My Evolution of Fishing: Boats and Kayaks

In January of 2012 I purchased my first boat, a small 14 foot aluminum jon boat. Up until this point I was limited to fishing from the banks of local lakes and wading small creeks. I had my fair share of fishing success from the banks, but after 8 years of bank fishing I felt like I needed a change. In 2011 I began scouring the internet for local boat sales, and in less than 2 weeks I had my first boat. It wasn’t what I wanted, but it was what I could afford at the time.

After nearly a year of fishing from my small jon boat I discovered a few major flaws.  First and foremost, fishing 3 people out of the 14 foot boat was unsafe and uncomfortable.  Wind, waves, and wakes off of other boats became an issue when we met or exceeded the recommended weight capacity. Fishing behind two other anglers while casting for bass or crappie often caused arguments. In hindsight it made me a better fisherman, but I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t want a first cast at each good looking spot too. There came a point in time in which I would have rather fished from the bank than fish 3 people out of the small jon boat. This put me in a tough position, to which I had to choose between fishing with my fishing partner, my girlfriend, and or family members. At the end of 2012 I began brainstorming on how I could keep everyone happy. Getting a larger boat was out of the question since I was still a broke college student with a run down vehicle. The question became: "How could I get 3-5 people out on the water, allow them to fish where they wanted, and be able to haul all of them and their gear in my car?" The solution…….kayaks!

In March of 2013 I purchased 2 kayaks from our local kayak retailer and brought them home on the roof of my car. A few weeks later I sold my boat and trailer and purchased a small 4x8 utility trailer, which I later modified to haul multiple kayaks with. After I had a means of hauling more than 2 kayaks I purchased a 3^rd kayak for my brothers to use.  We spent the next 2 years exploring small creeks/rivers, small state lakes, and even larger waters such as Lake Erie and the Ohio River. If I had to be honest, we caught more fish from our kayaks than we had in the past. Five pound bass (21.5-22.5”) became somewhat common for us.  We even stumbled upon waters in which flathead catfish were under pressured and landed multiple fish that exceeded 30lbs (40+”).  No one had to fish behind someone if they didn’t want to, we each had our own personal space, and we could fish for whatever species we desired individually. (bass, catfish, crappie, etc.) By the end of 2014 I had acquired a total of 5 kayaks and a heavily modified trailer. In total I had well over $5,000 tied up in kayaks, paddles, kayak accessories (mounts, leashes, rod holders, crates, lights, waterproof gear….), etc. Fishing 3-4 times a week was beginning to wear on our old kayaks, the kayaks we had bought in 2013 were starting to show significant signs of wear. The hulls were scuffed and scratched, the seats were sun-faded and falling apart, holes from old mounts riddled the decks, and new kayaks were hitting the market almost monthly.

Last year, 2014, I found myself having much more success on larger bodies of water than I did on small rivers and lakes. However, the kayak I was using at the time was not suited for larger bodies of water. It’s wide flat hull design was perfect for floating through swift shallow river sections but it was too hard to paddle in wind and waves on larger bodies of water. I knew that I needed to find a longer and narrower kayak to help me cover water more efficiently for my big water adventures.  At this point I sat back and started debating what I wanted to do. Since 2012 I had purchased a new vehicle that had a towing capacity of 3000lbs. I could now haul a larger boat if I wanted to.  With this in mind I began brainstorming. [Thoughts in my head] "What would benefit me the most? Do I buy a 6^th and 7^th kayak for Amanda and I, or do I just purchase a large aluminum boat?  If I bought a boat what would I need? A boat capable of handling 2 foot waves would be sufficient for 95% of water and weather conditions in Southern Ohio. Etc..."

 In the end I chose to purchase a 17.5’ aluminum bass boat.  I chose to go with a boat for 3 reasons:  1.) Cold Water Fishing: It honestly scares me to kayak in water below 40 degrees.  It’s not that I fear for my own personal safety as much as I do for the others around me. If I had the option to fish from a boat or a kayak in cold water I'd probably chose the boat for safety purposes 2.) Comfort: I’m 6’0 and 270lbs, I can stand in most of the Sit On Top style fishing kayaks on the market, but fishing out of them while standing is next to impossible.  Fishing from a kayak for extended periods of time (8+ hours) resulted in leg, hip, and back stiffness/pain. 3.) BIG Picture: For $2500 I could purchase two big water yaks for Amanda and I (for a total of 7 yaks) or I could buy a boat for ~$5000. A boat that would allow me to fish our local big water, fish cold water safely, and be comfortable.  At this point I also considered my investment and resale value. It appeared that a few years of extremely hard abuse was as much as most kayaks would take and to be honest after that point I would feel bad even giving it away to someone.  An aluminum boat on the other hand last for decades.

Conclusion:

In the last 4 years I have fished from a small jon boat, kayaks, and now a large aluminum bass boat. The question that I find myself asking, and even some of my kayak fishing partners asking is, “Is there a place for both kayaks and a bass boat in ones fishing schedule?” In my opinion if space, money, and your significant other allow I say yes there is a place for both in day to day fishing. Just as one doesn’t limit himself/herself to driving a car, truck, motorcycle, four-wheeler, etc. you don’t have to limit yourself to one fishing vessel. Each watercraft has its own purpose; A kayak for an adventure, comradery, and challenge;  a boat for comfort, safety, and proficiency. 

