Jim Spriggs

Owing to the amount of river traffic on a Sunday on the middle Meramec, I decided to fish a few hours in the early evening. Reports on the river were that the bite was slow. And, my experience was similar to others yesterday in that I had only two strikes. However, one of those turned out to be a beautiful 18.5" fish that was just shy of 3.5 pounds. Pic attached.

I ventured back to the same location a few days later, and I caught only small ones. The flow had dropped 15%, and I suspect the fish moved deeper and became inactive. Timing is key...

I fished a tributary of the meramec yesterday afternoon for a few hours. Fish were in shallow water on rock in the current. A spinnerbait produced 7 fish over 16", and another dozen between 12-15". The largest, picture below, was 3 lbs and 18 1/2". It is a special thing to find agressive summertime bass.

That's the perforated floor on my boat

I spent a couple of hours on the river late this afternoon. I caught 7smallmouth over 16", with the biggest at 3 pounds and 18 1/2". And there were plenty of 12-15" fish, as well. It's a beautiful thing to locate aggressive summertime bass!

You are living the fishing dream.

Give us a report on your outing. I'm painting my boat trailer this weekend, so I'm hoping to get out early next week in the early evening and enjoy some MO heat.

I threw a spinner bait without success

I caught them on 3"-4" soft plastics-- zoom craws, lizards, and paddle tail minnows, and a TRD on a Ned rig. I had no success on what has been a productive lure this past Winter and early Spring--the trusty Wiggle Wart. I started catching once I got right next to logs and drifted the lures under them. The drum was the one fish I caught in a bit of current on a rocky outside bend.

Yesterday, I fished an area of the middle Meramec that was new to me. The good--it was a gorgeous day and I consider myself fortunate to have been on a fabulous Ozarn river on a weekday. The "bad"--the fish were largely inactive, and I managed to catch about a dozen over the course of an eight hour trip. All were in the 10"-14" range, and I located them tight to logs in slack water. I put "bad" in quotes because I consider catching fish (especially big ones) a bonus to the fishing experience. The ugly--the big fish of the day was a couple pound drum. No offense to you lovers of drum...

Part of my message didn't appear, where I said I took my dad fishing for his birthday (71) on Friday, and I had trouble finding more than one or two fish in any given spot. We caught mostly small ones, with the exception of the two I mentioned.

The first hit a crankbait in the middle of the river off a log, and it pulled like a freight train. I measured it at 23" and 4.9 pounds. Sounds awesome, right? A personal best. But, what I neglected to mention is it was a catfish. Exciting fight but a bit disappointing, as well. The second fish hit a different crankbait in a small kitchen sink-size pool of slack water off some of the strongest current in that area of the river. The fish surfaced about 10' from the boat, shook, and spit out my lure. It looked at least as big as the one I caught a few weeks ago. Here's a picture of the one that didn't get away,

As the saying goes, the first step to recovery is recognition of the addiction. I share the fishing addiction. Apparently, I am even dreaming about fishing, as my wife says I am moving my hands as if jigging in my sleep. have sought "counseling" for my fishing addiction; I joined this forum and use all you guys as my therapists. One of the best decisions I've made, though all of you only increase dramatically my desire to be running the river. . . .

Al, Your recent posts indicated you were having some trouble finding a consistent Spring pattern (like many of us). What do you attribute this good outing to? That it's later in Spring? Fishing just before the storm? Random fishing variation? Or some other factor? Maybe Hog Wally is a good luck charm... thanks for the posts.

Al Agnew noted the other day that we can learn from failers. I agree, and I therefore tell you about my trip yesterday. I fished 6:30-10:30 am in the middle Meramec. I first hit the spot where I caught the pig last Sunday... and...nothing. I then fished the transition from a bluff to a flat before a riffle at a hard left turn in the river. I caught one off a log and two off a stump. I thought I had discovered a pattern for the day--fish are holding tight to timber in slack water. I fished submerged timber in slack water; I then fished lay down logs in the current; after that, I fished current seams below islands and points. And, not another bass, though I caught one gar on a wiggle wart (picture included) and had another gar chase a Yum craw back to the boat. So, I continue to "struggle" to figure out the Spring. I put "" on struggle because, despite the low catch rate, I always enjoy the river.

I'm not looking for an easy way out. I've been reading lots of books and putting time in on the water. I recognize I haven't been engaging in this sport as long as many of you. But, that's the point. You have knowledge about general patterns that can be helpful to people Ike me. I'm not asking for the location of your honey holes. I would see that as inappropriate. Seems to me that we are a community and I, for one, think sharing information is a reasonable thing to do. If you don't want to do so, that's fine. I've truly been enjoying his forum, but if others share you opinion then I may be better off not using it

I second Hog Wally's question. Despite the big fish, I'm struggling to figure out springtime fishing. I would like to hear folks' advice.

Anyone have advice for finding fish that are either still in preapawn mode or those females who are finished spawning and looking for a big meal?

Thanks for the replies. I have a follow up. Is there a way to patten in what portions of the river fish are spawning? I understand water temperature is important. Are there other observable features of the river that indicate which portions of the river have an earlier spawn? For instance, do fish generally spawn in the upper part of the river (say above steelville) earlier or later than in the middle portion of the river (eg, River Round or Sand Ford)? I'd prefer to target pre or post spawn fish and thus would rather launch from a place I think might be less likely to have actively spawning fish. Maybe this is a level of predictability requiring super human abilities ... Anyone out there willing to hazard some educated guesses?

Thanks, Al. I appreciate the response. Now if I can find those active fish...

This spring (and it is my first spring for smallmouth fishing), I have had trouble catching multiple fish from a single area. Last winter, once I located fish then I could often catch a number of them from one location. Lately, I've been using search baits to find a fish and then slowing down with soft plastics. But, I rarely catch two fish from a hole. For instance, I posted the picture of the big smallmouth I caught last Sunday. I caught her at 9:00 am on a crankbait in a classic spring location in slack water below an island. I then fished that spot with soft plastics and ...nothing . I came back to that location later in the day and my buddy caught one small fish on a zoom lizard. I saw Al Agnew post that his experience recently has been similar to mine. I was crediting mine to inexperience, but I know Al knows what he's doing. So, my question is the following: is this a typical spring or an unusual one ?

I haven't been to the river in a few weeks. Are the fish still in preapawn or have they started spawning? I'm considering hitting the area above the Hwy 28 bridge this weekend. But, if the spawn is in full swing then I may postpone. I live in St. Louis and usually fish the Meramec, and the fish there appear to be spawning. Thanks for the information.

I began fishing for smallmouth in October of 2015. I joined this forum and posted some questions, and you guys were nice enough to answer them. Thanks I've been putting in a fair amount of time on the river (my wife thinks too much time) and I finally caught (and promptly released) a fish over four pounds (20", 4.2 lbs, to be precise). I was beginning to think Hog Wally had tired out all the big ones...

Thanks, guys.

Fellow fishermen, In my ongoing quest to catch and release smallmouth, I am heading to the Gasconade this weekend. I have launched my jet boat from Boiling Spring campground several times, but I have never been to Riddle Bridge. Any advice on either: (a) navigating that part of the river and/or; (b) locating fish in that portion of the river. I saw a post recently that indicated it would be difficult to go downstream from the ramp. Thanks in advance. I am still a novice--having started fishing for smallmouth less than six months ago--and this forum is a useful source of information.