Cuivre

If you break down and need assistance, you will soon find out how many people do not realize what three whistle blows or air horn blows actually mean. I went to help a vessel out on Perry Lake in KS and after going over to them to help, I found out it was an idiot letting his toddler blow the horn just for fun. I had to inform him of what the distress call was to be used for!

Fished my first 2025 tourney out of my BigRig FD with NK300:

I carry 10 rods with me on my BigRig FD usually, I keep my early morning rods in my starboard horizontal staging trough (I don't use my left trough because it is blocked by my MegaLive transducer turret.) I learned in my last kayak that the tubes attached to my crate can sometimes flip the side release plate on some of the baitcast reels I put in them (Lews, AbuGarcia)- so I have to use other rod holder types like Scotty holers or built in rod holes for those. I bring 3-4 spinning reels with me, so they fit in the crate attached rod holders well. The least used rods are typically on my left side, since I can grab rods behind me on my right easier than my left.

There is an old saying: "People mock that which they do not understand". Who would have thought that would have come around to something like a Donkey Leash? LOL! I like them so much, I have TWO of them- the older short length one when I'm around shallow snags where I want the fish close by, and then the new version with the longer length. Organization is everything on a kayak, and having things at your feet (and 'ready') when you stand to fish is stupid hazardous and a trip hazard. BTW, I also own two "Rod Mules". Now people can ask what they are instead of looking it up themselves! LOL!

I kept my bass boat when I got into kayak fishing back in 2015. I just got a new BigRig a couple months ago and plan on fishing 6-8 tournaments this year out of it. I have it rigged pretty much to the max- Newport NK300, Humminbird Explore 10 with MegaLive2 and SI/DI transducer and 10 rod capacity. I enjoy kayak tournaments and the people much better than the bass boat tournaments with people who take themselves WAY too seriously. I crappie fish out of my bass boat and when I need to hit a close by big lake, but towing a lightweight kayak trailer is hella cheaper than towing a bass boat long distance.

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.