Hey Hall of Fame family,
I hope this blog post finds you safe and well. Paul and I recently took our kayaks out to one of our favorite Ozark streams! It's shallow, relatively slow moving, and holds some prime fishing opportunities. The water clarity is usually a little on the stained side. The river has a rock bottom and a ton of woody cover. There are stretches of this river where it's about 1 foot deep or less; you have to get out to portage around obstacles and shallow water in many places. It's prime habitat for smallmouth and spotted bass, alike. Nonetheless, it is an excellent river for beginners to learn how to paddle!
A few years ago, this was one of the first rivers Paul and I floated together. We floated 19 miles of it, up to where it empties into another river. It took about 12 hours, and we were about as unprepared as could be. Paul and I both had no food or sunscreen, and we ran out of water before the halfway mark. We did catch fish all day long, though! By the end of the float, we were exhausted and very sunburnt. If the fish weren't biting, this trip would've been totally brutal!
Before that long float, my friend Jake and I had floated a just a couple miles of this river. I remember portaging and paddling upstream a 3 or 4 miles after a long day of fishing, and I made a mental note to never float too far downstream without a proper take out plan! I think I've caught fish every time floating this river, mostly bass, gar, and flathead catfish.
I'd been in Florida and Rhode Island for two weeks before this kayaking trip in Missouri, catching a variety of saltwater species. Don't get me wrong, it was great to switch it up and target saltwater fish that I normally don't get to. Redfish, ladyfish, mackerel, jack, etc. But deep down, I was really missing the drug that is the river smallmouth. So I was pretty excited to launch the kayaks. The fishing started out slow, as Paul and I made our way downstream to the first portage spot. We got out and fished from the bank here, but we did not portage and continue downstream. We paddled back upstream, going past the boat ramp. We tied on squarebill crankbaits, and this ended up being the key. Paul caught a quality walleye, quite the unexpected catch, soon after! In the next 30 minutes, caught 3 bass, two spotted bass and one nice smallie! Paul also caught a couple small bass during this time. We continued upstream another mile or so, and the bite really slowed down. It was lunchtime by this point, so we decided to paddle back to the ramp and take out the kayaks. We fished our way back to the ramp, and we both hooked fished right before the end. Paul landed his, another spotted bass and I lost the smallmouth (of course).
While Paul and I were out on the river, we encountered a father and son in a canoe. It was their third time out in their boat, and the father was asking us about the river. He said it was daunting due to his inexperience level. We assured him that they're on a great river for beginners, and that it was one of our first, too. The whole trip was a breath of fresh air, much needed! Thanks for reading.
Tight lines,
Erik Hoffman, Hall of Fame Outdoor Co