Cuivre

I fished that pond a couple times but never did very good. Too bad King Lake up around there is not worth fishing-it is very shallow and a lot of the fish were washed out due to a flood years ago. I don't think the MDC is trying to rehab it in any way. King City has a couple small lakes as well.

Yep- I've caught a couple in WillowBrook as well. My biggest to date was a 26 incher in Paho back in 2016 in my kayak. That took me for a ride!

I got hired back on with my old employer after being rehired as a contractor with no PTO, so I will get back into kayak fishing with my state club more often. I'm rigging up a brand new kayak and will put the a MegaLive 2 and Explore unit on it (old yak had Helix10 and MegaLive1). Already have a Newport NK300 and other rigging on it. Can't wait to get it slimes and fish more lakes in the southern part of MO.

Here's an article about wiper stocking in NWMO: Stocks of Hybrid Striped Bass show promise for northwest Missouri sport fish populations | Farm News | kmzu.com

I would check out the kayak scene if you're interested in it. (Gio Outdoors in Smithville is a small shop that handles kayaks etc. and EcoFishing Shop in Camdenton is a great shop that has a big showroom and lots of brands. That is where I bought my Jackson BigRig several weeks ago. I'll be selling my Coosa FD/Torqeedo 403 in the spring. Missouri has a couple great kayak clubs for bass fishing tournaments- KAMO (state wide tournaments) and Mo-Yak (southern MO focused). One of the big things I like about the kayak is the kayak+trailer I use is so much lighter than my 18' G3 and 150 Yamaha. It makes for better mileage and portability. Melvern is a good lake in KS that has decent smallmouth. I fished a couple kayak tournaments on it when I fished with a Kansas club and got into some 17" class smallies.

I'm sure we've hit most of the same water. I spend a lot of time exploring the lakes around here when I moved here in 2012. I work with a big animal health employer in St.Joe.

I used to do that as well. But it got to the point where the people who picked up the random numbers I dialed kept saying "who are you and why are you telling me this?" 😜 (I'm single and live alone.)

When I do to cold weather tournaments I keep two pair of hip waders with me- light weight FroggToggs and a heavier set of neoprene waders. Which set I use depends on the degree of cold I'll be in. They help with getting in and out of the yak without worrying about getting my feet wet when launching, as well getting in and out other places around the lake to address issues with gear or bathroom needs. Plus, they keep my legs from getting wet/cold from splashes.

I use my winch to its full advantage as well. I'm re-doing my kayak trailer and changing out the bunks and painting the frame to match my kayak (was green- painting it to black). I use carpeted wood bunks but also put plastic bunk skids on them to reduce the friction.

I just received my new Jackson Big Rig FD yesterday. Some things I will transfer over from my rigged up Coosa FD, but due to a chunk of money coming in and moving from a contractor to an FTE, I will make it the kayak I want. I'll keep my Native crate- it works well for me and isn't too big. I'll upgrade electronics to the Humminbird Explore series with he MegaLive 2 transducer. I don't know if I'll keep my RailBlaza turret mount or go with something else. Jackson has some underseat and accessory storage (and add on TriTrack) I'll probably get and I'll either transfer my Anchor Wizard or buy a fresh one. I have a "Da Bomb" anchor on order- a buddy of mine owns the company. I'm waiting on my Newport NK300 to come in and I already have a 36V 50 aHr battery. I don't know what steering system I'll use- looking at the Tim Percy system, I don't know if I would like foot steering. YakPower system and mounted nav lights will also come pretty soon.

That is a crucial decision. Anymore, the TM and the electronics are matched sets. I went with an Ultrex on my G3 HP180 last change out, so I'm locked into HB electronics, assuming I only want one graph on the bow, Fortunately, HB upped their game with their new Mega Live 2 technology, so I might have to sell my MegaLive 1 FFS transducer and move my Helix 10 to the console....since the MegaLive 2 transducers do not work with Helix head units. Looking at their Explore Unit heads for the bow.

That is a new requirement of KBF and affiliate local clubs-if that video is requested, it has to be available. Not every fish will be checked for a release video-that would be too ponderous. The last Hobie BOS tournament had the same fish submitted and counted twice by a high placing competitor. It cost another angler a lot of money due to them not catching that double counted fish, since he would have jumped up to that placing- I think it was over a $10,000 mistake, if I remember, plus the intangible impact. There was no way of knowing if it was a second unique catch of the same fish, or something more nefarious. Hobie BOS is no longer happening in 2025, but KBF learned a lesson from that incident.

That doesn't make sense on many levels, the least of which is "why would they want to do that?" The current requirement is CPRR, which requires the angler to record the fish being released live, swimming away and the empty Ketch board being shown. That has the added benefit of insuring the same fish isn't measured, stringered, and submitted twice and that the fish is alive. Any other on the water video of the fish/angler using a GoPro or even just a phone video will be much better than a still picture at a weigh in for use in marketing and social media. Plus- it reinforces and expands Ray Scott's ethic of Catch and Release, by using technology that has been available to anglers for years- cell phones, video, electronic submission and second party judging of the catch's length and health (standards have always been the clear and healthy eye must be visible on all photos and the fingers cannot be under the operculum). Constant relocation of fish just for the ability of angler to prance around on stage waving a dying fish around is just indulgence of shallow ego and false bravado.

I'm 61 and I fish out of a kayak and bass boat for bass and crappie. The only 2 times I fell into the water was on my bass boat deck crappie fishing. First was reaching for pole timber to tie off to, when the TM hit a tree I didn't see-so I was leaning forward, off balance and went in with the sudden stop. The second time was when I was tying a knot and the wind was blowing my boat down through the trees and one hit especially hard....and over I went. Both times where when it was warm, fortunately. I am getting a longer, wider, more stable kayak (BigRig FD-delivery is tomorrow) and a 3 hp Newport electric motor just to keep me from having an accident in the kayak- especially since losing gear risk is higher and I'm fishing out of that more than my bass boat. I've been using a stand assist strap for years- it also helps me lower myself back down into the kayak seat more gently. I got a Knot Assist 2.0 to help me with tying the FG knot- that makes all the difference in the world for me and this knot.

You referring to the Explore series and the MegaLive 2 transducer? I think it is a major step up from their first version, which was considered the third ranked of the big 3. I am strongly considering buying the set up for my new kayak. The YouTube comparisons were impressive and I didn't have an easy time picking up my lure on the old systems I had (Helix 10 and MegaLive 1 transducer).