Here are some questions I found myself asking while writing up this article and the answers I found from reflecting on the past.

Q+A:

Q: Is owning a kayak/s cheaper than owning a boat?

A: Yes and No.  In short, the initial investment of kayak angling will be less. If you plan on purchasing multiple kayaks, and probably close to 9/10 of my friends do, you’re looking at roughly $1000+ per boat for most of the big name kayak retailers. If you plan on floating sections of rivers with friends you will need a means of hauling multiple yaks……which means buying roof racks and or trailer. ($200 for cheap racks up to $2000 for high end trailers.) And then you have accessories……rod holders, rails/track systems, mounts, etc. which add up over time. More than likely you will have a few thousand tied up into kayaks, significantly less than buying a new boat but not too far off of a quality used one.

Q: Is maintaining a kayak cheaper than a boat?

A: This one is simple…..Yes. Typically once a month I run my kayak trailer and kayaks through a car wash and give them a good bath. Boats aren’t quite that simple. Carpet needs cleaned monthly, carburetors need rebuilt annually, motor needs winterized, moving parts need greased, trailer bearings need replaced, batteries need charged, ….the list goes on and on. 

Q: I frequently fish with a half dozen different people; which would be best for me, a kayak or a boat?

A: Kayaks are by far the most enjoyable method of fishing with multiple people. As mentioned above, you don’t have to fish directly behind someone if you don’t want to. You can choose to paddle across the river and fish, or even fish 70 yards behind/in front them if you’d like. You can choose to fish near your friend, and  avoid your that guy your friend brought along who only wants to talk about last night’s game or even worse, his marriage. (Just as an example. )  In a boat you are stuck with whoever is on board.  The sport of kayak angling is very club oriented as well, tournament trails are hosted all across the states, forums specific to kayak angling have been created, etc.  

Q: I am limited on space; will kayaks take up more space than a boat?

A: Again this is really determined by how many boats you own. I know a few guys who own small homes and apartments that bring their kayak inside and store them in a spare room or on a back porch. With a roof rack system installed on your vehicle you should be able to cut down on space requirements as well. However for a few of us, our fleet of kayaks do take up more space than owning a boat. I personally have 5 kayaks (2 of which are typically on the trailer and the other three are lying beside the garage), 4 paddles, 5 removable seats (since I store the yaks outside), 3 milk crates, a kayak trailer, etc. 

Q: Will I catch more fish from a kayak than I would in a boat?

A: This one may get me in some trouble with my kayak angling friends…..but: Yes, In my opinion you will catch more fish from a kayak than you would in a boat. Kayaks allow anglers to get to more unpressured waters such as streams, electric only state lakes, and wilderness area ponds such as the AEP Wildlife ponds in the eastern part of Ohio. Catching a fish that’s only seen a lure/bait a few dozen times its entire life is much easier than catching one that sees a lure/bait a dozen times a day. With this said landing a fish in a kayak is much harder than landing one in a boat. With a little practice and whole lot of patience it will become second nature to the angler.

Q: If there were a tournament with boats and kayaks who would win?

A: Assuming that the skill levels of the anglers were the same I would presume that the anglers in boats would win the majority of the time. The benefit of fishing under pressured waters no longer matters at this point because both anglers would be fishing the same water. There are a lot of factors that could play a role here such as water displacement (advantage kayak), shadow created (advantage kayak), noise of trolling motor vs. paddle strokes (Even or even slight advantage to boat), etc.  In my opinion the largest benefit would now go to a boat that could move from spot to spot at much faster speeds.  Throw in the fact that a boat can hold a dozen rods with a dozen different bait combinations, multiple fish finders/ larger screens, hold 4 times as much tackle, etc. and you have an seemingly unfair advantage.

2014: Year in Review

As each year passes I find myself wondering how I will top the previous year. In 2013 I set a handful of new personal bests, but for the most part it will be remembered as one of the first years I consistently caught quality largemouth bass. Twenty inch bass became common, where as in the previous years I may have been lucky to land one or two twenty plus inch bass all year long. I surpassed my 2012 personal best bass of 4lbs 0oz. a minimum of 12 times and tied my 2013 personal best bass of 5lbs 1oz twice.  Throw in a bonus 31 pound flathead catfish and you'd have the makings of a pretty darn good year. 2014 on the other hand was in a league of its own. Here's a few of the highlights with links back to the original posting.



