mreed81

Thanks for the reply. I'm pretty sure ill be going and should have an open spot on the boat for anyone. I have heard about chain dragging but i am not familiar. Do you have any links for reference?

Always wanted to fish the white. I would like to go if my schedule works which i can nail down in a week. I would be a first timer. What do i need to know/ bring? I have a 60/40 jet motor boat. Are there any hp restrictions? Power at lodge to charge batteries?

I doubt it will be too soon but look out for when they come out with upgraded versions of the Ulterra. I bought the older version last year when they were about to launch the new version with the digital remote and maybe Bluetooth was an added option, not sure. Wholesalers online were having sales on them for around 40% off before the updated motor came out. I had just bought a new boat so I wouldn't have been able to justify that purchase otherwise

At best that description with the baseball pitcher is a bit far off good sir... That sounds more like the definition of the word "troll". But to each his own; some say potato and others say potato lol

What time does the gate to the park and boat ramp open in the morning?

This is happening all over the country, too. One of the best smallmouth streams in the country up North is one permit away from being ruined by an open pit metallic sulfide mine. It's one of those rivers that the average smallmouth that is caught is 16-17".

Thanks Bill. Same to you and yours. You are right, water is super low, and also super clear. In the past when I fished the creek a lot I would typically stay away in these conditions. I really do think once Spring comes with rain and high water moving a little more gravel around, and also the typical Spring water levels and color come back there will be some really good fishing. One of my favorite riffle/runs got washed out but now it looks like it will turn that area into one large pool where the riffles used to be, and then also another pool less that 30 feet downstream once the water comes back up.

For three years in a row now I have made it to the creek to fish on Christmas Eve. hopefully I can continue in the years to come. This year was by far the coldest! Kind of an odd feeling when the spring creek water made my feet feel warmer than the rest of my body. Flurries started falling on my walk down to the creek and continued the rest of the morning which was a neat experience. Caught several small Trout in the creek, making the trip and battling the cold more than worthwhile. Ever since I got the kick for Smallmouth and bought a jet boat I have not been on the creek but one time since last Christmas Eve. Lots of changes after the flood earlier this year. Some good holes and runs have been washed out, but others are starting to form which should make for some good fishing habitat this coming Spring. Merry Christmas everyone!

Great report. My wife is originally from Evansville, Indiana and we drive by over that river several times a year when visiting. I really like the old, semi collapsed railroad bridge just north of 64/40.

Yes, a lot of people know where Hog Wally fishes. There are hundreds of people that fish that section and I can tell you that it isn't the easiest area to figure out and hone in on the fish. I come from wading creeks and it is a huge learning curve jumping into the bigger water, but after enough practice and time I too will get better just like I did on the smaller water. I just started fishing that section because I got a jet boat this year, and I honestly wasn't aware it was the area he lives in until I saw him out there several times (he's also not a bad guy at all and helped me out of a jamb once on the water, meaning I was stuck lol). I have another friend that lives in that area and I stuck to this section because he showed me the areas to watch out for and I am a new boater so I would rather be cautious and stick to a section I have become familiar with, for safety reasons of boating, not for the hopes of catching bigger fish. That being said I have not caught a fish over 14" in that section and I have been out on the water at least every other weekend since June. To bottom line it: he is not doing any harm by posting that he catches fish on the Meramec. The river runs under the highway a couple times, so it is not like it is a huge secret.

I saw it too and was wondering the same

A couple of weeks ago I headed up to Wisconsin to meet with some of my amateur road racing racing friends to watch the professional MotoAmerica races at Road America for the weekend. I figured I would get up there a day early, hire a guide with a drift boat and go after some of their Smallmouth waters that I have read about. I arrived Thursday night, woke up early Friday morning for an hour drive further North to meet the guide at the takeout. It was pretty neat showing up with only an out of state fishing license, the guide supplying lunch, and all the gear. I didn't even have to take my own fly rod, tippet or anything of that sort. We started on the water at 9:00 am sharp. My guide rigged the 6 weight with a top water frog, and the 7 weight with an intermediate line with a streamer. I used the streamer set up for the first hour with plenty of success right away, and then switched to the top water 6 weight for the remainder of the day because, let's be honest, the top water bite is second to none! The scenery of this river was beautiful. You will see from the pics that the banks are lined with trees, and there were no signs of any type of erosion or blown out banks, even where there were no trees. The people that own the land up and down the river have done a wonderful job managing their properties and river banks. The river was quite different from the typical Ozark stream I am accustomed to. There was plenty of bulky, chunk rock in the water which is ideal Smallmouth habitat, but the river was not gravel choked like our streams. Instead of the green tinted water we always see, the water almost had a bit of a blackish tint to it when I was looking at it while in the boat, although visibility was probably around 1.5 to 2 feet. The fishing action never slowed down until about 4:30 pm when we were within 10 minutes from the takeout. Certain holes only produced one fish that we had to work hard for, and then others produced multiple fish within several minutes of each other. I was actually quite surprised because there was another guide boat that started before we did in the morning with two guys fishing soft plastics, which can be quite effective after they pound the banks cast after cast with two people. While numbers were great and fun, I have to say I was most impressed with the size and quality of the fish that were caught, and of course released. The smallest fish I caught was 12". Most were 15" to 16", and I had more than a handful of 17" fish pushing the 18" mark. The kicker with this is that the creel limit for this river is 5 bass, 14" or more, and yet it seemed as if fish were never in short supply, despite the regulations and also the pressure that was in front of us. All in all it was a great trip and I look forward to making it back up there sometime in the future. I love fishing here in my own state, but it was a lot of fun to fish somewhere different, and it was also the first time I had a hired guide to manage the boat, line snaps, tying on other flies, etc. Well worth the money for the overall experience, and the pain in my arm and shoulder the next few days reminded me of the great time I had. And yes, I wear a goofy hat, but you would too if you had the pale skin I do that only gets burned!

Short answer to your question: Keep moving lol There are many places just like you are describing along blue ribbon streams that I frequent. Some of these spots, as fishy as they look, just aren't worth your time of day. I have tried a lot of different techniques in those spots, only to get hung up on a log, rock or tree with my back cast! I have since wised up, just move along and don't fish those 'impossible' spots. The good news is you are probably less than 50 yards away from the next good spot without all of those obstructions.

Sounds like a great day on the creek to me!

I imagine that there will be some new holes, new runs and riffles formed on BSC after all this. Hopefully the canopy at the waterfall didn't get washed away. Probably my favorite spot along that entire creek.

Empty inbox. There are clearly no good places near Cook Station.

Wrench, I'm a first year millennial, I needed to use my smart phone's GPS just to get me back to this page!

Hmmm. never heard of it... At least not on this forum.

FYI, Cook Station gage activities may be discontinued as of July this year due to lack of funding

This forum is becoming reminiscent of arguments and bickering that I used to hear in high school. Female arguments at that.

So what is the limit of Spotted Bass you can harvest on the Meramec per angler?

Looks like the troll came out from under his bridge.

That is pretty shocking, especially considering you have a good handle on that creek and know how to catch fish there. I have seen the fishing decline a bit over the past six or eight months where I used to catch double digits along a certain stretches, i was now only catching a handful, sometimes less and the sizes of the fish were considerably smaller. I haven't made it out nearly as much over the time I mentioned, but it has been a different experience regardless.

There's the pic of the fly rod on the grass! You sir, are what we would call a habitual line stepper. i like your style.

I can't believe the word Giggers hasn't been mentioned in all 6 pages of this thread yet . Time to get MDC out of your crosshairs and point at those bottom of the barrel, spear chucking, Busch Beer-drinking outlaws.