MattTucker

Trigg, it was good to see you man. After talking with a few guys, I think we might try and make this a week long trip next year (or at least a few extra days for fishing). Not 100% sure I can swing it, but that is the goal heading in to 2015. The people are just too good not to hang around there any longer....besides, now I am just turning around and driving back down for this weekend. It was a helluva time. Will let you know how the night floats go this weekend, water dependent.

Thanks man. We enjoyed the heck out of cooking it. Not sure if we met or not throughout the day, but glad you enjoyed it. It was the first time I had cooked for that many people, and was pleased with it. --Matt Tucker

I hope everyone had a chance to attend our inaugural meeting in April. In case you missed it, we had great turn out, with over 80 members there over the course of the evening. Greg Hatten did an excellent job with his stories of pacific northwest steelhead and wooden drift boat conquests. It was one of the best fishing programs that I have seen to date, and he definitely seemed to hold the interest of all in attendance. We also had a great turn out for the drift boat rodeo with six drift boats on display for members to check out, and will be bringing this back to a future meeting. Because our April meeting was rather busy, it unfortunately left very little time for interacting with other members. So for our June meeting, we have decided to change the format and break from the standard announcements, presentation, questions style of meeting and go with a more social format. This will hopefully give members a chance to meet the Chapter officers as well as other members. So we are encouraging members to come out and meet other members while Motiv's GeoFish plays in the background. If you are a fly tyer, be sure to bring your vise and some material to become a bar fly at Duffy's and show off your skills. This will be a great opportunity to get a chance to talk to chapter offices as well meet other members. In August we are excited to welcome MDC Fisheries Biologist Jen Girondo to our chapter meeting, as she will give us a little insight into the state of the Meramec River including where it has been, where it is now, and where she is hoping to take it. Several of your chapter officers and I have had the opportunity to meet with Jen and talk about the state of the river a month ago, so this should prove to be a really good chance to learn more about this trout fishery. After reviewing locations for meetings and the success of the first meeting, we have decided to call Mike Duffy's Pub & Grill in Kirkwood home for Gateway TU meeting. The meeting room and its audio visual capabilities are well suited for our meetings, and the bar service was very well received. We will also be bringing back the food we provided at the meeting (pizza, salad, soda and tea) with one minor change. We will now be charging $10 at the registration table to cover the cost of the food. Beer and alcohol service will still be on your own, but the food was a great success and we want to ensure that we continue this while covering the cost. So be sure to come hungry, thirsty, and ready to have a good time. Lastly, we are looking for volunteers to become involved with various committees, if becoming involved in GTU interests you, please be sure to introduce yourself to an officer at the next meeting. I look forward to seeing you at Mike Duffy's in Kirkwood next Wednesday (2013-06-05) and at a future Gateway TU meeting or event. Sincerely, Matt Tucker President Gateway Chapter of Trout Unlimited ========================================================== Gateway Chapter of Trout Unlimited Upcoming Events Social Gathering Meet & Greet June 5, 2013 (6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.) Mike Duffy's Pub & Grill (Kirkwood, MO) Join Gateway Trout Unlimited for its second chapter meeting. After the huge turn-out for the first meeting in April, we thought it would be appropriate to have a more social "meet & greet" style meeting for members to meet other members and get a chance to visit with club officers and what not. So bring your vice and a bag of tying stuff to tie a few flies and come meet other members. We will also be showing a video or two on the various TV's throughout the room as the night goes on as well. The pizza / soda was a success that we will be bringing it back, and charging $10 at the door to cover the cost. So don't miss this opportunity to come enjoy some drinks and laughs with other Gateway TU members...the more the merrier. Click here for more details on this event. The State of the Meramec August 7, 2013 (6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.) Mike Duffy's Pub & Grill (Kirkwood, MO) Join Gateway Trout Unlimited as we welcome Fisheries Biologist Jen Girondo to our August meeting to discuss the state of the Meramec River trout fishery. Jen will tell us where the river has been, where it is now, and where she hopes to take it under her fisheries management. This is a great opportunity to come meet one of the individuals responsible for managing our fisheries, so don't miss it. Click here for more details on this event. ========================================================== Special Introductory Rate for New Members Trout Unlimited has a membership drive initiative that offers new members an introductory membership rate of $17.50, of which $15 will be rebated back to the Gateway Chapter of Trout Unlimited (as long as you choose Chapter #230 - Gateway Chapter in the chapter designation at sign-up). This is a great way for new members to save some money and join an exciting new organization for St. Louis-area fly anglers. To take advantage of this special offer, new members must join online via TU national's website. Click here to take advantage of this special membership rate. ==========================================================

RockCrew.