March 2014: Hybrid Striped Bass

23.75" 6lb 6oz Hybrid Striped Bass

In March I was fortunate enough to run into Todd of Smack Tackle one evening on the river. To make a long story short he pretty much schooled me on how to use a blade bait for hybrid striped bass. At the time I wrote a blog called Building Confidence with Todd, check it out if you haven't yet. (I share what I learned and was able to snap a few pictures of Todd's giant hybrid striper.) A few weeks later I took what Todd had taught me and I put it to good use, which happened to be good enough for a new personal best 6lb 6oz hybrid striped bass. Check out that blog post here: 4 Days on the Water


May 2014: Lake Erie Walleye

6.25lb. 27.5" Walleye

In May I had the privilege of fishing Lake Erie with Jim Martin and Aaron Stiger. Jim had arranged the trip a couple of weeks in advance and we patiently waited to see if the wind and waves were going to let us out on the water. Needless to say the weather and fishing was absolutely phenomenal. We trolled up a half dozen giant walleye including this 27.5" 6.25lb walleye, my new personal best.  I wasn't the only one to set a personal best though, check out what everyone else caught here: Lake Erie Kayak Trip




August 2014: Flathead Catfish

44" 46lb flathead catfish

August was a hot month for flathead catfish. Russ and I spent many nights out on the water and were graciously rewarded for our efforts. We kicked the month off with a bunch of little guys that had just finished up spawning, blog here. We didn't get much size that night but in the back of our heads we thought that maybe some of the bigger fish were still spawning. With that in mind we hit the water a few more times and found exactly what we were looking for. On the 20th of August I shattered my personal best of 33lbs with this incredible 46lb 44" flathead. I titled the blog, "The One That Didn't Get Away" . Russ had his shot at a giant too, less than a week later he landed a giant as well. Check it out here: Flathead Red Hot



September 2014: Largemouth

22" 6lb 3oz Largemouth

As mentioned before, 2013 was really my first year of consistently catching 20" bass. That trend continued well into 2014 as I racked up well over a dozen 20" bass, including 3 over 22". Although my personal best bass was broken during daylight on this particular trip: Two Trophy Largemouth in under Two Hours , I'd have to say that 90 percent of my quality fish came well after dark. Night fishing for bass was new to me, and as you can tell from this blog post I'm willing to learn just about anything if someone is willing to teach me. In early Summer I met Shawn Skidmore a night fishing guru, and he began teaching me how he went about night fishing. We hit the water and immediately had success....Night Bassin' In this blog we try to hide our fishing waters, particularly because we were the only ones on the water fishing after dark....and we liked it that way! I can say that the lake that put up the largest fish on average was one of Southern Ohio's largest lakes.....exceeding 2000 acres. The night bite was red hot nearly all year for us, in fact we had a success rate of over 80% when it came to landing a 20+" bass each trip. I cant remember the exact numbers but I do know we had 7 or 8 trips in a row before we broke our 20" streak....Night Bass Fishing SMOKIN' HOT



Conclusion

At first it may seem that I'm pretty arrogant, posting and re-posting quality fish....your may even be thinking, "I've seen it once already. Quit bragging!" Or at least that's what I think could be going through your mind. However, in writing I get a unique chance to look back and reflect on the past,  which I think is something everyone needs to do from time to time. So often things happen and we only get to experience that event once, in writing about it we get to relive the experience again and again. In reflecting on the past year I began to realize that many of my quality fish came from the help or indirect help of others. The hybrid striped bass in March wouldn't have been possible without the proper direction from Todd; in May I surely wouldn't have caught a personal best walleye on Lake Erie without the invite and guidance from Jim; the flathead both in 2013 and 2014 came from one of Russ' rivers and if I hadn't met in through kayaking in 2013 I would have probably given up on flathead fishing; and finally the 6lb 3oz bass came from a lake that I had only discovered while waiting for Shawn to get off work before one of our night fishing adventures.

Good luck to everyone in 2015!

Scouting Report: Dayton Kayak Fishing Experience

At the beginning of the year I wanted to post scouting reports for all of the stops on the

Buckeye Kayak Fishing Trail, but soon realized that I would basically be rewriting all of the information already on the internet (Ohio Game Fishing, ODNR, old Kayak Fishing Alliance blog posts, etc).  Finally, at the last trail stop, I think I can add some value to

those hitting the river this weekend.  Other than playing a major role within the BKFT, what qualifies me to write this scouting report?  I have fished the Dayton area rivers for over 30 years (roundabout 23 yrs from a kayak), so I know each of them fairly well and consider them my home waters.

To expand on the river information I was already going to post I figured a good addition would be to actually fish all four rivers within the eligible sections of the tournament and fish them within days before the tournament.  Ultimately, I was able to fish the Little Miami, Great Miami, and Mad Rivers and not making it up to the Stillwater.  Aside from the small amount of rainfall we might see later this week the rivers should be pretty similar to the conditions I recently fished.

Before I start here are the eligible waters for Saturday:

*Great Miami River - MAP

  Twin Arches Reserve, Miami County Park District north of Troy (GM 108.8 on the map) downstream to Crains Run Park (GM 62.0 on the map)

*Little Miami River - MAP

  Narrows Reserve at Indian Ripple Road Bridge to Riversedge Canoe Rental located   at 3928 US 42, Waynesville, OH PH (937) 903-6468
*Stillwater River - MAP

  The entire river from State Route 718 (SW 27.0 on map) downstream

*Mad River - MAP

  Entire river South/downstream from SR 41 (MR 27.1 on map) 

***There are lowhead dams throughout sections of the eligible fishing waters! Be sure to know what is on the section of water you are fishing!

