Lloyd

I can catch smallies in creeks fairly well, but on a big river like the Meramec I wouldn't know where to start (both literally and figuratively). I'm thinking about hiring a guide at some point to learn the ropes.

Lately I’ve been itching to catch some smallmouth. My first creek trip of the year won't be until April of May, but that won't stop me from daydreaming about it. And I'll share this trip from October. Usually I don’t do very well in October, but this trip was early in the month, and some of the pools were loaded. I began at the downstream end of the good smallmouth habitat of this creek and worked my way upstream. The sun was just starting to rise, so I tied on a generic whopper plopper. Almost immediately I caught a few small spots, which was typical for this section, but then I caught a nice largemouth, which was a nice surprise. At the first deep pool, I had another surprise - a big rock bass nailed the plopper. On the Smallie Talk podcast, they call these Frenchies, because they fight for two seconds and then give up. I didn't get any more hits on the plopper and the sun was getting higher, so I switched to a fluke... and immediately caught a 13 inch smallie. It was 8:15 am and I was finally on the board for the target species. For the next few miles the fishing was poor. Gars weren't a problem - I saw maybe 10 the whole trip. It was more a matter of habitat degradation. Many of the stretches and pools that used to be good were now silted in. One pool in particular had been excellent in 2023, with lots of 17 inchers and one I couldn't get to bite that might have broken 20. This time, I didn't see a single bass in it. The water was very low, and a small tree that had marked the east bank in 2023 was now about 10 - 15 feet from the waterline. There was one spot along this leg that had a good bunch of smallies: a pool with a stack of fallen logs at its head. The logs run directly across the creek, and there’s a deep hole just below them. I had several hits on the fluke, but I couldn't hook them, or they kept getting off. When I got up to the logs and peered into the hole, I saw four or five nice bass, and one of them looked like a 17 incher. I switched over to a senko and dropped it down. When it had almost reached the bottom a decent smallmouth darted out from the root wad and ate it. I couldn’t see the take because it was too deep, but when he got to the worm and turned around I figured he had it. And he did. Fortunately this fish was hooked well and I landed him. He was only 13 - 14 inches, but since the fishing had been tough I took several pictures. It was 10:22 am. About an hour later I got to another pool that used to be fantastic. This was where I caught my first walleye, and plenty of big smallmouth that ferociously smashed Zara Spooks over the rocks toward the upstream end. This time I caught a few small fish, but nothing worthy of a photo. It was sad that this pool had fallen so far from its former glory. By the time I got above the next bridge it was after 1 pm. I had come to a short pool that was almost entirely shaded, and I cast the fluke toward the base of a big tree overhanging the creek. About halfway back a wake appeared and I knew a hit was coming. I gave it a few seconds, then set the hook and the fish was on. He fought like crazy and I was thrilled to finally have a big smallie on the line. I measured him and he just barely made 17 inches. An awesome fish. I didn’t catch anything noteworthy for the next half mile or so, but the deep pool beneath the next bridge was money. I was still using the fluke, and I got hits on the first five or so casts. Soon I had a good fish on but he got behind a rock pile and broke me off. Then I caught a 14 incher. I kept casting and kept getting hits. At one point I had what felt like a nice one but he got off, and I cursed the heavens. Yes, I missed and lost a ton of fish on this trip. But I kept casting, mostly to the far side of the torrent of water flowing into the pool so that the fluke was working through the flow. And then I hooked a monster. When it jumped, I thought it might be a 20. I was in the water and when I brought it close it almost darted between my legs, twice. I had to squeeze my feet together so he couldn’t get between. This fish measured 19 inches, but he was skinny and might not have made 3 lb.s. After that I caught some smaller fish from the pool, including another rock bass, but nothing worth a picture. Still, there were obviously plenty of good fish in this pool. I had high hopes for the stretch upstream of the bridge, and it didn’t disappoint. At first I was wading and casting almost directly upstream, but then I moved to the bank and cast across the creek. I think this was the right idea, since at least some of the fish cruise up and down the pool and will clearly see you if you’re standing in the middle of the creek. About halfway up the pool I caught my first fish there, which I think was a 17.5. A little ways upstream I had just started to reel in the fluke for another cast when a big smallie appeared out of nowhere and crushed it. What an awesome hit. I’m confident that if I had been in the creek, this hit never would have happened. The fish was a hair over 18 inches. The sun was getting low so I felt the urge to speed up and cover more water. On the other hand, I was already on fish. The head of this pool used to be fantastic, and once I caught three nice smallies on consecutive casts there. But this time it was silted in and didn’t appear to be worth much effort. But while I was hastily wading through I saw a few minnows jump towards the far bank. I cast in that direction and within seconds I had a nice fish on, and it turned out to be a hefty smallmouth/spot hybrid. It was 5:37 pm and the sun was below the tree tops, so the entire pool was in shadow. Sunset was at 6:36 pm. The next pool, which had a big tree running down its length, was fire. I cast to the left side of the tree and immediately caught a nice largemouth. Then I cast to the right side and hooked a solid fish. I ran up the bank to get a better angle and keep him out of the tree, which I barely did. When he jumped I saw it was a monster, and when it landed it sounded like someone threw a bowling ball off a bridge. There were several smaller fish following and I put zero effort into concealing myself from them - I was going to make sure I landed this fish. When I got him to the bank I saw that his patterning was very similar to a big smallie I caught from the next pool upstream in early September. Later, a comparison of the pictures from both occasions revealed a little black spot above the fish's left eye. So I’m pretty sure this was the same fish. Catch and release works again. That’s at least the third time that I’ve caught the same fish twice at this creek. He was 19 inches. The next fish was on the next cast, but this one was only about 13 or 14 inches. There was a much bigger bass following, maybe a 17 or 18, but I never got him to bite. It was just after 6 pm and starting to get dark, so rather than picking apart this pool (which likely would have given up more good fish), I decided to move to the next pool upstream. I immediately had a hit but missed him. A few casts later I hooked a 13 incher, and while I was fighting him I had to appreciate the serenity of the moment. The stiff breeze and rustling leaves of the afternoon had fully diminished, giving way to complete stillness. It had become so quiet that I could hear the boils the fish made as it came near the surface, and with the bluff walls across the creek as a backdrop, I had the realization: this is it, this is the kind of moment I live for. A minute or two later I caught another fish of similar size, and that was the last one of the trip. I made a few more casts past the boulder about midway up the pool, then started heading back downstream. At the stretch above the bridge I took a few minutes to throw a Spook Boyo, and while I got one good blow up, I didn't connect. By the time I got back to my car it was almost completely dark. I had fished from dawn to dusk and I was exhausted, and ecstatic. Looking back, I feel exceedingly grateful to have this kind of smallmouth fishing within a short drive of home. Hopefully 2025 will be just as good.