Arrange your shuttle through Dally's Ozark Fly Fisher Shop via Bill Thorne if on the White River and through Two Rivers Fly Shop in Norfork (via Dominic) if you are on the Norfork. --tucker

A big thank you to all the Gateway TU members that are also a member of OzarkAnglers that came out for our first meeting last night. We had over 60 people in attendance and the meeting was a huge success. Watch for more details to develop about our June 4 meeting on the interweb in the coming weeks. --Matt Tucker

I hope those in St. Louis had a chance to come out to the Fly Fishing Film Tour event at the Tivoli Theater last Tuesday night (03/26/2013). The event was a great success with over 300 fly fishermen in attendance. The movies were good, as has become customary, and plenty of giveaways were handed out. It was neat to see The Loop bustling with a bunch of anglers, I walked in to Blueberry Hill several hours before the show and there were tables of anglers scattered about enjoying the food and drink. The Fly Fishing Film Tour event was also a coming out party for your Gateway TU chapter. We were able to set up a table front and center in the hallway leading to the theater, thanks in part because TU is a large national sponsor of the event. We handed out flyers and GTU stickers to attendees as they came down the hallway in an effort to spread the word about our chapter. I was also given a brief moment to speak at intermission and let everyone know about the chapter and our upcoming events, listed below. In fact, several of your GTU board members were so busy talking about our new chapter that several of us never left the table and missed out on many of the films. If you did miss the film tour, the Mid-Mo Chapter of Trout Unlimited along with Capital City Fly Fishers is bringing the film tour to Columbia on April 6, you can check it out there (click here for more information). I also wanted to remind the OzarkAnglers Forum members in St. Louis that of our first chapter event is coming up this week. Information about this meeting is listed below, and if you are a member of Gateway TU you should have received a reminder email from me this morning about the meeting. If you did not receive an email, it means one of three things: the email is in your spam folder, Trout Unlimited has the wrong email address for you, or you are not a member of Gateway TU (you can still take advantage of the $17.50 introductory rate for joining TU by signing up via this link and selecting "Chapter 230" at time of sign up). It is definitely a meeting you do not want to miss. I look forward to seeing some of you at Mike Duffy's in Kirkwood this Wednesday or at a future Gateway TU meeting. Sincerely, Matt Tucker President Gateway Chapter of Trout Unlimited Gateway TU Upcoming Events: Inaugural Meeting Pre-Party & Drift Boat Rodeo Wednesday, April 3, 2013 @ 5:00pm to 6:30pm (Mike Duffy's Pub & Grill in Kirkwood ) In honor of the inaugural chapter meeting of the Gateway Chapter of Trout Unlimited, we thought what better way to celebrate than to have a drift boat rodeo. So spray out the boats, pack the yeti full of beer (for the after party), hook up to your boat to your rig and tote it down to Kirkwood, in what is sure to be the largest display of drift boats ever to assemble in St. Louis (no…seriously) before the membership meeting and enjoy some drinks and laughs with other Gateway TU members. The more the merrier. Membership Meeting -- Oregon Driftboats & Steelhead with Greg Hatten Wednesday, April 3, 2013 @ 6:30pm to 8:00pm (Mike Duffy's Pub & Grill in Kirkwood) Join us as Oregon fly fishing guide Greg Hatten discusses wood boats, steelhead, Trout Unlimited, big fish on the fly, and life in general. Greg is a Missouri native that lives and guides for steelhead in Oregon during the season and resides in Missouri during the off-season. Greg will have his wooden drift boat on display for you to check out along with some of his other must-have steelhead gear.

Tucker is out. I have a work "awards" dinner I have to attend on 4/13.

Speaking of that...did i leave a cape down there during the filming of the harlem shake video? Just kidding. I don't wear a cape....because capes are for pimps.

I will play along. 1. Because the RRTA of the river has proven to be a successful fishery in years past (both in terms of number of fish and size of fish), we need to understand what has changed and if the river can support a successful trout fishery in the future (I believe it can, if it can't then cut losses and move resources to another fishery). To assume that it is simply "nature at work", assumes that there have been no other changes to the fishery from a management approach. 2. It is the closest potential trout fishery to the state's largest population center and by ensuring that this is a healthy and viable trout fishery, in theory it would help to reduce the pressure on other streams such as the Current and others; thereby perhaps benefiting fish populations in those streams. 3. The MDC has designated the section between Hwy 8 and Scotts Ford as trout water, in doing so they determined that there would be trout in that section of river (i guess, technically the opening of Meramec Springs determined that, but I digress) and that this section would be a managed trout fishery and it is important to "us guys" to maximize this fishery. 4. I like to fish for trout. --Matt Tucker

