Gavin

I havent been down this year yet...but there is usually a huge gravel bar on river right between the FS Boat ramp and the high bridge there at Slabtown...I'd load the boat and head for it if I couldnt find a spot to camp up by the access. My wife and I may put in there on Friday AM...blame us if your fishing is slow. Cheers.

Havent been up from Kinston in awhile...but I'd walk it because of the low water bridge about a mile up from the access and the long portage from the lot to the water. Or float from Kingston down to Mammouth. A chainsaw may be a good idea. Cheers.

A couple pics from April.

I know Teak, he's no meat head...I think he's just stating that he's pretty happy with the fishing experiences he has right now...I am too for that matter...but I'd still like some bigger fish. I agree that "World Class" is not be the best catch phrase...Its too easy to too turn it into a argument about how you define "World Class" because that can be many things to different people...Its good that folks are still talking about smallmouth regs....and dissent is welcome..The SMA put its recommendations out there, folks have had time to digest those recomendations and add their comments....the only thing that is missing is something tangible from MDC. Cheers.

I've got nothing against bait fishing but I dont do it personally...Its probably no worse than fishing a Senko or a Tube, cuz fish are notorious for swallowing those too...Cheers.

Its not my favorite park by any means...basically a channelized ditch IMO..same can be said about Bennett, or Roaring River. I have a feeling that dam removal would greatly reduce the amount of water that gets retained in the spring branch and I'm not sure that that would be a good thing. Meramec is set up for mass recreation and bait fishing at the present time....and thats fine with me... Figure it keeps most of the folks who want eat fish in the parks and off the waters that I like to fish. FWIW, MDC surveyed the habitat between 8 and Scotts when they developed the trout plan several years ago and I had a chat with one of the biologists about it....They considered the habitat between the Spring and Suicide Hill to be suitable for blue ribbon management, but they figured that blue ribbon management would be hard to implement on the entire stretch. 8 to Scott's is a unique piece of water. Decent bass water from 8 to the spring, Blue Ribbon quality trout habitat from the spring to Suicide, and marginal trout & bass habitat from Suicide down to Scott's. Its a long stretch, with only 3 miles of good trout habitat, so I think red ribbon is about the best we can hope for... Its a tough place to fish thats for sure. Its different from most of our other trout waters because the bottom is mostly fine gravel and there are only a few hard points in the stream...The food base is made of tiny stuff because the gravel is too small to grow lots of big bugs, crayfish, or sculpins. There are plenty of minnows though....I've caught plenty of nice browns and rainbows down there over the years but you really have to be on your game and work for them. Fish early or late, camp on the river, hike up or down in the dark. Cheers.

Nice report, thanks...I'd be calling the Forest Service about the cattle...The 11pt is designated as a Wild & Scenic River controlled by the USFS not the Park Service. You can contact them here. Cheers. http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/marktwain/ranger_districts/doniphan/

Anything from SA or Rio should work...I'm kinda partial to the SA Epert Distance lines...but the GPX, or Rio Gold should work fine too.

Too much river....do Baptist to Parker(0r Cedargove) and take your time..Shouldht be as much float traffic, and if there is you can wait it out......Early and late are your best bets for a shot at a big one(24" or above), pick a prime spot and hit it when its good...Plenty of dinks willing eat mid-day......Cheers.

Nice looking kiddo there Eric.Congrats....Kayser, I do suck with the fillet knife..cuz I havent cleaned enouge fish to get good with it...Only 3 trout out of the blue ribbon areas in the pase 5-10 years...no smallmouth....a few spotted bass here and there...no LM....some catfish. Cheers.

Congrats Mitch & Mr. Bigs....My wife and I didnt have our first till our early 40's but you got to love em...now we have two..Audrey, 3 and Martha, 14 months. A couple pics...Audrey's first fish, Martha at her swim lesson earlier this week, underwater shot of a brown trout, an a still life with trout & PBR for you Cricket.

Its still open as far as I know...and you can still access at 47. Cheers.

Looks great!

Its all about the quality of the lenses...Glass lenses are a bit sharper than a good set of polycarobonate lenses, but polycarbs are lighter, and shatterproof. There is also a world of difference between the cheapo's and a good pair...buy the best you can afford.

Ditto.....Dont worry about the water temps in the Red Ribbon...Spring Creek dumps in on river right just below Sunburst, and Althea Spring dumps in on river right just below Patrick Bridge....the water is plenty cold till you get down to the frog water above Dawt Mill Dam. Cheers.

Sounds like fun and thanks for the report. My wife and another couple ran into a similar situation on a float from Greer to Whitten a couple years ago...LEO's from Oregon County, MDC, and the Forest Service were running up and down river in jets all weekend and writing lots of tickets.. It's nice to see presence on the river, but it would be nice if they could figure out a way to patrol without creating such a nuisance. Cheers.

There have been some problems with the otters....but what can you do about it? They arent going away anytime soon so you might as well get used to having them around. Trap them if you can and you have the inclination to do so, but most of us dont have the ability or the inclination. Cheers.

Its a must have for planning a float trip....but I also use 200 Missouri Smallmouth Adventures by Tryon, and the Delorme Gazetteers......If I want good maps for a float... I go to the USGS site and download a free 7.5 topo. Cheers. http://store.usgs.gov/b2c_usgs/b2c/start/(xcm=r3standardpitrex_prd)/.do Here's another link that I use allot... http://wdr.water.usgs.gov/adrgmap/index.html

Almost bought a Tarpon 120 when a used Vagabond popped up...A big fellow had it and he was just too big for it... .I take my Vagabond out for day trips in the winter, but it wont haul enough for and extended winter trip...just not enough room......Both the Pack and the V. Bond are relatively low capacity, flat water boats...I've owned both...and like the Vagabond allot better...but its not the perfect boat....For one the bow and sides are too low to run anything resembling white water...Run a 2' ledge or a long standing wave stretch, and your gonna get some water in the boat. Same with the OT Pack... Thinking of upgrading to a bigger solo, or replacing my tandem...Seem to end up soloing my 17' tandem most of the time anyway.

St. James got pounded with one heck of a rainstorm a couple Sunday's ago..I'm not surprised by all that flood debris. Its happened before, and things will get better. Cheers.

Youll want some flat faced poppers, and sliders like a sneaky petes & dahlberg divers......plus stuff that resembles minnows, bluegill & crayfish.

The James Foundation owns the place and I doubt that its for sale...The James Foundation is a not-for-profit organization so the assets would have to be donated to a public purpose at liquidation...Not that they are liquidating.... The prices are what they are, but the trash situation sounds like a management problem....Write them a letter with your complaints. http://www.maramecspringpark.com/maramec/contact/index.html

Nice fish! Thanks for the report.

Thats a bummer...I've heard of break ins there in the past....

Bill, I havent seen it first hand, because I got the tip from my buddy Fred, who owns U.S. Reel. He convinced me it was strong enough when when he showed me the pictures of the all the tarpon he caught last year on bass sized spinning equipment, light braid, and a shock tippet attached with a triple surgeons knot. I still break the line leader knot occassionally but I think its because the 6lb Suffix braid that I use is stronger than the 8lb flouro leader.. Cheers.