I can relate to this. I took a break from fishing much between 2000 and 2020. When I picked up the hobby again I figured I should update my equipment, since supposedly there had been big improvements both in rods and reels. Well, the new rods I've tried are definitely lighter, but I don't notice much of an improvement in sensitivity compared to my rods from the 1990s. You'd think these fancy carbon composites and weaves would actually do something special, right? And many of the new spinning rods have weird reel seats that are downright uncomfortable, at least in my hands. Seems like manufacturers are trying hard to make their rods look sophisticated and futuristic, but the final product is actually a step backward.

I've heard of instances of this in Indiana but not in Missouri. If it really is happening here I definitely want to be able to read more about it.

I don't think I have a favorite way to fish. If I do any one thing for long I get tired of it and need to change it up. Of course I love the surface explosions that come with topwater lures, as well as the ability to make long casts and cover lots of water. I also think I tend to catch bigger fish (at least when it comes to smallmouth) with topwater. But I loathe all the missed hits and the number of fish that throw the lure or just come off. And with topwater, I'm lucky to catch two or three fish from a school, whereas with soft plastics I might catch every one of them. That last point is important when I'm creek fishing and there are only so many good pools I can access in a day. Soft plastics also tend to be more weedless, allowing them to be skipped right up to the weeds, root wads, and undercut banks where smallies wait in ambush.

Fair question. They were flopping around at first, but I tried to keep them in the water until they settled down which took about 10 seconds. After the pictures both fish swam away looking good.

On Sunday I waded one of the Mississippi River tributaries south of St. Louis. It was my first time at this section of creek, and since access wasn't all that easy I was hoping the fishing would be great. While it didn't quite turn out that way, it was still worth the trip. I fished downstream about 1.5 miles with a Zara Spook Boyo. Caught a few dinks and then a good one that fought like a maniac with a handful of cartwheeling leaps. A little ways downstream I worked the lure around some exposed tree roots and got another explosive strike. This fish was fighting just like the last one, but it soon turned to dead weight. As I hauled it to the bank I saw that there were TWO nice fish on the Spook. Apparently a following fish had tried to steal the lure out of the first one's mouth. I've caught two fish at a time before, but never two good ones. Also, the difference in color between the two was dramatic. At first glance I would have thought the lighter one was a smallmouth, but given the contrast I suppose it was a hybrid. Anyway that was the last of the action on the downstream leg. Plenty of pools looked like honey holes but if there were any fish they weren’t interested in the Spook. On the way back upstream I switched to a wacky rigged 4” Yum Dinger. Immediately I started catching more dinks. A little further upstream there were a few stretches that were lined with weeds, and they were thick with largemouths. These fish had snubbed the Spook but were more than happy to inhale the wacky worm. While I’d rather catch smallies than largemouth, I’d rather catch largemouth than nothing. There’s a tributary of my favorite creek that has similar habitat and I can’t wait to try the wacky there as I bet it will do well. In the meantime I'm looking forward to exploring other sections of this creek.