As some of you may know, myself and several others have been working hard over the past 6 months to form a Trout Unlimited chapter in St. Louis. What has been the topic of many conversations over several beers over the years has finally come into creation. On March 5, 2013, the Gateway Chapter of Trout Unlimited was been officially chartered through Trout Unlimited. We are still working through the semantics of getting our not-for-profit status set up and all that it entails, but it is forthcoming. All that being said, I wanted to post about a couple of exciting things happening for people in the St. Louis metro area: Introductory Rate for TU Members https://www.tumembership.org/member/intro Trout Unlimited has an initiative were it is offering new members and introductory price of $17.50, of which $15.00 will be rebated back to Gateway Chapter of Trout Unlimited (so long as you choose Chapter # 230 - Gateway Chapter, in the chapter designation at sign-up). This is a great way for new members to save some money and join and exciting new organization for St. Louis area fly anglers. Gateway TU on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/GatewayTU Gateway TU is on the book of face. It offers us the best opportunity to spread the word about any changes with the chapter on upcoming events and what not while we are designing the chapter website (www.gatewaytu.org). So click on the link above, and give it a "like". 2013 Fly Fishing Film Tour Tuesday, March 26, 2013 @ The Tivoli Theatre In case you don't already have your tickets, head out to FeatherCraft or Hargroves and pick up your tickets to the fly fishing film tour event that is going to be held on 03/26/2013 at the Tivoli Theater Gateway TU will have a booth at this event and will be handing out some swag until it runs out. So come hang out with us. You can find more details out on the facebook event page (https://www.facebook.com/events/137570546412584/ ) Inaugural Meeting Pre-Party & Drift Boat Rodeo Wednesday, April 3, 2013 @ 5:00pm to 6:30pm (Mike Duffy's Pub & Grill in Kirkwood ) In honor of the inaugural chapter meeting of the Gateway Chapter of Trout Unlimited, we thought what better way to celebrate than to have a drift boat rodeo. So spray out the boats, pack the yeti full of beer (for the after party), hook up to your boat to your rig and tote it down to Kirkwood, in what is sure to be the largest display of drift boats ever to assemble in St. Louis (no…seriously) before the membership meeting and enjoy some drinks and laughs with other Gateway TU members. The more the merrier. Membership Meeting -- Oregon Driftboats & Steelhead with Greg Hatten Wednesday, April 3, 2013 @ 6:30pm to 8:00pm (Mike Duffy's Pub & Grill in Kirkwood) Join us as Oregon fly fishing guide Greg Hatten discusses wood boats, steelhead, Trout Unlimited, big fish on the fly, and life in general. Greg is a Missouri native that lives and guides for steelhead in Oregon during the season and resides in Missouri during the off-season. Greg will have his wooden drift boat on display for you to check out along with some of his other must-have steelhead gear. Chapter Website -- GatewayTU.org Coming soon In the coming weeks we will be unveiling a chapter website with appropriate contact information, schedule of events, projects, etc. So be sure to check it out from time to time. We hope to see you at one of the events and welcome any feedback or thoughts. Thanks, Matt Tucker Chapter President Gateway Chapter of Trout Unlimited The Ozark Chronicles www.OzarkChronicles.com

