Gavin

I'd take Bobbers suggestion and toss it in a dry bag unloaded if you feel the need. Cheers.

Glad your still out there Brownie...

You can always round up a buddy and run your own if the outfitters cant help you. The floatable sections on that river are usually big enough to share, and it saves a bit of $ too.

Looks like deer or elk for the claws...orange chenille, swiss straw, barbell eyes and some brown hackle. Brown thread for the rib? Lead too?..Nice fly and nice catch!

There is no wrong way to fish either of them...but here are a couple suggestions...... Cast up or quarter up, mend, and dead drift that sucker......watch for a take on the dead drift...try to visualize where your fly is... Fish out the swing...maybe give it some animation during the swing... Let it hang in the Current below you, mend and let it swing back and forth, maybe add some animation. Strip it in a bit, then let it drift back.....Works sometimes, but best if you can hold it a good looking spot for awhile. Cast up, quarter up, or across, and rip em back with short little jerks..sometimes this will drive fish nuts. Works on a sinking line too. Another effective method..fish em deep under a bobber like a nymph...probably the most effective way, IMO. Mend a lot...even a sloppy mend is good...cuz it might draw attention to your fly. Cheers.

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/mo/nwis/current?..._no_station_nm= Its flowing at 1590cfs on the Steelville Guage right know...wading below the park will be trecherous till it drops to at least half that volume...I'll float it at 800-900cfs or so, but I rarely head down to wade fish unless its below 500cfs on the Steelville guage. Cheers.

It just depends....I usually go with a spinnerbait, buzzbait, diving crankbait, or a jig n chunk with a rattle if the water is stained a bit..Sometimes they scatter and its just plain hard to pick up fish.

Meramec at Suicide Hill? if so that bar has gotten pretty small...2nd choice...11pt between Greer and Whitten.

I'd agree with you both...Its not sporting to drift it into their mouth, not much of a challenge either...The fish has to move for the lure to make it a fair catch, IMO. But folks snag em in the mouth all the time at the parks. Congrats on a nice fish there 10ptr.

Dunno.. If I "work" a fish and bump it in the nose enough there are 3 possible outcomes... 1)Its gonna eat 2) my hook will drift into its mouth at some point, or 3) it will wiggle its fins wrong and get foul hooked. Some folks call that site fishing, others might call it snagging. I dont think that you will ever find agreement between those with differing opinions on the topic. Cheers.

It depends on the quality of the mohair you are useing, but sometimes you need to dub and underbody..Just pull some mohair strands out of the scraps and dub it on the hook. You also want to stroke the fibers back as you wrap. Cheers.

Its never a wild fish....but it can become what I call a feral trout...kinda like a domestic hog that gets loose, reverts to its native insticts and survives. Figure it takes about 6 months to a year or more for them to regain enough color and regrow their stubby fins to the point that they will resemble a wild fish. Cheers.

I'd agree...triploids & pellet pigs need a little asterisk next too them in the record books..Same can be said for a distinction between tailwater vs. freestone fish. Was the Arkansas record a triploid too? Cheers.

Al, thanks for the report and the info...I've never been a fan of the Scott's Ford to Indian Spring section of the Meramec...seems like its a dead zone from Diving Bluff Down to Indian Springs. I've never done that well for trout or smallmouth in that section.....Kinda reminds me of Akers to Pulltite on the Current.

FWIW, I'd have to say that this site is about as plain vanilla as they come. Some minor disagreements, and a bit of arguing but it stays cival for the most part.

Waders......Used to be Simms guy...but I was dissappointed with the last set of G3's that I had...only held up for 4 years....Switched to a Patagonia's for this go round. Cabela's makes some pretty good stuff at a lower price point, but the lack some of the features you will find on top line waders from Simm's or Patagonia. Boots...Simms Freestones are OK...wore em for years...but I got a set of Chota's and I wouldnt want to go back to Freestones..Chota's are a lot lighter and they have been holding up well. Orvis...call me a snob or a hater, but I think they should stick to selling ladies sweaters, khaki pants, and dog beds ;>)!

Tremendous fish...Says he caught it on the lower Manistee. My guess is that it swam up out of Lake Michigan.

Are you looking to smoke meat, or grill?

I've been many times.....I'd wait till July 15th if you want to fish Slough, the Y. Stone in the Canyon, or the Lamar...The Firehole, Gibbon, and Madison would be a better bet earlier in the year because they are often closed due to high water temps. Fishing around Buffalo Ford on the Y. Stone is a complete waste of time these days.(No Cutts). A vist to Y. Stone requires a bit of attention to rainfall, stream closures, and especially ROAD CLOSURES.....Visit the park website and check out the road work schedule before you make any plans. Its usually cheaper to fly to Bozeman but price it....I usually fly in, rent a vehicle, drive to Livingston, then down through Paradise Valley to the Gardiner Entrance, then to Roosevelt Lodge in the Park.Guess that Roosevelt is about 2-2.5 hours from Bozeman.....Its cheap and they have a passable restaurant and a bar with a nice front porch....Though it might be a bit rustic for some tastes. You will probably want some lodging on the other side of the park if you want to check out the thermal features.......Make your reservations now....it will fill quickly. There are two good guide books available...One by Craig Matthews, the other by Richard Parks. I'd buy both again. Shoot me a PM when your plans firm up, and I'll share some favorite spots. Cheers.

Thanks for the clarification...I dont hunt deer and I dont pay attention to the deer regs. FWIW, the folks I've seen hunting in the WKW have appeared to be bow hunters.

Think you have to pay to access at ROLF if your not staying there and renting a canoe. The Islands can be good anytime...but its a bit of a hike to get up there.. Best bet is to float. My two favorite floats are Kelly to Sunburst start at Kelly paddle up to the spring and float down...or Sunburst to James Bridge. Sunburst to Patrick is great for get away day. Cheers.

I've done quite a bit of floating during deer season...I usually see lots of folks out on the Meramec in Woodson Conservation area...most jet up, but some canoe. Upper 11pt see's some traffic but not as much...maybe two or three jet boats with hunters when I've floated it during rifle deer season. There is a good population of deer on the Upper Current too. Pretty rare when we dont see several of them and lots of deer sign between the park and Cedargrove. Good luck.

Trout of course.

Trout arent native to Missouri but I dont care. They may compete with natives, but so what. Most of the water they inhabit would be virtually devoid of gamefish if they were absent (too cold to produce a good smallmouth population). They provide more benefit than harm IMO, so I'd call them a beneficial non-native species. They arent in the same category as Carp (Asian or European), Spotted bass on the Meramec drainage, or other species that I'd classify as invasive trash fish. Cheers.

Call up Brian or Ryan at Eleven Point canoe...they will know for sure. Cheers.