The 3rd day I launched at the Pigeon River Mouth and paddled up to a backwater Channel were Smallmouth and Largemouth have taken small poppers and subtle floater divers for the previous 2 years.
The second fish was a big smallmouth that took a 1/0 White Dive banger hard. I just about had her beat and was pulling straight up while she was boring straight down in the weeds right under the kayak. The rod was a hybrid cobbled together from the butt of a nice 8 Weight St. Croix with a random tip half that came from a shorter 8' 6" six weight rod. It cast well and had handled a lot of good fish.
I switched the reel with the floating line onto the second rod I had and continued fishing and got a couple more Smallmouth one being almost as big .
Mixed in with the Small Mouth were 3 largemouth, one being blind in one eye and rather skinny.
