Donn

Zipstick, I am very interested in hearing your techniques and what habitat you target. I'm new to fishing rivers and have pretty much only fished for large mouth bass in MO lakes and ponds. I recently acquired a boat for duck hunting and have tried fishing from it about 6 or 7 times in the last two months and really haven't had much luck. The 6 or 7 trips I took were all on the lower Meramac from the Allenton access down to George Winter and a couple of miles past and I was mostly using LMB lures (plastic worms, swim baits, crank baits, spinners)with no luck. I am looking for any tips, pointers, or suggestions that you would be willing to provide to help me land some decent fish on the lower Meramac. With the boat I have (1860 modified V with a 90 hp Prop motor) I am limited to the deeper and bigger portion of the Meremac from Palisades / Allenton and downstream. Thanks in advance for anything you or if anyone else has to provide. Sincerely, John

Thank you both for your replies. Yes, I have run this rig up above Allenton and quickly found out that I couldn't go much further upstream because of how shallow the water got. Though this boat is a modified V, it's only 8 degrees and only drafts about 8" of water and can operate in a little less than 2 feet with the motor trimmed up, although the going is slow (about 5mph), and this is when the river was up. I also have a "river runner" attached to the skeg which has taken some hits, but I was going slow and being cautious so there was minimal prop damage. I will not be going back to the Palisades (or above) when the water is lower, plus the boat ramp there is terrible as it faces upstream making loading the boat onto the trailer very difficult when the water is moving fast. Like I said, I purchased this boat for duck hunting the bigger rivers and it does great, comfortably handling the big water on the MO and Mississippi, but the Meremac is the most convenient for me. It is definitely less stressful navigating the waters from say Castlewood on down, but I really haven't had much luck with the fishing. I have been using a wide variety of large mouth bass lures and targetting underwater structure, but have only caught one small large mouth in about 6 trips. If you have any suggestions on what type of lures to use, and what type of water, cover, etc to target, please let me know. Also, I assume when the water is high and muddy, the fishing is typically poor, it that correct? Thanks again for your help. John

Hello all, I recently purchased a boat for duck hunting over the winter and would like to get out and do some fishing and the meremac is the closest river to me (also just installed a trolling motor). I've been out on the Meremac a few times and haven't had much luck fishing. About the furthest upstream I can safely navigate my 1860 mod V w/ 90 Merc (no jet) is the Palisades, any further than that the water starts getting too skinny. I was wondering what type of fish should I target in the stretch of the Meremac from the Palisades down to say, George Winter or past? I have primarily only fished for Large Mouth Bass in lakes and ponds as well as catfish every now and then around here, but really have no experience fishing the rivers. I'm really just looking for a little action as I will be releasing anything I catch, so anything that fights is fine with me. I've seen my share of Gar and Asian Carp, but haven't seen much else besides blue gill. Do Large mouth bass inhabit the Meremac as well? I know SMB do, but I have a feeling the majority of the smallies are further upstream in the faster moving shallower water. Thanks in advance for your help and suggestions. John

Yes, there is a mud flat that runs from about 100 to 500 yards below the train bridge just down river from 141. Last weekend it was under about 2 feet of water at the shallowest point that I saw. It also got pretty shallow by Castlewood as well.

No, only threw a few casts, did more exploring than anything. Next time I go I'll concentrate more on fishing. Any of you have any tips on what type of water (fast / slow, or deep shallow) I should focus on for Large mouth? Smallies?

Well I made it out this weekend and put in just downstream of the 141 bridge in Valley Park (nice new boat ramp) and was able to go upstream quite a ways; I made it up past Castlewood before turning around. I didn't have any luck fishing, but it was nice to get out on the river. I had to be careful b/c it is definitely is shallow in spots, but did fine and my prop is still in one piece.

I have a 90hp 2 stroke with power trim on a 18' 8 degree modified V aluminum boat; I have a skeg guard on the lower unit and would be running trimmed / tilted up in the shallows, and otherwise slow and cautious as I'm used to running the bigger rivers (MO an Mississippi) in the area, however have navigated a lot of shallow water in the bigger rivers while duck/goose hunting. The trim definitely gets a workout.

I'm curious if you would be alright using a normal outboard (w/ a prop) on the Meramec around the Valley Park and / or Fenton area. Obviously you would have to be more careful with a prop as opposed to a jet, but I would think you'd be ok. Those of you with experience on the Meramec in that area, please let me know what you think. Thank you.