Flyguide7

Nice work!

It was a great day on the river. Water was quite low, but the fishing was good. I caught 4 nice white bass, 6 fry able spots and four micro smallies and. Five pound sheepshead. Gorgeous day on the Meramec.

Finally I am going to be able to fish the Meramec after a long absence. The busy summer is over and my fishing season begins.At this point I am going to slip in at Robertsville and run up 7 or 8 miles. Hopefully get a walleye or two. I will post a report tomorrow afternoon.

Fall is my favorite time to fish. I enjoy hunting , but catching nice smallies and walleyes on the Meramec amid cool temperatures and blazing fall colors cannot be beat! Besides my place in wildwood is overun with %!#! poachers. Chasing them off is a full time job. Ruins the whole experience of hunting anymore.

One guy loses his life, the other guy probably loses everything he worked for (after he pays his legal fees). Very sad. I used to carry a 45 for self defense, because I spent a lot of time on the road. One day I thought about what would likely happen if I ever had to use it. Then I put the gun back in the safe. All machismo aside, I would rather give a guy my wallet, than some lawyer a half million to defend me. If he shoots me at least my family will have what I have worked for all my life. If someone comes in the house well that's another story.

In the summer i start early and I am off the river about 11:00 am. So I avoid a lot of the joy riders and drunken swimmers.

That's great. That will make for some fine eating. I had to drive to lake Shelbyville in order to put walleyes on last nights dinner table. They were a lot softer than Wally's of of the Mec. What do you generally use for the eyes?

Mitch, are there a lot of walleyes in this part of the Mississippi? I know there are some saugers but I did not think there were walleyes. I have only lived in the area for a couple of years and have never fished the big muddy.

Well I for one is interested. I just started fishing the Meramec last year and was delighted when I caught my first walleye last year which was about three pounds. I would love to see the fishery developed to its full potential. If enough of us lobbied the MDR perhaps they would respond with a plant of 100,000 fingerlings.

Mitch, how long have they been bedding on the Meramec anyway. This seems awful late in the year.

She is still there. You can go to hell for not releasing smallies! Fishing hell anyway. ; ) I was in northern Michigan for my annual smallmouth trip last week my buddies and I releases over 100 smallies over 3 lbs. with several over 5lbs. My friend from Chicago caught end and released a 6.1. My biggest was 5.5. My biggest to date is 7.0 see my gallery that fish was also released. A smallmouth the size of the one in my photo above was more than likely over fifteen years old. It is a shame to kill one, when they are so few and such precious treasure. Walleyes, crappies and bluegill however are a different story. When they ride in my boat it is a one way trip.

Ok photo did not up load. Take two. Operator error ; )

I had a great day on the Meramec. Traffic was heavy but the fish were cooperative. Fished for gills for a tasty dinner and then tossed a top water for this beast.

I was using jig and a 3" gulp shiner.

There's a good one! I went out today and had motor problems. Caught two little largemouth. Who works on Johnson motors around eureka?

I had a banner day last Saturday in the mid river portion. Caught a nice crappie, a walleye, 6 fryable spots and released a 19" smallie. Awesome weather and great fishing on a beautiful river.

I used 3" gizit chub colored ( light brown black flake) tube jigs. I caught one spot and one hybrid smallie spot. Never saw a carp or sheepshead.

I enjoyed a great day on the river Saturday. Warm weather, leaf color on the river banks at or very near peak and 15 smallies made for a great day. Fish were 10-14 inches but offered a lot of fun on light tackle on 4lb line. I did have to clean out the intake on my 35 Hp outboard once. But the leaves floating in the river weren't too bad.

Most folks would have kept such a fish, props to the guide for at least encouraging catch and release. Speaking of browns I fish between norfork and chessmans and have not seen a brown there in three years. I used to hook at least three or four 20-25 inch fish a trip releasing everyone and now nothing? Any idea what is up? Or are they moving up into the cooler waters near the dam?

I fished it this last weekend and it is one of my favorite stretches to fish. I caught and released about 45 rainbows and 10 fat little smallies 10- 12" long. A few of the rainbows were 14-16 inches. But no browns. I have fished that stretch for 15 years and say five years ago I would catch or hook at least 3-4 browns in the 25" range and many little guys. Locals I have talked to say they just arent there anymore. Perhaps they have all moved up to the upper sections closer to the dam and cooler water. Anybody what to weigh in on this?

The scariest think about the copperhead is they are a fairly docile snake. If they are in your path they will stay put, their camo is excellent so the biggest risk they pose is to be stepped on. I have had several instances where I almost stepped on a coiled copperhead. Growing up in the deep south on learns to look before you step. The copperhead is a beautiful snake and it is a shame to kill one without cause,. Having said that if I see one in the yard were my grand kids are playing I won't hesitate to dispatch him.

Sculpins are amazing baits! Just a huge pain to get. In one hole on the White in AR my buddy and I caught 12 big browns out of one hole. That was a several years ago now since we tried it. There were a couple of local bait shops that had frozen ones for about 50 cents apiece.

I lived in Florida for over 20 years and I can tell you moccasins love to hang out in trees especially those hanging over the river. I agree with the rest of the guys that the snake in your picture does not appear to be a moccasin. They have very thick bodies and can have a stubby tail rather than tapering to a fine tip like other snakes.

I was spin fishing today. I thought about bring the fly gear but did not have time to dig it out. I think tossing poppers for smallies and sunnies on the river would be great fun.

Yesterday morning i took my 14' scooter to the Meramec. I fished out of Redhorse and had a great time. I caught 8 little smallies 10-13 inches and not a single spot or largemouth. I had a great time on a beautiful river. I did learn however to get off the river around noon before the joy riders rip her up. Not a lot of courtesy with that crowd but I digress. The fish were all primarily in fast water. The slow stuff did not produce anything but longears, which of course were fun and great to look at.