Jadesjigs

Thank you so much @snagged in outlet 3 and @Dutch for the kind words and wonderful support!! So glad the jigs are working for you! That wacky rig technique with our jigs is a great idea. I feel like we have some really good finesse fishing approaching the next couple of weeks - so excited! Please let me know if you guys ever need anything. Appreciate you!

@aarchdale@coresleep.comthose look great. Thank you!!

@Dutchit intrigues me how they will hit the shakey heads and not the Neds. Do you think it's the profile, size, action, weight, etc? I've been wanting to try the shakey heads more. I would greatly appreciate any recommendations on baits, types of structure to fish them, and weights. Thanks for your great reports @Dutch. Looking forward to some fall fishing!

@Dutchwe were there last Tuesday before the rain so it wasn't bad then. After looking at the river gauge, I bet it's pretty stained now.

@Dutchwe were fishing a little ways North of you enjoying the spoonbill show!!

@DutchI never used them much before either until I watched my buddy catch fish after fish using the big trd. I was getting skunked using the exact same colors of finesse trd. After I started catching them on big trd I even went back to finesse trd just to see and nada. I wondered if the bigger bait also gave me slightly more time to set the hook a little better on those ewg neds. Needless to say, I'm heading over to bp after this event is over to load up!

@Dutchlooks like a great time! Had a similar trip earlier this week before the rain came in. A lot of small bucks with a few good ones mixed in. Drifting Neds with both standard and Ewg jigs on wind blown banks produced well. The most eye opening thing for me though is that I could not land a fish on my usual 3" finesse baits. However, you could catch fish after fish on the larger 4" big trd style baits. I don't know if I could just detect the bites better on a windy day with the bigger baits, or if the fish preferred the size more. It always amazes me how much of a difference the slightest adjustments make. Thanks for the report @Dutch

If you ever need to replace the liner or impeller, I would definitely recommend The Jet Doctor in Ellington, Mo. I called them on Tuesday and wasn't for sure exactly what size I needed. I gave them the yr and make of the jet. I had everything shipped and to my door by Friday!! Excited to see how much of a difference the new parts make. My old liner was really worn and the impeller was shimmed down all the way. Below, are pics of the new vs old equipment.

Thanks for the report. Your "tough" days are better than my good days!

Good luck @Dutch. Hope you catch a lot of fish with them. Thanks for all of the support!

@Dutch I think that rig will work well. Here is a link of a friend of mine who catches some monster smallies on St. Clair with the EWG Ned. He has some awesome content!! Btw @Dutchthanks for all of your informative posts. I have learned SO much from them!!

Welcome back @DavidB, good to hear the annual trip is still going! Always enjoy your reports. Wish I could give some input, but I've been spending the last month chasing the white bass up river. Hope you guys have another safe and wonderful trip!

Al, it sounds like you are so close that it would be such a loss for the whole community to not to finish it. I know that you are very detail oriented and that it would be very hard for you to publish something that is not quite up to date. The access / river information would be great, but I am just as interested in the unique history of the area. If you made a downloadable format on your blog site, then I would definitely purchase a copy. However, it would be very nice having the opportunity to purchase a hard copy as well. Thanks for all the information you provide!

Al, I totally agree with the fact that the setting is one of the most important factors in the experience. I love to catch all fish and to just be outdoors, but there's nothing better than stream smallmouth. I bought a jet boat a couple of years ago and am still amazed with the shallow running capabilities; however, there's just something about sitting on top of the water on a paddlecraft and feeling the pull of a large smallie that can't be beat. Sharing those experiences and helping others find success is very rewarding. I always pick up something new from your posts Al. You've helped me to understand how to read the river gauges, how to distinguish spotted bass vs largemouth, and have encouraged me to use my baitcaster more with topwater and cranking baits. A topwater take is like watching a brutal knockout punch. The baitcaster is so efficient and accurate and puts a lot of fish in the boat. However, my personal preference is to feel the pull and the challenge of landing creek smallies on light-action spinning gear while finesse fishing. Lastly, visualizing a particular bait in your mind, creating it, and then landing a pb fish with it is exhilarating! Words can not explain the emotions when you see others across the country catching fish and sharing experiences with your baits also. There is a lot of bad in this world, but this community of like-minded lovers of nature makes me realize that there is still a lot of good out there.

Thank you so much MoFishwater! I have learned so much here that I just try to give back when I can. Sometimes hearing about unsuccessful trips helps me as much as anything else. Thanks for the support!

A little back story I forgot to mention - My Grandfather bought the property on the Meramec while my Dad was young in prospect of having lakefront shoreline when the dam was completed. After they moved to the land, my Grandpa fell in love with the river so much that he was actually glad the Dam was never constructed. Guess those genetics were passed down to me! Dad also showed me the area where he killed his 1st deer along the Meramec. He said that back then it was a really big deal to even see a deer. So glad there were conservation minded people back then!

A little back story I forgot to mention - My Grandfather bought the property on the Meramec while my Dad was young in prospect of having lakefront shoreline when the dam was completed. After they moved to the land, my Grandpa fell in love with the river so much that he was actually glad the Dam was never constructed. Guess those genetics were passed down to me! Dad also showed me the area where he killed his 1st deer along the Meramec. He said that back then it was a really big deal to even see a deer. So glad there were conservation minded people back then!