Stillwater River
Description
The Stillwater River has the appropriate name, so if you plan to fish it you are sure to hit some long flat sections.  The upside is that in my experience the Stillwater has the largest concentration of largemouth bass than the other rivers.  This could be an advantage if you are able to get them to bite.  Certain sections will also have quite a few shallow riffles you will need to drag through.
Recent Trip
Since I wasn't able to fish the Stillwater in the last couple of weeks I will give you some information from my past experiences there.  There are some very, very large bass in the Stillwater.  I have witnessed a 5 lb. largemouth caught in the Stillwater as well as a 20" largemouth that I lost boatside this spring. The larger pools hold the bigger Largemouth and can be tempted with the typical lake lures (jigs, plastics, spinnerbaits, etc).  Don't be suprised if you land a big largemouth in some swift current at the upstream side of a big pool or right before the next riffle on the downstream side of a big pool.  The water will be slightly stained, so color options are endless.  The primary structure you should fish on the Stillwater include the numerous laydowns (ones in current are fish magnets) and above/below any and all riffles.  If you don't fish rivers often and don't have confidence in smallie fishing this might be the river for you.  Most of the areas in the northern stretches of the eligible water hold quality fish.  Catch rates seem to dwindle the closer you get to the GMR confluence.
Trip Recommendations
The Miami Conservancy District Map has shows your best put-ins/takeouts.
If you are looking to put-in/take-out at the same location there are several areas in the northern stretches that are just large pools with small riffles in between, so getting back upstream is very easy.

Little Miami River

Description
All of the eligible waters on the LMR have canoe livery traffic, but it usually dies down this late in the year and shouldn't be a problem.  As far as the fishing goes you will want to target the several lay downs and especially the ones in deeper moving water.  Also not to be overlooked is any rocky structure you can find even if it is as shallow as a foot deep and especially if it is before or after a riffle.  Since there are very few rocky areas on the LMR smallies tend to hold to them.  Good lures to use are plastics and bass jigs flipped into the laydowns, stickbaits or square bills to run through current and rocky structure, spinnerbaits, and buzzbaits. 
Recent Scouting Report
Last weekend I floated about a 3.5 mile stretch of the Little Miami River and the water level was low and the water clarity was pretty clear.  Having fished this section several times over the years I knew the water level wasn't out of the ordinary for late September. Unless we get a decent amount of rain this week you will have to drag through the occasional shallow rocky riffles. As far as how the fishing went I caught a total of about 7 bass in about 3 hours.  My top 3 were 16.5", 15", and 14".  Of the 7 fish caught all were Smallmouth except for one; the 15" Largemouth.  There are Largemouth in the LMR, but the smallies reign supreme in the eligible sections for the tournament.  

On a side note, about 6 or 7 years ago I caught my personal best smallmouth of 22" on the LMR in the eligible waters, so you may get your photo taken with a true Ohio football!
Trip Recommendations 
There are several put ins and take outs along the eligible waters. Most of them are fairly easy to access.   You can also contact one of the Canoe Liveries (Bellbrook Canoe Rental or Riversedge Canoe Rental) to arrange for a shuttle.  If you are looking to just put-in and take-out at the same location about the only spot to do so easily would be at the Indian Ripple Road bridge (The Narrows).  From that point you can easily drag your kayak upstream to a small pool or go downstream to the larger pools about a mile or so.  Getting back upstream from this point is fairly easy with easy drags through shallow riffles.

Mad River

Description 
The Mad River is not like the typical river in Ohio.  It is spring fed and has a much cooler water temp in the summer than surrounding rivers.  This cool water is why the upper sections of the Mad is one of only a few rivers or streams in Ohio that can harbor trout year round.  The river levels downstream of Buck Creek can also fluctuate due to dam releases from CJ Brown Reservoir.  These releases occur every weekend during the fall and rises the Mad a small bit, but sometimes enough to trigger a very good smallmouth bite. If you are able to catch the river on a rise under perfect weather conditions you can catch a lot of quality smallmouth and the occasional largemouth.  The eligible waters on this river can flow pretty quickly and you will need to know how to maneuver your kayak well to target some of the best spots.  If you don't have very good control of your kayak I would look at fishing another river because chances are you will float by most spots too quickly to fish it properly.  This river also flows right through the Midwest Outdoor Experience where registration and measure-in will take place.  Since a majority of this river flows fairly fast it is primarily a rocky bottom river with very clear visibility.

Recent Trip
This past Saturday I floated a section of the Mad River with Amanda Jones, Sean Stone, and Brad Lehman (with a shout out to Jeff Scrader for the shuttle!).  None of them had floated this section of the Mad before so they were both scouting and looking to land a YAK Ohio smallmouth.  With only a few days left a 19" smallmouth would earn them a top 3 YAK Ohio.  I even felt a little pressure in finding a 19" smallie for one of us, but not because of anything they said or did but because I knew the rivers in Dayton could provide one.