One of the spots I fished does have a relatively deep undercut bank as well as a big root wad about 30 feet downstream. I investigated both but it's definitely possible that I just couldn't see them. I've been surprised quite a few times when a nice bass popped out of a stump or small tree branch that I didn't even bother to fish because it seemed too shallow and exposed. Seems they're really good at finding nooks and crannies you had no idea were there. As for the hybrid. Interesting that in my two-year experience with this creek I've caught a whole lot more hybrids than straight spotted bass. Kinda like some of the places I've fished in St. Louis that have way more bluegill/green sunfish hybrids than green sunfish.

Come to think of it, I did see a bald eagle in a tree over one of those pools yesterday.

How things can change from one week to the next. I waded my favorite creek on 9/11 and the fishing was fantastic. I caught over 11 quality smallmouth (16" or more by my estimates), and lost one that looked to be over 18." The water was higher than it was on previous trips this year, so presumably the area had gotten some recent rain. What really surprised me was the size of the schools in confined areas. In two spots I saw schools of at least 10 good fish, whereas I typically don't see more than two to three fish of that size together. Fast forward a week and things were totally different. The water was way down but I decided to check those spots to see if the fish were still there. Well they weren't, at least not in anywhere close to the numbers from the week before. I did thorough searches of both pools, wading right up to the available structure and peering down into it. In both cases I only saw a few fish. So where did the rest go? It's hard to imagine that they went downstream, because that would involve traversing countless riffles where the water barely wets an ankle. And yet that seems more likely than alternative explanations - that the fish went upstream, or that they were still there and I just couldn't see them. Any thoughts?

Good point - this creek is a over an hour from the city. So not all that close, but a lot closer than I was expecting.

Heh that's fine with me. It's amazing how fast an entire day can go by when you're on the creek.

Thanks, John! That's exactly what I plan to do. Google maps/satellite is quickly becoming best friend.

Hey all. I had a bit of a revelation this fall and I thought I'd write about it. I grew up in New England with lots of great largemouth bass fishing in ponds and lakes, so when I got to St. Louis in 1999 that's the kind of water body I looked for. Over the years I fished places like Jefferson Lake near my house, Spanish Lake, and Busch Conservation Area, and caught a few fish, but never enough to get excited about. I also did a few float trips on the Current and Meramec with grad school friends. These were not "take in the scenic beauty of nature" trips but rather "let's get as hammered as possible without falling out of the canoe and drowning" trips, so while I brought a fishing rod on some of them, I never caught more than a handful of small bass and sunfish. Eventually I stumbled across this forum and read stories about people catching good fish on rivers and creeks, but I had to wonder if these were really any better than the lakes I had already tried. That said, I just couldn't ignore the posts people like Al Agnew were writing. Stories of 50, 80, 100+ fish days. Was that even possible??? To me it seemed almost unimaginable, and yet maybe there was something to them. I did more reading and in September, almost on a whim, decided to explore a creek that was rarely mentioned online, but that had a good reputation. As I approached the bank I knew that this was going to be a totally different experience. There were fish everywhere. On my first three casts with a Rebel Wee Craw I caught three fish: two 8" largemouths and a longear sunfish that nailed the craw as it spun wildly on the surface with the line fouled around the hooks. The rest of the day was almost as good. I lost count of the bass but it must have been at least 30, with several over 12" and one around 15." Since then I've explored different sections of the creek, each time going farther upstream or downstream, and each time with similarly great results. The kicker was catching my first walleye, which I had no idea were in this creek, and which I had dreamed about catching since I was in junior high. Now I'm kicking myself for not doing this trip 20 years ago. My eyes are open - there is some fantastic fishing not far from St. Louis. Before this, I always looked forward to trips to Martha's Vineyard to catch bonito and false albacore, and fantasized about catching inshore species like snook, tarpon, and redfish in Florida. Now all I want to do is explore relatively local waters: the Gasconade, Jacks Fork, and Buffalo to name a few. So thanks to all of you on this forum who got me more curious about fishing the Ozarks. That made all the difference.