12/08/2025
Yesterday's Adventure into the frozen tundra of Northern Missouri was one to remember! π―
Greeted with temps in the mid 20's and a 6" blanket of snow covering the ground, we knew we had our work cut out for us.
The only REAL serious goal we had was to get Alex her 1st Walleye since 2023.
Secondary goal was to bring home some walleye fillets π (Only 1 of these goals were achieved) π
We got into some nice fish pretty much instantly!
Catching several stocky Largemouth Bass, one being Alex's new Personal BEST at 3lbs!
A handful of White Bass and Drum were plucked from the river throughout the day including Alex's new PB White! πͺ
The Walleye are on a different pattern than they were a few weeks ago prior to the big snow, so needless to say we didn't bring any home. π€·ββοΈ
However they didn't totally evade us lol, Alex caught 1 keeper, which was released after a short stay on our stringer...
The real excitement came from 2 gentle giant sucker fish! After a tense battle lasting several minutes, Alex's Lifer Black Buffalo was sliming up our net! π€
Shoutout to Tyler Goodale Stephen Wilkie and Joshua Knuth for helping us identify it! π
Shortly after, Alex landed another battle tested Buffalo! This one we initially thought may be a Quillback (mostly due to the silver/black eyes) but is likely a Smallmouth Buffalo nearing expiration..
After dark the fish seemed to have mostly disappeared, but I somehow managed to foul hook my 4th ever Paddlefish! π³ A cute little thing with a completely missing rostrum (Bill)!
This trip didn't go as planned nor did it satisfy our itch for marble eyed gravel lizards, but you won't hear us complaining! π Thats the beauty of true Multi-Species minded angling, you just never know what kinda critters you're playing tug-o-war with!
With over 30 fish caught, 9 total species, multiple new PB's, and a species we've never seen before, we'd say this was a Bassquatch certified adventure! π
I'm extremely proud of the will and determination that Alex showed, teaching yourself how to bottom bounce small Swimbaits in a big river is a very frustrating and expensive process! (IYKYK)
99.9% of our bites came from dragging 2.8" Swimbaits, no particular color stood out but the fish definitely responded well to the Strike Force Fishing attractants we applied!