what size hook did you use, and how heavy is that weight?

Thanks for the great report! The wind forecast (and honey dos) kept me at home this weekend :) Man I hate the weeds (and especially the floating mats). It seems like every year the weeds seem to be getting thicker in the Columbia (and the Willamette). In NC and PA one of my favorite methods for fishing through weeds was a Carolina rig. I have not used it much out here since I figure the smallmouth are more rock oriented than weed oriented but maybe I am missing out on a good chunk of the population. The tomato was really a nice bonus catch :)

Hey Tom, I would suggest that you try Texes hooking (no weight) your Senkos, they still shimmy on the fall but you get the added benefit of them being mostly weedless and they seem to last longer. Also when you jerk it after the fall it acts a awful lot like a fluke. I still use the wacky hookup but I've been using the Texas about half the time.

Awesome video. I lived on the Columbia River in two spots, Vancouver and Wenatchee, and never took advantage of fishing it. I'll be back up in the Vancouver area in mid-September and may see if I can get a few hours out on my kayak. I really enjoy your videos, thanks for putting them together.

Bro…big tip you’re not gonna like…I have same boat btw….If you are right handed have your electronics to your right side. Think about golf swing or if you ever played baseball. You’re genuinely dominant throwing from your right to left for casting. I switched. I dealt with same process just recently, again same boat. And this if you can…land on the left side and go down the bank that side…it will help bro trust me. Cool vid btw

Cool video, good to see you and your wife living your best life! This makes me grateful to be able to do the same, and grateful to live in Virginia, where we are catching some truly big fish

I have never fished the far side. Really cool to get to see it! Nice to chauffeur your wife home!

How has the wind been up there ? I haven’t made to up to the Columbia yet this year first trip is this weekend

Nice ones! Get your wife a ketch board and sign her up 😊! Good to see the two of you enjoying a day on the water together, that is awesome 👏

Great seeing you out there! One of these days we will have to meet up for a full day of fishing. Glad you got some nice ones. That was an incredible day on the water!

Well done. Nice ride! Thanks.

I’ve wanted to try fishing the Columbia for bass but am not super familiar with the area - launches. Is there one launch in particular you fish out of more than others? I have a boat and fishing kayak so any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks for making the videos

Nice job! Sorry some of your fish weren't allowed, that's a bummer. I loved how you said the swim bait was due :) I get that same feeling about the rods and lures I bring. Why is it wrong to have your hand over their eye when you measure them? I am happy to just fish and take video without all the extra rules :) It looks hard to take the picture with your phone. Folks that play the harmonica and guitar at the same time have a wire bracket that holds the harmonica hands free. I wonder if you could do that with a phone so you could use both hands on the fish and tap the picture with your chin, nose or tongue..

Great video, excellent fishing! Cool to see the difference between how you fished it and how I did, and you caught way more than I did 😊. Thanks for sharing! You are right, it is way harder than it looks to get everything to come together, and the mental game while you are out there is hard too. Great challenge and great fun! Are you fishing more KFNW events this year? Hope to see you on the water, tight lines!

Awesome job my man! Love the chartreuse head on the Ned. All my Ned jig heads are that color!

Looks like the snake river

We needed that weather on Sunday!! Great to meet you at the weigh-in, thanks for sharing a few minutes there to swap stories! It was a great experience for me even if the fishing was a little tough. I appreciate the videos, thanks for helping me improve my fishing. Tight lines!

I was going to try going out of Plymouth park. Is that a ok spot for kayaks? Not to much wind the day im going hopefully..

Looks like it was a fun day. I hope you had good luck in your tournament. Fishing was awesome in Stevenson on Sunday, hope it was great out there too.

This is one of my home lakes. sometimes it can tough. couple tips for next time. work the drop shot slower and try a watermelon red flake bait. My secret bait there is a 4in paddletail, I use it as a search bait and sometimes it is the only bait I need.PB&J Football head jig and a glide bait for the big bites

Good seeing you out there! We also had a great day! Nothing over 3.5 though.

I had such a weak trip on Friday. Way to go on having another great trip! Current looked pretty stiff out there same as Friday. Was there a lot of junk in the water? The junk was pretty annoying on Friday.

It was awesome fishing with you! Rare day with no/light wind in the Gorge and great fishing.

Also fishing it orange side up. The hook point is right there to snag everthing

How does one pee when they're on one of these

Glad to see you had a good day out there. I really wanted to go this weekend but I just did not feel good enough. I am so bummed I am missing the good fishing but it is great that you bring us along with you!

Great fishing, Tom! I went out on Memorial Day above McNary and caught one. Paddled for 5.5 miles scouting. Your comment about the NK 180 and not wanting to pedal made me 😂. Glad you have it, hopefully I will add one to mine someday! Thanks for sharing, you were on fire in this one!

Have you ever fished from the shore at lacamas?

What part of the lake were you on? One time I was right over by the lodge and had a school of huge carp swim by my kayak, it was pretty cool.

Water seems a bit lower than usual this time of year! Great fishing man!

Have you tried a Whopper Plopper or a Choppo out there? I was thinking about giving them a try. I just moved up here, Lacamas is incredibly close….too close not to throw a line in!

I felt your pain deep in my soul when you missed those first few opportunities! So awesome that you were able to come back with your best fish of the season! Way to keep fishing hard!

Was that Garret you pointed out? Yay Idaho ! LOL

I'm not being mean or negative but maybe move your mic so that it's not picking up the breathing sounds

It’s also also a good shade when you’re sailing towards the Sun

Tried to come see you guys at the boat launch around 3 pm but noone was around.

Wow! Was there only 1 launch spot allowed?

When temps drop it’s the hardest

Super cool you made it all the way up here man. Definitely tough bite but was fun catching up!! Hopefully bite will be better for the next one!

Hey man, it was a pretty tough day, but at least you didn't skunk out.

I was curious since that is pretty far North. Water looked beautiful, bummer that there weren't more biters.

Looks like it was a pretty tough day. You definitely put in the work though. What was the water temp?

Wish they would put in a kayak launch at Rock Cove. Great video.

Where did you launch if you don’t mind ? If not I understand, great video 👍

Can watch you catching smallies all day man!! Nothing better.

Man it was so calm there. I was fighting a gale on Saturday. Those conditions were incredible and you got a big one while you all were doubled up! Looks like it was a pretty perfect day.

What was in that fishes mouth ??

That is a nice set up! I wanted to get a trailer like that but we have a really steep driveway so I remain a throw it in the bed of the truck kind of guy.

It seems to work out really well

Nice! Keeping it simple really makes it versatile. I have close to the same build with a 5x10 Big Tex. Makes it easy to launch compared to any other methods of transporting.