend.  The one thing I do not like to do is rush getting into my kayak or getting out of my kayak..so that part was a little challenging.


Paddled from the boat launch into the creek and went about 3/4 of a mile up in the creek.  It was fun to paddle this and fish it as well.  After about an hour or so of that, I got back on the main lake.  The wind was gusty, but only provided for a couple of challenges.  Water color was brown, and I am thinking the lake is still a little high based on how the local rivers look right now.  I look forward to coming back to this lake to paddle some more in the future.

Paddle ON!

Mike

Windy kayaking adventure at Lake Kincaid, Illinois

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Coffeen Lake, Illinois Montgomery County, Ilinois: Great gem of a lake in the heart of Illinois

Kayaking Coffeen Lake, Illinois

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This was a nice paddle for the day!  I only did about 2 miles or so....started to fish and lost track of the actual kayaking.  Nice gem of a lake right in the heart of south-central Illinois.  It is interesting, Illinois is one of those states that is overlooked sometimes in regards for great places to paddle and fish, but it has some nice opportunities.  I live in the St. Louis area, so a lot of these lakes are in actuality closer than the same kind of lakes on the Missouri end.
I look forward to coming back to this lake.  This is a long, narrow power plant lake, so a person could do quite a few miles on it if they wanted to.  I may have to come back for an overnight trip sometime.  We put in on the north access, but there is another access point in the middle that has either a picnic area or a campground right on the water.

Paddle ON!

Mike

Lake Sherwood, Warren County, MO, April 17th 2011: Fishing a little Slow, great day for a kayak fishing trip!

Lake Sherwood- kayaking and fishing

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Little Red River, White County, Arkansas April 5th, 2011: Nice 6 mile paddle on the Little Red

This was a nice 6 mile paddle on the Little Red River.  I put in at the Henry Gray/Hurricane Lake WMA in White County, Arkansas.  This is a bayou-like area with a lot of incredibly "fishy" looking lakes and oxbows.  I plan on coming back later and hitting some of the lakes with my Mokan fishing kayak.  However, today was all about getting up the river.  I also brought a fishing rod and fished it as well.  Caught one nice smallmouth towards the half-way point of the paddle, but he spit it out before I could get it to the boat for a photo.
If you take a look at the video, there is a really nice looking dock/dock house that had something happen to it and 1/2 of it is in the water- what a shame!  Looks like it was once a great place to hang out for the day....nothing beats a day on the river!

Paddle ON!

MLT

River Gauge (Judsonia, AR)
Height: 400 ft.
Flow: 290 (cfs)
Miles: 6
Total miles year: 36.5 miles
Goal: 800 miles

Little Red River, Arkansas: Kayaking and fishing

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Beaver Lake, Arkansas March 23rd, 2011, Table Rock Lake, Missouri March 24th 2011: Wind and big fish the story

Beaver Lake, Blue Springs Use Area, Arkansas March 23rd, 2011

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I got chance to kayak the lower arm of Beaver Lake on March 23rd.  It really got warm which means it really got windy.  If you get a chance to click on the short video, you see what I mean.  I basically kayaked and fished the cove.  The ramp had quite the pitch and a lot of traffic, so this gave me an opportunity to give my kayak cart a try (works much better with my sea kayak then my heavier, wider fishing kayak). 

The video was shot when I attempted to get up on the main channel.  The waves were just too much for me, so I turned it around and headed back towards the bridge.  The kayak was cooking!  I swear I must have been going 5 knots by the time I got to the bridge.  After that, I decided it was time to call it a day and head back to the ramp.  I am anxious to come back to this area under some calmer conditions.

The next day I had a couple of hours to paddle Table Rock Lake in Stone County, Missouri.  Conditions the next day were much nicer.  We still had a little wind, but it was more manageable.  This paddle trip was more about the fishing.  I kayaked about 2 miles, and had a lot of time to fish some of the coves.  I caught one of the biggest Largemouth Bass I have ever caught (full story at http://www.fishmissouri.org/ )  It is truly amazing how incredibly clear the water is at Table Rock Lake.  This is one incredible lake!

Paddle ON!

MLT

Table Rock Lake, Aunts Creek, Stone County, MO.- Peaceful last days of summer