My father and I were able to get out last weekend on a 2 night 3 day float / fishing trip on the upper-mid section of the Meramec. The fishing was great, the weather was perfect, and the fall foliage was gorgeous! The quantity of bass wasn't huge, but the quality was fantastic. I caught about 32 bass total, but at least 11 of them were 12+ inches with several in the 14-16 inch range. It was definitely an early morning and evening bite. The fishing was pretty difficult during the day with the low water and bluebird skies. Even though the water was low, we had minimal difficulty with dragging through the riffles while hauling camping gear. I'm so used to fishing the James River where it is pretty easy to locate the prime spots where fish like to concentrate. There were so many good looking spots on the Meramec that I had major fishing ADHD!! I would use a shad colored whopper plopper size 90 as a search bait and then pick apart the prime areas with Ned Rigs. The leaves made it almost impossible to throw a squarebill. I caught quality fish on both the Plopper and Ned. I had some major blow-ups on the Plopper that didn't quite connect; however, they still took my breath away! Nothing beats landing one of these beasts on finesse gear though with Ned Rigs. Many people pass right by the prime spots and they would catch so many more fish if they would slow down and concentrate on "finesse fishing." I also strongly recommend using the lightest weight Ned Jigs and smallest hooks that you can get away with for the conditions. This gives the baits so much more of a natural presentation and they get hung a lot less. The light weight also lets the Ned skitter along the bottom contours naturally through the current seams, current breaks, and eddies. I usually use a 1/32 - 1/16 size jig with #4 - #2 size hooks. The plastic of choice this weekend was a Robo Ned in Green Pumpkin Perch color. Most of the smallmouth were found near the end of the riffles where they drop off into the beginning of the pools. I can definitely understand why some are concerned about managing the spotted bass on the Meramec. Approximately 1/3 of the fish I caught were spots. Most of the spots were located in the deeper bends around structure. I was talking to another fisherman on the river and we discovered that we were both OA members! He was wonderful and gave me so much information and support. There is a lot of bad that can come from technology; however, I believe an amazing community of respectful fisherman with shared knowledge has also formed due to this. Thanks again GL for taking the time to talk with me on the river! My dad is mainly a crappie fisherman. Even though he grew up on the Meramec, he never truly understood the significance of the natural resource that the native smallmouth hold in these pristine waters. I'm so happy that I had the privilege to show him first-hand! He finally took his crappie jig off the last day and tied on a Ned and immediately caught a 10" smallmouth. He could not believe how hard such a small fish could fight. I think he's hooked!

I respect your effort and determination. Don't give up because it will eventually click. That is the part that makes fishing so rewarding. I got out of fishing consistently when my children were young, but now I'm an addict! I would give you advice, but it sounds like you have already tried everything I would recommend. I'm not familiar with that water, but it sounds like you should be catching fish with everything you've tried. You may explore some different areas - this is where a kayak / boat definitely helps. It's been so hot lately, that most of my river fish have been caught around riffles early or late in the day. It is exremely difficult for me this time of year when the sun is high in the sky. I believe the areas around the riffles has more dissolved oxygen and baitfish. Some riffles produce and some don't. These fish also become wise to people / predators so it is best to be sneaky. It will get better the next couple of weeks as fall approaches. When you do catch a fish remember all of the small details and conditions - and then repeat. Keep your head in these forums and you will learn so much. Let your enjoyment come from the hunt and the experience on the water vs the amount of fish you catch. Take your kids as much as you can - they grow up so fast. God Bless!

Nice report. Thanks for posting! Nothing surprises me at the ramps any more. I'm more surprised if there isn't a unique experience at the ramp on my trips. I try to see the humor in the events so it doesn't take away from my outings. My theory on the walleye is that they may be migrating up river from Table Rock because of the high water we've been having the last couple of springs. There has been a lot of good walleye reports on Table Rock recently. However, I recently read a report where guys were catching a lot of small walleye up the Meramec River as well so maybe it has something else to do with the river systems. Hopefully it's a sign of good habitat. I know that part of the James River seems like a long way from the lake, but even those huge paddlefish will make it up that far. I see their dead carcasses left at the ramps during snagging season. The rotting carcasses at the end of the ramp are usually accompanied by a mob of enthusiastic swimmers. Found a snagging hook in the bottom of my shoe one time while wading up river😲. I cringe every time I see children out there barefoot. Sadly to say a snagging hook probably isn't the worst thing to have penetrate your foot. Now if we can only get those 20" smallies to migrate up from the lake!

Looks like a great trip! Thanks for the report!!

Hey Seth, I know just a couple of weeks ago the water was still pretty much at the top of the ramp at the blunks. I think the lake level has a lot to do with the water in this area even though the galena gauge is reading average. I'm sure it's floatable, but there may not be the shoals visible that you are used to. Doesn't look like theres any significant increase in flow at the boaz gauge so I bet the water up river would be good too. Good luck buddy!

Looks like a great trip. Thanks for the report!

I always enjoy reading about your adventures. What a great way to celebrate the life / memories of a loved one. Thanks for posting!

Mntransplant you dont have to get a high-end kayak either to have success. I consider my kayak as a vessel to just get me and my gear to the fishing holes. I just use a sit on top 10ft ascend. I upgraded the seat a little and made a fishing crate for it with rod holders. You can often find them for a steal at the bass pro outlet store. If you ever want to borrow mine to try it out, I would be more than happy to lend it to you.