Smalliebigs

What he said.........totally agree okie

thanks for the tip Andy!!!! I couldn't help myself and just had four shipped two to my office and two over to the house so the little old lady doesn't get too pissed

darn Gavin!!!!!! someone has been fishing and exprimenting with the trophy Browns on the upper Current...... we know which one actually works and they don't seem to be for sale.....lol

dude, sweet link!!!!! thanks for sharing, I have never seen that one...very cool

do you have this listed on craigslist??? do you have any pic??? has the Merc needed a rebuild??? i'm interested somewhat....just leary of a used river jet but, that's my problem.

WTF.......you rip all of the alleged hindsight and then generalize that the Ozarks are full of Christian compassion????? interesting sounds about right for someone who has a Kierkegaard quote in their profile

darn Joe!!!!! wish I would have been there but, it was my daughters third birthday. The MDC means well but, falls short when it comes to just inacting anything fast or in a timely fashion but, I don't give them a pass on this. They have been doing studies about how they travel, who fishes for them and when, blah,blah, blah. The MDC is more concerned that fishing will decrease and the industry as a whole will suffer if they (the MDC) were to make it to where very few smallmouth can be harvested legally. They have given me lame butt excuses forever about how if they were to allow a watershed to be catch and release the bass would become over populated?????? which is the biggest pile of BS I have ever heard. I even heard some assclown even stood up and brought the longtime Missouri tradition of gigging and it doesn't effect bass populations??? I repect the MDC but, they have no clue of the tens of thousands of dollars someone like me who is hopelessly addicted to river fishing spends on fishing, they only consider the amaturehour people who visit the river once or twice a year and camp and have to be able to catch and keep a fish that is 12 inches, while they puke and piss in the river and go back to their campsite and puke on the side of their tent while the wife blares music all night at 97 decibles.That is a tradition that must be preserved for if not the fishing industry in Missouri will fall flat on it's face. I just don't think the MDC has their finger on the pulse of some issues or they choose to ignore in a nice way or push it to the back burner until they can lobby for more funds for certain things. The gall and the ignorance of the MDC people I talked to at the Franklin county office to say that gigging isn't affecting bass populations shows how queer their motivations are on certain things......oh well....... I have been fishing seriously for smallies for about 25 years and I'm 43......I don't expect any new regulations on Smallmouth bass fishing before I die at least something greater than a 12 inch length limit.....it's just reality

NICE smallies Blazer.....I kinda forgot Brown/Orange Mike.....one of the best all time color combos

Mike, Here are the hair jigs I tie and have been very sucessful with on the upper Meramec for smallies and trout. first one: 1/8 arkie head tied with all Buck hair in Olive....kinda stole the idea from Ron Kruger but, it's been around for awhile.The hollow hairs provide a good slow drop rate and they can hold scent very well if you aren't fish in the restricted area. I catch smallies on these all over the place but, it fits the criteria for the restricted zone. second: you said it Mike and here it is I tie them on a Olive powder coated football head from a cool online tackle shop in 1/8 and 1/4 ounce. I use their Rabbit hair in Olive and this jig is very good for smallies especially in the winter. When I'm not in the restricted zone I put a Zoom salty mini chunk in Green/Pumkin on it and it is DEADLY. Third: is the same as the jig above.....Rabbit hair on a football head but tied with a chestnut brown..... also DEADLY fourth: these are just your basic hair swim jigs as I call them.....tied with Buck and Maribou.One is with Brown Buck with a touch of Black Maribou and the other is Olive Buck with Black Maribou..... both with a couple variations of a swim head. These are more effective when the smallies are actually a little more active in the winter and hitting minnows. fifth: is a jig I stole off of some dude on the internet.......it is tied with what some call a slider or dragger head with just a touch of Olive buck......it seems like the less hair you use on this one the more effective they are????? but that"s just my opinon.It's not much of a jig but it works really good for some reason, just drag it ever so slow on the bottom. Mike I also tie your typical round head Maribou jigs in all kinds of colors as those seem to be just deadly on trout.....these hair jigs above just seem to work for smallies and can be used in the restricted zone on the upper Meramec but, the football jigs work everywhere for smallies especially if you tip it with the specific trailer I mentioned above. Good luck and I hope this gives you a few ideas and lets go fishing brother!!!!!!!

Mike, call me i have all your ansewers....lol your post crack me buddy......lets go fishing