At the put-in I guided everyone to a certain spot I had done well at in the past.  Sean and Brad paddled up to one bank as Amanda and I paddled up to the other bank.   As soon as we got into place I landed a 15.25" smallie within 5 or 6 casts.

After I landed my smallmouth I told Amanda to slide into the spot I was fishing in and pointed to a specific current break I wanted her to cast into and with what lure. Within 5 or 6 casts she landed a 15"+ smallie!

After about another 20 minutes we drifted down stream to our first portage.  As we were dragging our kayaks around the portage I told them that the section coming up is very wide and shallow, but it held some really nice sized fish.  Most of the water was only a foot deep and held some small fish, but I told them to focus on the narrow 50 yard long ditch that was about 3' deep.  As everyone began tying on new lures Amanda had another hook up....a 15"+ smallmouth on her first cast!

Soon after, I landed a couple of little smallmouth until I hooked into a smallmouth that I was able to put the Kayak Wars stretch on (mouth open, tail pinched) and get it to 15".
After a few more small fish caught by Brad we decided to float further downstream where we picked up some smaller fish, but nothing to speak about.  I ended my day on the Mad River with a 3 fish total of  43.75".

As far as fishing tips on the Mad, natural shad color imitations work best.  Let me repeat that: natural shad color lures work best!  Leave the chartreuse, red, orange, black, blue, or any other dark colors in your tackle box.  The water is very, very clear, so scaling down a bit won't hurt either.  In my experience, I have caught some of my largest fish on smaller baits in the Mad.  If you do your best with bass jigs or plastics this isn't your river.  The recommended  lures would be any shad imitation such as square-bills, shallow running cranks and stickbaits, lead heads with twister tails, and any variety of minnow imitating top water baits.  By the way, the Mad River had the record smallmouth bass in Ohio stand for 51 years!

Trip Recommendations 
Harshman Road (right at the entrance for the Midwest Outdoor Experience) is an easy access put-in.  From there you can float down to Whitewater Warehouse on Valley Street.  This trip is just over 3 miles, but fast flowing so it only takes 3-4 hours to fish it thoroughly. If you want to float a bit further you can go down to the GMR confluence and take out over near the Kettering Fields softball diamonds.  This take-out requires dragging kayaks up a tall levy and isn't easy.  Another option is once you hit the GMR confluence is to paddle upstream past the Kettering Fields and portage upstream around Steel Dam (easy portage on left side facing upstream) and then paddle up to Triangle Park.  The water above Steel Dam is a bit deeper and you can spend several hours fishing just this sections that includes the Stillwater Confluence.

Great Miami River

Description
The Great Miami River is by far the largest river in the eligible waters and sometimes stretches several yards wide.  Some stretches (usually upstream of the lowhead dams) have a mud bottom and other stretches have a rocky bottom.  This river offers the greatest variety of structure out of the four and if you have a "go to" bait this river will offer a situation that the bait would work.  Structure includes current breaks, bridge pilings, laydowns, riffles, submerged weed beds, weed beds along the shore, etc, etc....

Most of the river is only 3-5 foot deep with an occasional deep hole (some as deep as 20' in spots, but that is not the norm) or a deeper flat water section above a low-head.  The water clarity is typically pretty stained in the summer and fall while maintains a brown algae tinge to it from the slower moving current in the low water months.

Recent Trip
After Amanda, Sean, Brad, and I hit the Mad River we decided to hit the GMR for one last attempt at landing a 19" smallie.  Once we hit the water we noticed a major difference from the super clear Mad we fished earlier in the day.  The water had its typical brown stain and was a bit lower than it normally is in the fall.  It did still have a decent flow to it, so we knew fish would still be active.  As soon as we hit the river we paddled to the swiftest moving water we could find. After about 20 minutes we only found one small bass that Brad landed in some pretty swift and shallow water.  We decided to move downstream a bit to some slower moving, but deeper water and it immediately paid off.  I hooked up on a big fish and as soon as it bit it ran straight to the surface and jumped.  Brad was fishing nearby and saw the smallmouth jump and knew it was a big fish and started paddling my way.  After I set the hook I didn't notice any weight on the other end of the line and figured I just didn't get a good hook set since the fish went straight to the surface.  Once he dived down again I tried to get a good hookup on him again and found the drag on my baitcaster was set to nearly the lightest setting from moving rods in and out of cars and kayaks all day. I immediately tightened the drag down as fast as I could and set the hook for the 3rd time and realized I still had the fish hooked up.  I got the smallie to the boat and recognized he had that nice long tail that larger river smallmouth in Ohio tend to get.  I laid him on the board and he measured out at 19.5"!

After the 19.5"er everyone perked up and casting a little faster and with more purpose. Soon after, Brad landed four more smallies all in the 12-15" range. Which would have given him around a 42" total in the short 3 hours or so we were on the GMR.

Sean feeling left out on the day and with only 30 minutes of daylight remaining finally got his chance by hooking and landing his first fish of the trip. Now he'd probably like to tell you that it was a drag ripping, acrobatic, tank of a smallmouth, that nearly threw his hook twice.....but.................

Now if you end up fishing the GMR Saturday and use a shad imitation to catch some smallies make sure you go and thank Sean for his contribution to this post!

