Lloyd

Sorry to hear this. One summer day in the late 90s I was chasing stripers with a buddy of mine around Menemsha, a fishing village on the north side of Martha's Vineyard. When we pulled up to the dock who did we see but Flip Pallot. We had watched many episodes of The Walkers Cay Chronicles and I was in equal parts awe and disbelief. But my brazen friend, who at the time was about 15 years old, walked straight up to Flip and asked if he'd like to join us on his 13 foot Boston Whaler. And Flip said sure, why not? He was short on time so we only motored a few hundred feet down the channel before dropping anchor, putting us within casting range of a sandy flat where stripers cruised. It was mid-day and the water was super clear, so I didn't expect to catch anything on artificials. Live mackerel had been the ticket for those conditions. But Flip pulled out a streamer and began working the current seams with his fly rod, and within about 20 minutes he nailed a decent bass. My friend and I were throwing jointed plugs on spinning gear and we couldn't conjure a single hit. The entire time Flip was as friendly as could be, asking us all about our recent adventures and regaling us with a few tales of his own. Soon after that we had to head back to the dock, but the memory was made. Flip Pallot was a great fisherman, and a gentleman.

Very nice! Congrats, John!! Great pictures, too 😀.

That's awesome. One of my regular creeks has a lot of smallmouth, but it's heavily pressured for its entire length. The other one gets a lot less attention, but it only has about half the flow and many of the good pools have silted in over the last few years. I really want to find a few more of those under the radar creeks (which is presumably becoming harder and harder), even if that means driving an additional half hour each way. Let's just say I spend a lot of time on Google maps :).

Congrats on your move! I'm 60 - 75 miles from some good creeks. If that number were 20 and I were fishing 4 days a week, it might change my perspective a bit.

Yeah, I strongly prefer artificials as well, but in those situations where there are big bass in front of me and they aren't eating my lures (maybe because they're inactive, or because they see me, or because my lures look ridiculous and nothing like the prey they supposedly represent), I will resort to live craws or minnows if they're available. And they almost always get it done. IMO the big downsides to live bait are: 1) getting it is often a challenge, 2) keeping it frisky on your hook is another challenge, 3) you can't cover much water with it, and 4) it's a pretty boring way to fish.

I get to creek fish three times per month at best, so maybe 10 - 15 trips per year. Given that my time on the water is priceless, I don't mind paying a little more to have the best possible lure for the job. Fortunately, flukes are cheap :).

Can you catch live crayfish at your creek? As WestCentral said, if you can see the fish, they can see you, but as long as they're not spooked it's rare that they won't slurp a well presented craw.

They definitely stocked it last winter. I caught a few.

Dang, what a huge bummer. On the flip side, I'm impressed that anyone (I assume it was MDC?) was collecting data on a pond as small as Walker.

In my experience it's not easy to consistently catch bass in the summer in most St. Louis area ponds. The prespawn period (March - April) is about 10x better both for size and numbers. In the summer there are days when the fish are biting like crazy, but they are few and far between. I think a lot of the ponds have healthy populations of bass, but all the fishing pressure has a very negative impact on catch rates.

That's awesome! Way to get her started on the right foot! I've tried to introduce some of my more casual fishing friends to the fluke and they're still a bit skeptical :).

Thanks, John! It really is an amazing bait. Definitely my favorite smallmouth lure, and there isn't a close second. That erratic action just triggers them like nothing else.

On Sunday I had a marathon creek fishing day, starting before 6 am and ending after 8 pm, and the fish were chomping. I've heard that on the Susquehanna the fishing is best after rain when the water is rising, and maybe that's the case here, too. According to a nearby river gauge the water level peaked around 3 am and then started dropping, and the water at the creek was up and had a slight stain. Over the course of the morning and afternoon I caught a number of 17 - 19.5 inch fish on a fluke and a WTD bait, making it a great day, but the best was yet to come. It was a little after 6 pm towards the upper end of the smallmouth habitat on the creek. I had made a cast into the lower end of a long pool when I saw a big wake behind my fluke. It followed for several seconds before it hit, and then a drawn out battle ensued. When the fish jumped I saw that it was big, but I didn’t realize just how big. Maybe I should have guessed, because she just wouldn't come in. I’d gain some line, and then she’d make a 10 - 15 foot run. There was a small tree in the water towards the far bank, and she very nearly got into it a few times. I had to really strain the line to keep her out. This was the first time while fighting a smallmouth that I felt that 8 lb. test wasn’t quite enough. I would have felt a lot better with 10 or 12 lb., as she definitely had the upper hand for most of the fight. Obviously I lost all sense of time while fighting the fish, but I’d guess it took me about two minutes to get her to the bank, and then I saw what a tank she was. I knew immediately that she was pushing 20 inches if not over 20. And her depth was so much more impressive than any of the 19 inch fish I’ve caught. I had the thought that she was in a different category of fish, that she might as well have been a different species. Holding her up for pictures, I was confident she weighed at least four lb.s, although I’ll never know for sure. While keeping her in the water I carefully measured her several times and she was a little over 20 inches. I've caught the same fish twice several times on this creek. When released she swam off strongly, so hopefully I'll have another run in with her in the near future. What a thrill.

