First fish of 2011

[Boyscout]

Me and a pal hit a small pond he has permission to fish. The pond has only been filled for about 3 years so I didn't expect to catch any lunkers but we caught over 35 LM in about 3 hours of fishing. The fish were very agressive and in shallow water. Many of the fish I saw coming from 5 to 10 feet away. I even caught five on a white hair bug. Most of the 18 fish I caught were on a size 1 black/brown Deciever. Had a ball! In a couple of years, this pond is going to get very interesting.

Sometimes everything just works and the world looks great...sometimes.

[FishnDave]

Kayak fishing...SWEET!

[HideHunter]

Very nice.. Feels good to have something pulling on a rod longer than 24".

[GT171]

nice kayak fish. Its amazing the opprotunity a yak can provide for little expense when your limited to being a shore fisherman . Thinking of getting a kayak myself this year.

[Boyscout]

Thanks for the kind words, all!

GT171, get a solo yak or canoe! About 4 years ago I started fishing from small solo boats and it has opened up an entire new world of fish. There are stretches of smallmouth rivers that for years I only dreamed of fishing and now I can float those waters and cover every single square foot when before, I was limited by public property access and depth.

I now have about 15 fishing pals across 4 states and we all use solo boats. In a normal trip, 2, 3, 4, or more of us get together and float 5 to 10 miles of river or assault some small (10 to 300 acre) pond. Some of us fish slow, some fast, some with flies, some with hardware, and some with both. Some trips it is stripers, LM, SM, trout, or whatever is dumb enough to eat our baits. Sometimes we make a weekend of it and camp but usually it is day trips. The next trip I have planned is a 3 day 2 night float/camp on a 25 mile stretch of river in the middle of nowhere and most of those fish have never seen a fly.

Here are some links to a review and pics of the kayak I used.
I also use a solo canoe and a tandem canoe depending on the water conditions.

http://www.derekspace.net/fishpic28.htm

http://www.derekspace.net/fishpic27.htm

My canoe

[raindogt]

Nice fish Scout! I have seen one LM here in KC, and 5 sunnies (this year). If I could, I'd trade the bucketmouth for another sunnie. HA HA. The sunnies are lively even in the cold water, the LM I thought I was draggin through weeds-- until he shook his head. Unfortunately, the head shake was 'one and done'-- then he just layed over and let me drag him in. lol.

Anyhow- Congrats again!

What water temps are you seeing down there?

[GT171]

I borrowed a friends sit in a couple years ago and went to a local park of Lake St Clair. Normally there is about 100' of fishing from shore and a fishing pier that you couldnt fly fish from. Paddled away from the crowds and smoked the LM and blue gill. More then I could count at the time. Why I didnt get my own kayak or at the very least tell my friend his was stolen (lol) i dont know. I have been looking and cost has been an issue, however, I have narrowed it down to an FS10 sit in at Bass Pro for $499. fits in my budget, nice ride and good reviews. Plus it fits in my Avalanche with the rear gate closed.

[Boyscout]

What water temps are you seeing down there?

I haven't checked but using my hand and guessing I think the water was about 60F. It's about to bust wide open down here.

[raindogt]

snip///... It's about to bust wide open down here.

Wanna trade locales for the next month? =)