Haris, They (St.Louis County) used to really maintain the LoneElk lake well and it held tons of very large bass. It used to be a select number of days out of the year it could be fished and you were drawn a number to fish it and paid but, the fishing in the 80's and early 90's was crazy there. Since then the County has come on hard times the lake has had a few problems from what i have heard. The level of the lake has dropped a good 4 to 5 feet and the bass population has gone down bigtime......at least thats what my friend told me that fished it the last couple of years.....he is a St.Louis County ranger and has perks as I don't think fishing is even allowed anymore???? not sure. Haris let me say I love it when you post on here because it always from a location somewhere right by my house and always the most homest reports I read on here.....tough fishing conditions most times to say the least but, if you can catch fish at all on the lower Meramec, believe me when I say this you would be alot more sucessful somewhere out in the sticks a little further with a little less pressure and conditions that are more ideal.....it is what it is. I personally find the lower Meramec to be one the most interesting places and challenging to fish in Missouri. You were inquiring about the LoneElk or Chubb side as I call it for the trail that hugs the river on that side. I would ride my mountain bike in and stash it somewhere out of site and fish sections. You are correct the banks directly across from Castlwood are a bit steep but, when you make your way upstream it flatens out a bit. The weather conditions of the past year or so with soo little rain have made it to where the actual river bank is so far down in the channel, that pretty much everything is accessible and this allows you to scout structure and the channel itself for when the water comes back to a normal level you will have an idea of some very good locales. Haris I caught some really nice bass from castlewood to timesbeach, some of the looks I would get were precious from some of the dudes mountain bike riding back on Cubb trail as I would peddle by with two rods and a back pack. try chubb trail or Harris try this spot @ Sherman Beach go Big Bend west to New Ballwin Rd. make a left and go down the hill and make a left on Kiefer Creek rd..Go west to St.Paul Rd. and go left and take St.Paul Rd. until it actualy ends at a railroad crossing.......right before this make a right on to the drive for a parking lot. This the parking lot is for Sherman Beach County park......not many know how to get back in there but, you can access the river by foot there pretty easy and the fishing there has always been very good to me for a variety of species.Haris Please keep posting reports I like them and unfortunately for me live vicariously thru the reports on here when I am not on the water which is more often than not with my home life right now.I am trying a couple of screen shot from google earth to help show where I am talking about. One of just The Sherman Beach hole and another of all three good spot in that area.

Good for you Justin......there are some good spots above Casltewood.....I used to ride my moutain bike in from Chub Trail and start on the Lone Elk side with two rods and a back pack.....work my way upstream. The river has a divided spot above Castlewood, I'm sure you found it I used catch some bass there and Walleye.....from there work your way up to Sherman bridge....good water there and the best spot of all IMO on that strech of the river is just above Sherman right at the small railroad in Wildwood. There is a nice turn in the river there after a long slow hole.......the river divides again there with some nice chunck rock and big boulders that have fallen into the river......there is really good current there.....you will know when you get there....anyway that is where I have caught most of my lower Meramec smallies of any size. Time and exploration will help.....good luck

ttbb

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Justin, there are smallies around castlewood but, as Jim said they are not numerous. I kinda specialize on the lower meramec if you ever want a guided tour message me........I'll take you, I have extra yaks and solo canoes if you need. It's a little industrial and is the tail end of all the abuse that occurs on that river but, there are fish there, they just feed at a very precise schedule. If you are'nt there when the bell rings you will think the river is void of life. It can be tough to fish and you have to make lemonade out of lemons sometimes

LOL!!!1 I feel the same way.....I always have them ship to my office vs home as to not destroy my marriage but, one time half the crap i ordered was on back order and they somehow shipped it to our home........what a mess

Wayne, I completely agree with you on this one....those TR smallies are White River smallies. When they get big on TR they are soo long, if one was to fill out and become a complete pig......wow what a beast it will be. Was your son's smallie long??? these fish are some of the longest smallies I have ever seen......there is some crazy potential but the growth rate might be a bit longer than we are anticipating??? I just love the whole White River chain of lakes, even though to some it destroyed the best river in the Ozarks....I still love them all. I have never had the skill required to get a smallie bigger than about 4.5 to the boat down a TR but, people in my boat have brought to hand some fish that are just crazy long and weigh only 5 to 6 and i just want to cry.......some day.

hey Mitch......i hope you and yours had a good Chistmas??? it's time to go fishing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! my vote is for Table Rock but, I'm like Mitch, I thought we would have seen it by now??? The smallie population and spot population has gone up, there is no doubting that, and there is nowhere else in Missouri to go and catch 4 lb Smallmouth's like you can at Table Rock with regularity. 5's and 6's are beeing caught just not advertised as the recreational boating has gone thru the roof down there in recent years and has the fisherman on the paranoid state of mind and I don't blame them. here is a legit 6lb + that was caught last year by my friends wife and is one of the longest smallies I have ever seen.....I had to white her face out as he would not want her to be on this forum

you got it!!!!! I'm a stupid butt but that fire scared the dung out of me. Your list is killer and I am now very bummed at a couple of motors I have sold in the past are on your list........hind sight is 20/20. I still need a small jet rig 16/52 with a 60/40 tiller.......Wrench set me up a jet rig!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know you need about $10000 in your hands and then we can talk.

and never have to study all night long just to make 40 bucks swapping out a sensor. sorry but that is funny Wrench!!!! Thanks for the input and ironicly the only outboard I have ever had that had a problem with, which was it caught on fire at LOZ was a 2000 200 hp Mercury EFI. The thing caught on fire while we were crappie fishing and we had to abandon ship in some pretty darn cold water and swim about 50 to 60 yards to shore and watch my Basscat burn. Progressive took good care of me on that one....scared the living dung out of me and I'm glad my passenger could swim.

Congrats bigtime STL!!!!!!! go fish while you can get as much in as you can, your days on the water are officially numbered my friend

no biggie..... I just RESPECT your opinion on outboards and was wondering what ya think......I still was wanting you to possibly put a jet rig together for me I still have the cash sitting and waiting and as you said......I'm leaning towards an Evinrude???

I guess you think Suzuki's are not reliable????

Al, I agree with everything you said, especially about the smaller creeks, we saw some serious damage this year to the smaller waters and it worries me. Your last statement is the main reason why I have held back on a jet purchase, if the river levels stay how they have been, my window of opportunity to fish safely from a jet is shrunk bigtime. I am now considering a smaller jet

if the weather isn't too bad I will be @ Columbia Bottoms......look for a SeaArk in all camo with a Suzuki 115 on it