As for what works on the GMR, pretty much anything goes because it has so much structure and so many types of structure.  Due to the brown stained water I would use the typical colors recommended for that type of clarity.  What worked for us on the GMR Saturday were chartreuese shallow diving crankbaits.  I landed the larger fish on a KVD chartreuse squarebill.

Trip Recommendations
There are several sections of the GMR that can be easily accessed.  Using the Miami Conservancy District map will show your best put-in/take-out spots.
If you are looking to put-in and take-out at the same location an easy spot would be the East River Road boat ramp.  This area has a large flat water section downstream (around a mile or more) that features a few bridge pilings, steep dropping banks, and a large feeder creek.  The section upstream has more moving water, but if willing you can paddle upstream as far as the dam (around a mile upstream).  Many sections north of Dayton on the GMR are also popular and a shuttle service can be obtained by Adventures on the Great Miami.

Sponsor Challenge
Now that I have completely ruined whatever plan you had or have you completely

confused on what to do I have one more bit of information for you!
Smallie Stix has laid out a sponsor challenge....The FIRST person who measures-in a Fish Ohio 
Smallmouth Bass (20"+), 
Largemouth Bass (21"+), 
Northern Pike (32"+), or 
Saugeye (21"+) 
will win a custom Smallie Stix fishing rod!

Here are your best waterways for landing a FISH Ohio:
Largemouth Bass: Stillwater (Best), GMR (Good)
Pike: GMR Only
Saugeye: GMR (Best), Stillwater (OK)
Smallmouth Bass (ALL OF THEM!!!!)

Well, I hope this information helps out....
Good luck and while I am working the Buckeye Kayak Fishing Trail booth during the Midwest Outdoor Experience festival I sure will be wishing I was out on the water with you!

-Neil

PS: Be sure you give yourself time to walk around and check out the Midwest Outdoor Experience on Friday or after the tournament on Saturday.  It is a pretty cool deal. Also, if you qualified for Angler of the Year the prizes are going to be EPIC including a Wilderness Systems Ride 115X!

9/24: 22" Largemouth Bass Streak Continues

If you saw the last blog we posted, Two Trophy Largemouth in 2 hours, you would have read a report in which I landed a 22" and 21.75" largemouth bass in under two hours. Since then I have hit the water a few more times and I haven't been disappointed.

Saturday 9/20

Saturday Shawn Skidmore and I went out and fished a few different lakes in hopes of upgrading our 5 fish total in Buckeye Kayak Fishing Trail's Buckeye Bass Challenge. On our first stop of the day we hit a small state lake and began by throwing buzzbaits. At this point in the week we were fishing pre-cold front conditions. The water temperatures were holding in the low 70's and fish were still really active. The air temperatures at night hadn't dropped below 50 degrees yet, but they soon would. The buzzbait was hot, well for Shawn anyway. The day began rough for me, I ended up fishing more in the trees than I did in the water, broke my favorite buzzbait, and only managed two small fish (18" and 17"). Shawn on the other hand was on fire finishing the day with a 17", 17.5", 18", 18.5", 18.75", 20.5" and 22.25"! (Most of which were caught in the morning at our first stop.) 

At about 10am the wind started to pick up and fishing the small state lake became nearly impossible. We loaded all of our gear up and drove down the road to grab a bite to eat. From there we hit our 2nd spot of the day which yielded a few small fish but nothing worth mentioning. At about 5pm we loaded our gear up and drove over to our third and final stop. We fished until dark but failed to find any decent fish. 

Monday 9/22

Monday evening I went out by myself and tried to find the giant bass that I mentioned seeing in my "Two Trophy Bass in 2 Hours" blog. I had spent much of my time thinking about this fish over the last few days, "What if I tossed a jig back at him instead of pounding the water with the buzzbait?, What if I had stopped my buzzbait while he was following it, would he have ate it on the drop?, I wonder how big the fish really is? Will he make it another season?"...etc. It was driving me mad so I decided to head out and see if I could find my "white whale" and fool him into biting. At this point we were experiencing the full force of the cold front. Nightly air temps had been dropping into the low 40's and water temperatures were fluctuating quite a bit from dawn to dusk. I knew that the fishing was going to be tough but I couldn't help but to throw a black buzzbait. I fished for 4 hours and only landed one fish.  In the 4 hours that I fished I probably had two dozen bites on the buzzbait, and each time the fish would either miss my bait completely or pull my skirt down the shank of my hook. Since I was getting the bites I needed, I continued to make minor adjustments to see if I could trick them into inhaling the bait. I added trailers, I changed colors, tried triple bladed buzzbaits (as opposed to the traditional double paddle buzzbait), I changed my speed, etc. I went home that night with my head down, after several months of excellent fishing this trip really hit me hard. 

