Gavin

I fish your area a bit...I usually go with a 6' Medium rod with a fast action rod, 2000 series reel, & high visability braid with an 8lb flouro leader for fishing plastics. A medium light will work OK too, but you miss a few more on the hookset. Plenty of rods to choose from at your price point. Happy Shopping.

I carry 4-5 on the river. 5' ML Casting rod for walk the dog lures. 5' M Casting rod for buzzbaits & cranks 6' ML Spinning rod for jerkbaits & flukes 6' M Spinning rod for bottom baits. 9' 7wt Fly Rod for poppers & streamers.

You could use a Thermometer on a string and check it the old fashioned way....a 12' deep pond may not be deep enough to have one though....

Go rent a canoe and float the Ozarks for smallmouth...Big Piney, Gasconade & Niangua would be the closest to KC. Have fun.

Two arms length....6' approximately. Retie when it gets down to 4' or so.

Just finished out a 5' baicaster for walking the dog while seated in my canoe. Its a heck of allot better than the 5'6" rod it replaced because it provides a much better rod angle when sitting down low. I used a 4" straight cork grip instead of a pistol grip and I'm liking that better too. A 5'6"-6'6" would be better if your up high on a bass boat or standing.

Think the Mojo the Premier series might be the same blanks with different finishes...The Avid's have better graphite. http://www.stcroixrods.com/content/blank_materials_guide

River smallies can usually be found just above, in, or a below a riffle in the heat of the summer....so fish there...Usually catch my better fish on top with a walk the dog plug or buzzbait...or with a jig and chunk fished slow on the bottom. Cheers.

Habitat & Forage might be the key......do you have a small boat to explore the pond, or are you bank bound? Sounds like a really fun place to fish. Cheers.

4" Zoom Fat Albert or a Yamamoto Grub...match the color of the bottom, and the prevalent baitfish..Swim them on a ball head jig, hop or drag them on a weedless football or standup jig head...texas rig too..no way to fish one wrong.

Not sure....Those fish are huge...but they dont look like 100% smallmouth...To correct my previous post...The 7.5 (Second Picture from the top) is the one that looks like its 100% smallmouth..bronze coloration, barring with no hint of a lateral line. The others all display a lateral line, hints of barring below the lateral line, and they are more green than bronze. Still great fish, but odd looking...not spot, not smallmouth. If they came from Lake Pardee in CA....Think there are spotted bass and smallmouth in there together at one time, and those species will hybridize naturally...Largemouth and smallies or Largemouth and spots wont usually. Will have to check it out for myself on my next visit to my sister's place in Ione. Cheers.

The smallmouth will usually be in current this time of year...In, above, or below a spot with current, particularly in places where the water starts to speed up, or slow down.....Current Speed & Depth are the key...then cover...shade, rock, wood, breaks in the willow weed, etc. I fish everything in sight till I figure out a pattern. Start on top with a buzzer, or walk the dog bait, followed by a Zoom Fluke, then a jig, or plastic on the bottom. You can usually figure out the program in the first mile or two. Cheers.

Those are some incredible fish there Chris.....but something looks to be a miss....The 6.2 looks like a smallmouth...but the rest look like smallie/spotted bass hybrids to me. Is that the case?

Shimano for casting reels Abu for spinning reels

Tim Holschag has a pretty good one...Billy Westmoreland's book is often pricey, if you can even find one.

Cover the water top, middle, & bottom..and go find some fish...There will be a pattern but it might take several riffles & pools to figure it out. Think about how the fish are relating to current, depth, and structure (rock, wood, gravel bottom, mud bottom, etc.) I usually start on top with a buzzbait, or a walk the dog plug....no takers...try a fluke, spinnerbait, or crankbait depending on water clarity. If all else fails swim a curly tail, or drag some plastics or a jig on the bottom. Cheers.

I grew up camping, canoeing, & fishing in the Missouri Ozarks...The only hard part is picking were you want to fish for smallies...Too many creeks & rivers, too little time to fish.

I use the 4" Zoom Fat Alberts. About the same profile as the Yamamoto grub...less salt, but the sunfish cant chew the tail off. Cheers. .

Depends on where your fishing, and what your fishing for...I've trout fished all over the place and some local knowledge is key, especially if you want to fly fish for them. Here's a couple general rules... Brookies & Rainbows...tend to hold in current and eat small stuff...they love flashy little nymphs, egg patterns, small jigs, & inline spinners. Brown Trout...are ambush predators like a bass...My best lures for them are suspending jerkbaits & floating minnow plugs in the 3.5-5.5" range...Get there first and make your first cast count. They are low light feeders...so early or late is a must if the water is clear and its sunny. They might bite all day if the water is up and a bit stained. Cloud cover is a plus. Brown trout seem hate the flashy little bugs that rainbows & brookies go for....Drab natural colored nymphs & jigs seem to be preferred. Big bushy dry flies when they are looking up. Cutthroat Trout...are suckers for most anything that a rainbow or brookie might eat..and they love big bushy dry flies. Cheers.

No need to hide my stuff or new purchases but she does get annoyed when there is fishing tackle & camping gear strewn about in my big boy play areas. Keep my areas of the basement and garage clean........no complaints.

Depends on what you want to do...If you want a day trip boat, look at a kayak...If you want something to float & camp on the river or do some wilderness tripping a solo or a tandem canoe might be a better choice because of the extra gear capacity. If I was going to pull the trigger on a kayak right know....I'd be taking a hard look at the new Jackson Coosa and the Native Ultimates. Cheers.

I do quite a bit of floating & fishing in the Ozarks. Here are a few favorites. Topwaters-LC Sammy 100, LC Gunfish 95, Accent B-2 buzzer, Spook Jr., Strike King Triple Buzzer...Have a couple poppers & prop baits but they dont get used very often. Dont be afraid to toss topwaters all day long. Floating Lures: Floating Super Rouges, Jointed Rapalas Mid Water Column: Zoom Super Fluke in pearl or glimmer blue, or a LC Slender Pointer 112 or 97 Spinner Baits: 1/4 oz double willow, or a 1/4oz twin spin (like the old Shannon) Cranks: Wiggle Wart, Norman Middle N, Wee Craws...I dont fish these much Bottom: Zoom Fat Albert Grubs, 4" Chompers Hula Grub, 3-4" Tubes, 6" Trick Worm, Eakins Jig & Zoom Super Chunk Jr.

My top 4...Gunfish 95, B-2 Buzzer, Sammy 100, Spook Jr.

Webster Groves

I river fish for smallmouth mostly... Zoom Fluke-Pearl or Glimmer Blue Zoom Fat Albert-Green Pumkin or Green with red flake Chompers Hula Grub-Same as above V&M Pork Pin with a brass weight