Turkey sandwich

That sounds like kayak water, to me. Old Town, Feelfree, Hobbie, Wilderness Systems, and a number of other companies all make great boats for just that type of fishing. The killer thing about kayaks is that for $2k or so, you can have one hell of a boat.

So, you're saying we need to fish it with a float?

Awesome! You got some good info to work with. You likely found the bottom composition you want. Did you try following your search bait with a jig? (I like small bass jigs w/low to moderate action craw trailers or a small tubes) The Navionics maps are awesome! The only thing they don't provide is detailed info on bottom composition, flow, and current. Flow and current, you can at least get a feel for from the shape of the river. The bottom composition part is trickier. Areas catching my eye: with the water level likely up, the areas in and around the break between 13 and 15 mile islands may be very productive. On that same map, the oxbow may also be worth checking out. Plum Creek's mouth, the downstream point it creates, and the point across the creek may be productive as well as the current protected areas down stream within proxitimity of the seam. The bottom map has the two obvious points and the oxbow, but upstream of the points there are some "rolling shallows" (for lack of a better term) - if there is cover to create current breaks, these could be really worthwhile, too. If I were to pick one screen shot not knowing anything about river flow, cover, weeds, or bottom structure, I'd take a closer look at that first map. As for for help with current and seams... Do you have an anchor trolley set up on your kayak? You're going to want to set yourself up to fish both sides of the seam. Some fish are going to be in each stage of the pre-spawn/pre-spawn cycle, so don't be surprised if you get hammered behind rocks in the current off the seam while you're seeing males guarding beds in the protected shallows. Also, to make finding changes in current easier, watch bubbles/film/debris and pay attention to where you see differences in speed. Watch instructional videos of someone drifting nymphs or dry flies and you'll get a ton of information about how to properly fish seams, eddies, and changes in current. Most bass fisherman are absolute garbage at it.

That's a better start! Can you take some more screen shots of that stretch, like covering more river? Spawning bass may move miles from their winter holes if the spawning areas are that much better. You're catching fish, but you should be getting some bigger ladies. What pattern did you notice with the crankbaits? (6-10' of water, but what was the current like? Where was the closest seam? How fast was the current? What was the bottom composition?)

I was actually surprised with my Avid X. Even with the tiny guides, it doesn't really have problems with leader knots.

If you're looking at the Avid, also check out the Avid X. The grips and microguides change the feel of the rod quite a bit. I have one in MLXF and love it for drop shots, <1/4 oz soft plastics, and light poppers. As Darren mentioned, it might be good to handle both weights to see what fits your purpose better.

If you can justify dropping a few extra bucks, the new Mojo Bass are great rods.

Checking the guides and weight rating on the rod and matching is important as well as the brake settings on your reel. One other detail - what's the action on the Abu rod versus the St Croix? A slower action rod is much easier/slower to load and can act as a catapult for lures on the light end of the spectrum wheras a faster action isn't going to give you the slow cushion/slow catapult cast.

I had a large musky or Pike (40+ inches) blow up a topwater near the end of my retrieve while wet wading in 3+ feet of water years ago and I nearly ticked myself. I missed a good hookset and lost it after some thrashing. It was legitimately terrifying. Catching a 50" Pike on a fly rod must be one incredible rush. Huge props!

There's some really good jig fishing info on here. The one piece of advice that I haven't seen posted that every beginner jig/T-rig fisherman I've ever fished with has made has to do with mechanics. Jigs (with exceptions of swim jigs) are not movement baits like crankbaits, spinnerbaits, etc. To feel the bottom, maintain a natural presentation, feel bites, etc, you need to get used to using your rod tip to move the jig, impart action, etc. The reel only really exists to pick up line 90% of the time. If you're using your reel for the majority of your movement, you're not creating strikes, learning to feel, or letting your rod do its job.

Any luck so far?

There are some serious hogs on this thread.

If the smallies are beginning to nest, look for the closest ledges you can find. Fish that are still feeding actively will be on/around those ledges, likely chasing bait or using cover to ambush. At 55 degrees, you'll likely have pre-spawn fish as well as early spawning fish. Also, with spawning beds, if your lake has walleye or yellow perch, they typically spawn first and those could be the beds you're seeing. If that's the case, still look for deep water access/ledges/points near the spawning beds.

Both 101 and Rare Breed have become my standard bourbons for regular sipping. They're delicious and not $60+/bottle.

As for bourbon, Wild Turkey's Rare Breed has become one of my favorites and it goes great with medium to full flavor smokes.

We boat ef several on Bitsy bugs w/ Bitsy craw trailers in the 3-4 pound range two weeks ago. You can't underestimate the pre-spawn crayfish bite!

It's a really incredible how hard they fight for a freshwater fish. A 3lb or better smallie, especially in current, fights as hard or harder than anything you're going to catch in that body of water pound for pound. One of my best friends is a trout bum in Utah who grew up on the Susquehanna with me, but never got serious about Smallmouth. He'll be packing some 6wt rods and heading east this summer. I'll be making a convert after his first take on a popper.

Congrats! I got crushed in college, and it can make life rough, for sure. I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and it feels amazing. Good luck at the weigh ins!

I'm glad these are helping you get a better picture. Current and depth dictates jig size, but 1/8-3/16 cover most scenarios. The craw trailer should match local crayfish size. It can really help to match the hatch. Also, fish are going to look for the best spawning sites. We floated 5-6 miles of river and were only getting hit on 3-4 spots. A big part of pre-spawn into spawn is just finding fish. Other spots worth watching are those docks and the current seam off of that point. You should look at the river within a few miles of these islands if this area isn't producing.

Cheers!

1. Free information - tons on here, YouTube channels for guys like Glenn 2. Cheap information - books aren't expensive and can give you a pretty good outline. 3. Expensive information - hiring a guide can totally be worth a few $$$ if you're getting questions answered, getting attention from an expert, and learning about things like cover/structure/patterns/etc, and getting to see some success on the water.

Welcome to the dark side.

The Mojo line is made in Mexico and is made with different guides, real seat, etc than the Avid X. There's supposed to be even a big difference in feel between the Avid and Avid X.

Welcome to the forum! I haven't fished with, but have had a chance to handle the Loomis, Powell, and Zodias. I own an Avid X (6'10 ml X-fast spinning), and two Rage (6'6 Med Fast and 7'1 MH XF casting rods). The blanks on these rods (SCIII) are, to me, much better than any of the above that I've handled. The Avid X has become my favorite river smallmouth rod for tubes, drop shots, and essentially anything requiring lots of sensitivity and small weight. These blanks really are great blanks. Also, I've become a fan of the split grip for most applications. The majority of my rods moving forward will likely be Avid X or Legend Elite series rods. For $200-$230, I don't think another rod compares favorably to the Avid X. Also, with the SCIII blanks, if you can, handle both a MH and a H. St Croix tends to run a bit heavy. Since heavier lures seem your focus, the 7'1 MH Rage has no trouble throwing 1oz jigs (built on the same blank). There are other threads on Avid vs Avid X, but the consensus seems to be that he microguides really help sensitivity.

Cheers, that's a great fish! I was hoping to get my 6 wt out this weekend, but it appears the weather is going to make that impossible. I'm still pushing to land my first smallie on the whippy stick.