snap

....WE...???...You got a rat in your pocket???

...I think all rivers are dangerous at night!!!

nice trip and pics.....either Fouche Declue or upper ???(sorry salukie....for mentioning this spot) or my guesses with you taking the long way there!!!

...looking at the 88 year averages, the water is typically over 1000 cfs for this time of year. It is up a bit, but should not make much differece for those who can catch fish!!!

Tito, a quick question for you. Will not be hunting, but planning on fishing Friday and Saturday. Is there a time when hunters can no longer shoot??? I think it used to be noon....but ain't quite sure!!!!

...LOL...!!!now that would be a 2 day trip for the some of us!!!

...another option for you if you are putting in at Greer. Float to stinking pond, the campsite across from the bluff approx 1/2 mile down from Turner at the first shoals. Great campsite and produced trout over Easter. You could then float into whiten. The water is running clear!!! ...and the camping is great!!! late evening and early morning fishing ....does not get any better than that!!!

...it takes me three hours from ste genevieve to get to the town of alton by going down hwy 21 at ironton. (The problem with 67 now is the construction.) A very nice scenic drive with parts of it cruising at 65 MPH. Hwy 21 hits 160 a few miles out from van buren. Then take it all the way to 19 at winona. 67 to farmington from st louis would add about an hour to the trip depending on where in st louis you would be leaving from.

whites creek ...50 yards up river....has plenty of wading!!! have never waded barn hollow area but would have if it looked like I could have!!!!

...was pushed for time when starting thread, need to add to it.....half the fish caught had been in the river for a while while the other half were recent stockers. Most fish caught were on egg patterns with a few caught on white maribou jigs and rooster tails. Due to the water running a bit high and fast, we were not able to wade as much as we would have liked. Therefore, drift fishing worked well for us. We caught fish in places where we had never fished before. Stinking Pond camp site has changed a bit. Not nearly as much sand as when we left it last Fall. It had become the best camp site below Turner (IMO) but it now looks like it is time to explore a few of the many other potential sites. Also, saw more ducks than ever before and happy to say that, again, no river otters were sighted!!!

Spent Thursday and Friday on the river between Turner and Whiten. Fishing was good both days with bigger fish being caught on Friday. Boated my 19 year old son (many trips under his belt) and two of his buddies to Stinking Pond for a couple of nights of camping and his buddies ....first time on the river for both buddies and first time fishing for trout....both loved it and were talking on the ride home about going back as soon as they could. What can one say...the weather was perfect!!! A great time on the river but saw very little traffic. Saw three or four canoes and maybe 5 other boats. Before the trip, our group was a bit concerned about the high and fast water, but, finding the right way to get to the bottom didn't take long...as always, the ticket to catching fish on this river.(IMO) Met and talked to the ghost angler for a little bit as we were both in a hurry to get a line wet!!! Got your message and hope you got mine back...if not, let me know!!! Will pass word to friend though!!!

If I hiked up to the Whites Creek Cave this weekend, would I be able to get in?

We will have a group on the river Wednesday thru Friday. Not sure where the boom hole and Becky Holow is though??? More specifically, the brush pile..... and we will do our best to get it for you!!!!

You guys are having too much fun down there!!!....The water in the pics looks to be slow and deep, how far down river were you (if you want to tell)...!!!

...now I recognize!!! Knew it wasn't any of the accesses. I'll save you some time....No big fish in that hole...!!!Keep the reports coming ...always look forward to 'em!!!

Tito....where was the pic taken from??? Trying to recognize, but don't!!!

...have been watching the levels for a month and had planned on fishing a couple of days the week of the 28th...looks like we are out of luck!!! ...Happy Holidays to all also!!!May the New Year bring wonderful fishing trips to all!!!!

...and I now see why!!! ...very NICE fish!!!!

...I agree that they are all different!!! My biased choice is the 11 Point. Have not been to others except for Current below park, and that was good. Just feel like I own the 11 Point !!! 20+ miles, or something like that, of National Forest on both sides of the river really appeals to me. Wading is difficult unless you boat or float to the right spots, get in the water, and get after it. Drive in good wade fishing can only be done, IMO, at a few locations. Won't catch a brown but the potential to catch a huge 'bow is there. 14+ this past summer!!! Deep holes between shoals ...gotta be big fish unless I'm missing something.Great scenery....the only negative about the 11 Point is that it is 3 and a half hours from home.

Thanks Al...!!! Appreciate it!!! Thought you might have insight on the Big up there. I agree with you on the trees...if they are there...they're there...and deal with them...but not all see it that way!!! ....and can't believe you won't tell exactly where you were fishing???

Al...a couple of quick questions for you. Looking for places close to home to put my boat in. Would I be able to put in at Merril Horse or Brown's Ford to fish the Big River and where do you put in on the Meramec ???

...looks like the same eagle...good for you getting a good pic!!! One of the best parts about this river, IMO, is that you never know what you are going to see. Besides the two sightings I listed, I once saw a doe swimming across the river. That was cool also!!!....and I hear you on the rattler!!!

.....With the river running wild, I thought this would be a good time to share a couple of unique, as in it does not happen often, experiences I had in the Summer of 09 on the river. On an early June trip late in the day we were gently motoring from Horseshoe Bend to Whiten. It had earlier rained on us pretty good and the fog was now rising from the water and navigating the river was a bit tricky. We noticed a bald eagle flying over the river a ways downstream. It landed on a limb that was hanging over the river about 40 feet above the water. We kept waiting for it to fly off as we got closer to it, but it did not move. It stayed right where it was as we slowly went under it. No camera on board...but what a sight it was!!! On another trip late in July, I took my extended family, approximately 20 of us, on a float. Most were in kayaks, but a cople were in canoes. My mother-in-law and wife were in the boat with me. One canoe was struggling badly from the onset. I think the reason for that was that the heavier person was in the front, but I did not know how to tactfully tell them...so, I didn't!!! At the island below Tumbling Shoals in the area we call "The Sticks", this canoe tipped and lost some precious cargo...a bag of cosmetic crap!!! Why was she carrying it????....don't even ask!!! Anyway, my brother-in-law and oldest son took it upon themselves, cause I sure wasn't, to wade the opposite side of the river from the gravel bar where the bag had lodged itself amongst the fallen trees, or, sticks. My son used the trees by grabbing them to move himself against the current after retrieving the bag. Because of this, the sticks were bouncing up and down pretty good while he made his way to the waiting hand of my brother-in-law to pull him out of the thicket. They made their way across the river to the gravel bar where a number of us were waiting. As we were preparing to move on, one in our group flew out of his kayak. A Timber Rattlesnake had swam across the river and right past his kayak. The rattler made its way onto the gravel bar and stopped. We hovered around it as my brother-in-law tried to snap a picture from too far away. The snake was 4-5 feet long and described by my son as being as thick as a Coors Light can...and it was!!! It might not have been as majestic as the eagle, but there was something about it that awwwwwed us!!!

thanks for the info about fishing during deer season...!!!