Wednesday 9/24

Shawn, Russ, and I went back out and tried to find a few quality fish. Shawn and I got on the water around 11am and Russ met us on the water around 1pm. Shawn started the trip throwing buzzbaits and crankbaits.  I on the other hand began with a hollow body frog and a jig. My thoughts were that if the fish were going to bust topwater again, maybe a slowly walked frog might do the trick. I worked the frog around vegetation and the jig around wood. I quickly found a few small fish on the jig near submerged wood, this would give me the confidence I needed to stick with the jig. About 50 minutes into the trip I hooked up with a solid bass on wood in 8 feet of water. After a short battle I landed the bass, took measurements, and pics. 

The bass went 21", which was good enough to bump my five fish total up by .5". I continued working the jig down the lake and landed several bass in the 16-18 range. On two separate occasions I hooked solid fish on deep wood and battled fish to the surface, after a few runs both fish found enough wood to wrap me up and throw the hook. I wasn't very happy that I was losing fish, but at least I was getting the bites I needed. Shawn on the other hand was having a very rough day. He struggled to get bites at all and he ended up spending more time in trees than he did in the water. At about 1pm Russ pulled into the parking lot and began unpacking all of his gear. I worked my way over to the boat ramp and waited to tell him that it was a tough bite but we already had one good fish on the board. As he was unloading I worked my way back into a small creek arm. I found a patch of duckweed setting in a little more than a foot of water and began working it with a jig. I had always gotten bites on a frog here before, but for some reason the fish had a hard time getting the frog in their mouth. I threw the jig onto the bank and began working it back to my kayak. With each hop of the jig I could see the duck weed move at the surface. At the end of my retrieve, about 3 feet from the edge of the duckweed, I hoped the jig and I noticed a boil of water push the duckweed away from my jig. I had either gotten somethings attention or spooked something. I gave the jig a quick hop and then waited........nothing. I pulled the jig up slowly and made another long cast, making sure that my jig was going to go through the area where the duck weed had been disturbed. I hopped the jig a few times and then I noticed my line jump. I dropped my rod tip and watched the fish swim away with my jig. I reeled up the slack and set the hook, and that's when the water exploded. It was another giant bass. After a few jumps and a couple slips of drag I pulled the fish into the kayak. 

I took a picture of the fish on the board and then called Shawn to come take a quick picture for me.  By this time Russ was just paddling over to see what all of the commotion was about, it would build his confidence.....which would only be shattered as the day pressed on. We fished until dark and the bite never really turned on. Shawn went on to land 9 bass under 16" and Russ landed a 12" bass and a 10lb snapping turtle on a frog.

The fish went 22" and 5lbs 7oz. This would make the third bass for me over 5lbs in less than two weeks, and that's not counting Shawn's 5lb 13oz 22.25" bass....not too bad for a couple of guys from Ohio. I'd like to say that we have been very fortunate the last month, but to be honest its been a heck of a year. We have been blessed with quality fish after quality fish, which has me both nervous and excited. I am beginning to wonder if we have hit our peak, can we do any better in the years to come, or will this be the year we look back at and remember? I guess only time will tell! 

9/18: Two Trophy Largemouth in Under Two Hours

Toward the end of the work day Thursday Amanda called to tell me that she would be going to the mall with her mother. This could only mean one thing......I was free to fish! At the time I really didn't consider the fact that I had been on the water the previous two days, or the fact that I had been running on less than 6 hours of sleep. All I had on my mind was hitting a local lake for a few hours after work. For the last week and half Russ had been talking about his desire to fish a lake near my house. He didn't know it yet but those little conversations would push me into hitting that very lake this evening, which would then result in one epic day of bass fishing.

Before I hit the water I called Skidmore to talk about our weekend plans. We had made plans Saturday to head out and try to upgrade our five fish total in Buckeye Kayak Fishing Trail's Buckeye Bass Challenge online tournament. As of now Shawn was leading the pack with a five fish total of 105.5" and I had slipped into second place with my late season run and was sitting at 104". The other anglers weren't far off, which was really putting some pressure on us. With less than two weeks to go we had to find a few larger fish. I also told Shawn that I was on my way to hit the water while he was stuck at work....just to shake him up a bit. I had no preconceived notions of actually upgrading my smallest fish which was at 20.25", however he didn't need to know that. We got off the phone around 3pm and here's the text messages that followed that phone call:

Clearly he was worried, and to be honest I was just poking the fire.

I got on the water around 4pm and started working my way around the small state lake. I had tied on a weightless plastic, a hollow body frog, and a jig. My plans were to work the frog along the weeded banks and see if I could tempt a few bass into crushing it. If that didn't work I was going to switch to a weightless stick bait and see if I could find a few fish sitting near wood. I had the jig as a back up plan, but I honestly didn't think I would throw it. Lately the fish have been feeding on baitfish, which means most of the time they are looking up in the water column, not down on the bottom. I began by working the banks with the frog and success came quick.

A 19.5" bass fell victim to a frog that was quietly placed onto the bank and then slowly drug into the water. It wasn't an upgrade to my five fish total, but it was worth sending a quick picture text to Shawn......poking the fire again. I turned my phone on silent and went back to working the banks. Ten minutes later I hook into yet another solid fish on the frog.....17" and worth another text to Skidmore!.

