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How deep is it? I would punch something heavy through it to the bottom. A big soft plastic of some kind with a heavy weight to get through the mat of duckweed.

This is me too. At this point I'm not taking a second crack at it should it come to that. You can keep the cats to yourself tho

Full disclaimer: I am not a kayak angler. I'm a boat guy. But if I was going to try the kayak, I would also definitely go with something hands free. I need both my hands to fish effectively and the idea of holding the yak in a position while I can fish greatly appeals to me. Plus the pedal power of moving more distance across the water while burning some calories is also a bonus.

Perhaps in far northern MN. Most of the state is not covered in ice for half the year. That's nothing but a rumor. Generally speaking, ice develops from north to south around Thanksgiving and in recent memory, it's all been gone in the southern half of the state by the first week of April. So more like 4 months.

Great info on the growth with real world data @FryDog62 . When I was at the Bassmaster Elite AOY events at Mille Lacs a decade ago, there was a DNR Biologist on site to answer questions. I asked him how long it took a smallmouth there to reach trophy size (5 pounds/20 inches) and he said about 10 years, give or take. Mille Lacs is probably more fertile and has a better forage base than typical largemouth lakes, but that was a real eye opening stat. Removing just one mature female takes up to 10 years to replace.

What did you do for those 36 years, can I ask?

That would be pretty insane but unless there's a big rain event to naturally put it out, I wouldn't expect standard firefighting methods to be very effective in such remote areas. I've also been reading that it may be beneficial in the long run because some of those areas are very old growth forests with fallen, rotting trees all over. When it gets dry it's a tinderbox just waiting to ignite. I have a co-worker who goes up there for a week every season and he's been there many times when there was a fire ban. He always says that ruins the trip real quick. Pretty tough to enjoy camping without being able to have a fire.

More seasonal temperatures are expected next week. Highs will be in the low to mid 80's during the day time with much cooler night time temps. Trying to get bass to bite in these bath tub-style temps is like pulling teeth. Not to mention how miserable it has to be out there too.

Its a relatively common pattern in midsummer. I've chased that around a few times over the years myself and it was mostly a fruitless endeavor. They are not relating to any type of structure or cover, they are just lazily following around bait balls. If this is your primary tactic come tournament day, I'd put together a contingency plan that targeted fish that were more closely related to some kind of structure.

I bought one last night. I will re-visit this thread when I'm able to use it. That may not be for a while though, as its scalding hot here plus we're also inundated with wildfire smoke too.

Yep, its in the "hazardous" zone here too. Not to mention its 95 degrees out. Apocalyptic is the word I'd use

The smallmouth I target are on inland waters. The lake itself is 132,000 square acres so its quite large, but not "Great Lakes" size. No gobies. It has crayfish, perch, tulibee as the primary forage base. I mostly fish for them in May while they are prespawn so that's why they often have that round football shape. They likely lose some weight in June/July and then pack it back on in the late summer/fall. I used to fish rivers too for smallmouth but the river I primarily fished has undergone a significant transformation in recent years and the flow has been greatly altered to a lower level. It does not support smallmouth of any significant size anymore. I was lucky to be able to fish there for about 15 years when it produced some incredibly good river fishing. And the fish were VERY aggressive in midsummer when I fished for them too. The river fish were leaner and quicker than their lake cousins, just as you described. I suspect they had to be when they were constantly fighting the current.

I'll offer some information from the opposite end of the spectrum, as a grand child. My Grandfather on my Mother's side died of cancer in 2012 but I spent many hours afield and on the water with him before he passed. He didn't bass fish, but he walleye fished and hunted like an addict. I learned so much in 10 years of doing that each season with him that has stayed with me to this day. He also gave me a couple of items before he died: a Beckman muskie net, and a portable turkey blind. Each time I use one of those, I am reminded of him. Miss that guy every day. He also told me a couple things that I'll never forget: "If you don't have your health, you don't have much." "Quality of life is measured by the amount of time you have to do what you enjoy doing."

Wait until its not so hot. Its a blast furnace out there. @Texas Flood I am not so sure your trip will be a go in a few weeks. There is really no significant rain in the forecast here. The temperature and humidity looks tolerable next week but I have a feeling these fires might be burning for a while. Its very difficult to contain them in such remote areas. This sort of thing happens every few years. Seemingly more common than it used to be. Hotter and drier is the trend. A fire ban seems to occur every season now at some point. They said the last time there was a complete ban and evacuation was 5 years ago.