After having a couple of phone conversation and drinks with Ted regarding the river, I tend to agree that the river (from a trout fishing standpoint) is in need of help. The answer is somewhat in the middle of habitat improvement (the bottom structure of the river means that it changes with every flood, with very little large rock structure, and continuously eroding mud banks), regulation change (increased length limit, C&R, some combination of the two), and management change (change stocking methods, locations, and times). Having just floated the river, I can see the potential there. I have been meaning to share this data with everyone, as I have traded several emails with Jen Girondo, the MDC Fisheries Biologist in charge of managing the Red Ribbon Trout Area of the Meramec River with the last month or so, and she has been every helpful in helping me to better understand this underutilized and trout fishery. Brown Trout Survey Results for RRTA of Meramec River Per Jen Girondo, MDC Fisheries Biologist Year 2011 = 11% of Fish ≥ 15" / Fish Per Mile is 11 (Total species population estimated) Year 2009 = 5% of Fish ≥ 15" / Fish Per Mile is 129 (Total species population estimated) Year 2004 = 9% of Fish ≥ 15" / Fish Per Mile is 205 (Total species population estimated) Year 2001 = 15% of Fish ≥ 15" / Fish Per Mile is 361 (Total species population estimated) Year 1997 = 4% of Fish ≥ 15" / Fish Per Mile is 476 (Total species population estimated) Year 1996 = 12% of Fish ≥ 15" / Fish Per Mile is 348 (Total species population estimated) Year 1992 = 11% of Fish ≥ 15" / Fish Per Mile is 533 (Total species population estimated) Rainbow Trout Survey Results for RRTA of Meramec River Per Jen Girondo, MDC Fisheries Biologist Year 2011 = 5% of Fish ≥ 15" / Fish Per Mile is 150 (Total species population estimated) Year 2009 = 5% of Fish ≥ 15" / Fish Per Mile is 75 (Total species population estimated) Year 2004 = 14% of Fish ≥ 15" / Fish Per Mile is 195 (Total species population estimated) Year 2001 = 5% of Fish ≥ 15" / Fish Per Mile is 68 (Total species population estimated) Year 1997 = 2% of Fish ≥ 15" / Fish Per Mile is 229 (Total species population estimated) Year 1996 = 2% of Fish ≥ 15" / Fish Per Mile is 139 (Total species population estimated) Year 1992 = 6% of Fish ≥ 15" / Fish Per Mile is 80 (Total species population estimated) Jen states that to sum it up, right now we’re at a low point in the fishery with a decent number of rainbows but very few brown trout. We hope to be able to bolster brown trout numbers through regular stocking in the next couple years, but we need the weather to cooperate for us to improve survival of the stocked fish. Jen goes on in an email to say that there are several factors that contribute to brown trout stocking survival, such as moderate water level fluctuations & relatively long stocker length; the last 5+ years have seen less than ideal conditions for these 2 things, and the result can be seen in the drastic population estimate decline. Jen also provided some questions and answers about the fishery she provided for a Missouri Game & Fish article recently. Can you discuss the stocking conducted each spring. It is my understanding only Browns are stocked. How many? How was that number achieved? What is the average size of the stocked fish? Only brown trout are stocked in the Red Ribbon section of the Meramec. They are stocked once a year in the spring at several locations throughout the Red Ribbon section. Around 5800 brown trout are stocked annually, and lengths have averaged around 9 inches. Several factors determine exactly how many and how long the stocked fish are each year, including hatchery production capabilities and the previous year’s weather and flow conditions. The total number of fish stocked is derived from estimates of the maximum amount of fish this area maintains through time, the amount of harvest, and the amount of fish that survives from year to year. I’ve had many anglers tell me they catch more rainbows than browns, Are these fish all escapees or is there evidence of spawning in the smaller tributaries Generally, rainbows are easier to catch than browns, so the anglers’ observations do not surprise me. Rainbows are not actively stocked in the Red Ribbon section, and we have seen limited evidence of natural rainbow & brown trout reproduction in the Red Ribbon section. Most of the rainbows in this section are believed to be from the Maramec trout park. Some years we see almost equal numbers of browns and rainbows in our surveys, while others years are dominated by brown trout with very few rainbows. Trout are very mobile fish, and when we have high flow events we tend to see a lot of movement in both species (into & out of the park, up tributaries, up- & down-stream in the Meramec itself). Where does the trout management area begin? and end? The special regulations of the Red Ribbon area (artificial lures & flies only – no soft plastics; creel limit of 2 trout with a minimum 15” length) begin at the Hwy 8 bridge upstream of Maramec Spring and continue to Scott’s Ford. What is the primary forage of the trout? Depends on the size of fish and how long they have been out of the hatchery… generally invertebrates (crayfish, mayflies, etc.), although larger individuals are more piscivorous, feeding on small fish. What is the typical structure of the upper Meramec? I’m assuming you’re asking about physical, in-stream structure. The upper Meramec has some large boulder fields & bluff pools; lots of downed timber; some vegetation patches; few backwaters; pools may be deep or shallow, some with lots of gravel, others with 10’+ depths; riffles may be wide & ankle deep to fast & almost unwadeable; substrate varies from sand/gravel to bedrock/boulder fields. Stream flow varies throughout the year, and therefore, water clarity does as well, typically the water is relatively clear, but after rain events it can be very cloudy. How does the water level affect the trout? There are several ways water level could affect trout. High water levels allow trout to move into and out of areas; depending where you are that could either increase or decrease the number of trout available to you, or change the dominate species in an area. Low “base” flows tend to concentrate trout in areas with good instream habitat. Changes in water levels are sometimes associated with changes in water temperature, which is a big factor in trout survival. Low water levels in the summer can lead to increased water temperatures and fewer trout. What is the water temperature in the river at the spring and at the end, ( I know this might not be available ) How much water feed into the river from the spring? Maramec Spring has an average temperature around 57 degrees F year-round. The lower end of the Red Ribbon section at Scott’s Ford varies throughout the year – as low as 40 degrees F in the winter to sometimes at or above 75 degrees in the hottest part of the summer. The spring discharges around 100 million gallons of water a day, and the discharge increases with heavy rainfall. As you can see, the river isn't holding near the fish populations of years past. --Matt Tucker

i get around.

It was a good time.....what is amazing is how long Chris held that chicken....

Yeah, it was us (only drift boat out on Saturday). Out of curiosity, did you see the guy fishing inside the park (above the falls)? I thought the park was closed, but it was too loud to say something over the river and I didn't feel like rowing over to shore. You should have said hello, i would have tossed you a beer.