I worked my way around the lake with the frog, pounding the banks and every fallen tree I could find. About halfway down the lake I tossed my frog up onto the bank and pulled it across a scum mat, when all of a sudden a fish stirred the surface scum but didn't eat my frog. I stopped for a second and then gave the frog a couple quick twitches.....nothing. Once I cleared the scum mat I reeled my frog in and made another cast onto the scum mat. This time around I worked the frog more aggressively, jerking and pulling the frog quickly across the surface. The fish couldn't resist this time! The fish exploded on the frog sending scum and water flying everywhere. It was a good fish! I reeled down to take up slack and set a solid hookset. I fought the fish for 5-10 seconds and then proceeded to pull it up and over a small branch. With a couple quick head shakes and a wave of the tail she said goodbye. I was sick to my stomach. I feel confident in saying that it was ~20" give or take a half an inch....a good fish by anyone's standards.

I continued working my way around the lake and eventually made it back around to the boat ramp. I had done my damage with the frog, landing 3 bass over 16". At this point the sun was starting to fall over the trees so I cut off my frog and tied on my lucky buzzbait.  I had just enough daylight left to work the lake one more time if I hurried. I started working the buzzbait by casting as close to the banks as I could and then ripping it off and slow rolling it back to the boat. Every now and then I'd twitch my rod and splash the surface just to give the bait a little extra noise. I was hoping that this extra splash would call in a few fish that were setting deeper in the water. After 20 minutes I was losing hope in the buzzbait.

On one particular occasion, I underhand casted my bait under an overhanging limb and proceeded to slow roll the bait back to my kayak. As soon as the buzzbait made its way past the overhanging limb something sucked the buzzbait under the surface. It wasn't your typical explosive topwater bite but this fish was moving. I couldn't even drop my rod to set the hook, as soon as the fish took the bait he dove back down to the bottom. I could tell pretty quickly that this was a good fish. The water visibility was about 3 feet and that's just about where this fish stayed. I couldn't see the fish, but with every change in direction I could see it stir the surface of the water. Eventually it surfaced beside the kayak and I landed the fish quickly. At fist glance I thought I had beaten my person best of a public water bass of 5lbs 1oz. I had tied this personal best twice last year and fell only an ounce shy one other time. Onto the scale she went......5lbs 2oz. A new personal best by 1oz. It wasn't the break out fish that I was looking for, but I would take it. It also went 21.75", which tied me with Shawn in the BKFT Bass Challenge. (Remember the text above.....I pretty much called that!)

 I broke the news to Shawn that we were going to be tied going into our fishing trip Saturday. I continued working my way down the lake and picked up a few fish here and there. Halfway up the lake I casted my buzzbait into a pile of logs and began slow rolling my bait back to the kayak. As soon as the bait hit the water I saw something wake off of the bank and head right to my buzzbait. It kept its distance at first but eventually it found itself trailing the buzzbait. It would burst forward, disturbing the surface of the water,  like it was going to hit the bait, and then it would fall back. This fish followed my bait all the way to my kayak and as I went to lower my rod and try to "figure 8" the buzzbait I caught a glimpse of the fish. It made the 5 pound fish I caught less than an hour ago look like a baby. It took one look at my kayak and took off, throwing water everywhere. I threw my buzzbait for nearly thirty minutes around the wood, and even threw my jig a time or two but the fish wasn't interested. There was nothing I could do so I began working back down the lake.

At  8pm I decided to paddle back the lake toward the boat ramp. Along the way I stopped and hit a few spots that had produced fish earlier in the day. Eventually, I paddled up to the spot where I had landed the 21.75" bass earlier and threw my buzzbait up and under the tree again. This time around the buzzbait didn't even have the chance to clear the overhanging limb before something exploded on it. I didn't get to see the explosion, but the fish felt solid. About 10 seconds into the fight the fish cleared the water, and with a few head shakes tried to free the hook. It was another good fish! The fish made a few good jumps, and then swam up to the side of my kayak. I was hoping the fish would clear 6lbs and help me break out of the 5 pound club. After a few pictures I placed her onto the scale.....5lbs 10oz....a couple tail shakes......5lbs 12 oz,.......and then it settled on 5lbs 8oz.

 Lightning had struck twice....two five pound fish, over the Fish Ohio trophy length, from the same exact spot, and less than 2 hours apart. I was pumped! I continued working around the lake until well after dark but failed to fool another fish into biting. I broke the news to Shawn and told him that I had landed yet another giant bass, which propelled me into first place. After doing some math he figured that he now needed a 22" fish to beat me, which under normal circumstances would be tough to do. However, in the last 2 weeks I have landed 6 fish over 20" in 6 trips, 2 of which were over 22". With those odds anything is possible.



------------------------------------------Update--------------------------------------
A few days later we weighed a fish in the 5.5lb range on Shawn's scale and I had a hard time believing his scale was accurate so I weighed the fish on both scales. My scale was 10-11oz short of Shawn's scale, which only happened to be a few weeks old. He went home and ran a few tests to verify his scale was accurate, which more or less meant my scale was going bad. Not that it matters much, but I will consider my personal best 6lbs 3oz....adding the 11oz difference to what I previously thought the fish weighed.