I had a similar experience a few weekends ago. I explored two creeks that I'd never been to before, but which have reputations for being decent smallmouth fisheries. The first creek I visited was awful. The scenery was beautiful, but there were hardly any bass, and the few that were there were small and tight-lipped. The second creek was completely different in terms of results. I was throwing a Shower Blows 77 WTD lure and almost immediately I caught a 14" smallie. A good start, and in stark contrast to the first creek. I made my way upstream, and continued to catch fish, but after that one smallie all I caught were 10 - 12" spots. It was definitely fun to catch these fish on topwater, and their strikes made them look a lot bigger than they were. But after a while I started to get tired of them, and wanted to catch a big smallie. I plan to try some different sections of this creek and will hopefully find some that are less crowded with spots.

Well said. I've been fishing for almost 40 years and I've learned a lot, but it's obvious that there's still SO MUCH MORE to learn. Most of the time when I try something new I end up very glad I did, because I uncover some new wrinkle that changes the way I think about fishing, almost like an unlock in a video game. To me the experimentation you can do while fishing is one of the most satisfying aspects of the sport.

Did my second creek trip of the year, this time to one of the Mississippi tribs. IMO there are about 9 miles of good smallmouth water in this creek, and I decided to start with the middle section since there’s good access and it would be easy to switch gears if the fishing were bad. I arrived at 8:30 am and yet again I was surprised by the height of the water and how fast it was flowing. I guess that’s what happens when you only fish a creek in the summer and then one year you show up in early May. The first two hours were disappointing. I didn’t see (let alone catch) a single bass of any kind. One pool that used to be awesome but wasn’t looking too hot last year was even worse now. The corridor of rocks at the head of the pool was completely silted over, as was the previously deep run. Just sad. Still, it was toward the upper end that I caught my first fish of the day, a chunky spotted bass, on a Zoom Speed Craw. After that I had a one hour dry spell, but then I got to a pool that has been consistently good for the last five years, and most of it still looks good now. Toward the tail end there’s a mostly shallow section with a narrow, deeper run against one bank, and with the high water it looked very fishy. On my third cast I felt a solid thump and began fighting what turned out to be a gorgeous, tiger-striped 17 incher. All of a sudden I was feeling a lot better about the trip, and I figured I’d get at least one more smallie of similar size toward the upper end of the pool. But that was not to be. I did get another good hit, but I missed the fish. The next pool upstream was entirely transformed compared to previous years. It used to be slow and deep, with a big tree running down its length. Now it was much shallower, and water was ripping over a rock ledge at the head of the pool. I made several casts into the fast water right below the ledge, and soon hooked a nice fish. It was a solid 16 incher with a nice gut, presumably a prespawn female. The next section was very disappointing. Three pools in a row, all of which used to be great, seemed to be devoid of bass. I can only hope that some smallmouth filter into these pools over the summer. I decided it was time to try the upstream section, so I hoofed it down to my car and drove up to the next bridge. This section wasn’t great, but it was definitely the best of the trip. At one point I was walking up the bank, intending to cast to a root wad about 50 feet upstream, when I heard a splash immediately to my left. I looked over and saw three roving smallies in less than a foot of water just 20 feet from me. This was the first “wolf pack” that I’ve seen this year, and I was surprised that the fish seemed to be completely oblivious to my presence. I cast about 10 feet upstream of them, and they immediately accelerated towards the jig. I didn’t see or feel a bite, but after a few seconds I reeled up and the line came tight. It was another healthy fish, maybe 13 inches. I had ALMOST forgotten how much fun sight fishing for smallies can be. I had high hopes for the next pool. There I caught several small fish in the deep section toward the tail end, but the tapered section leading up to the head seemed barren. The upper section was the highlight. I had just checked the line above my jig and found some fraying, but I figured I could wait a while before retying. I quickly regretted that decision! On my second cast toward a fallen tree along the far bank I got a solid hit and found myself fighting a beastly fish. It jumped twice and made some hard runs in the current, and I had to take my time playing her for fear of breaking the 8 lb. line. But I finally landed her and she was gorgeous. I estimated 18 inches and that’s what she measured with my tape. She had a nice round belly, again suggesting that she hadn’t spawned yet. Two casts later, throwing to the exact same spot, I hooked another big fish. This one was 17 inches and had the same thick, round belly. There were absolutely more big fish in the pool - I could occasionally see them cruising up and down, but I didn’t catch any more. After that the action slowed down. About an hour later I caught one more 17 at the end of a long, slow pool, and that was it. I made lots of casts into good looking spots, but no more bites. There were a few more good pools further upstream, but the sun was starting to set, and I wasn’t looking forward to wading back to my car in the dark. All in all a decent day, but hopefully it will be a lot better this summer.

Festus is a much more favorable location than St. Louis for smallies! And yeah you definitely have to pay attention to those gauges. I was looking at the Joachim gauge in De Soto and dang that thing can spike.

Thanks, basska! They were indeed healthy, and they fought hard, especially in that swift current. Looking forward to another creek trip on Saturday.

On 4/26 I did my first creek trip of the year. Based on what I've read here, creek fishing is best from June to September, but I was prepared to learn that the hard way. On 4/20 I visited the same creek and it was completely flooded. This time I kept my eye on Big River gauge at Byrnesville, since the destination was a tributary of the Big River. At Byrnesville the flow was down to 1600 CFS, compared to around 10,000 CFS the week before. I was expecting the creek to be totally manageable, but I was surprised that it was still a lot higher than I’m used to. Wading through certain sections was difficult, both because of the strength of the flow and because the water was so high I had to worry about dunking my backpack (which I did). Also, it was cloudy and breezy with air temps in the mid 50s. The water was cool and after about an hour my teeth were chattering. I started with a Zoom Speed Craw on a ⅛ oz. jig head, and I stuck with that almost the entire time. I think it was a good option, since the strong current would have made a weightless fluke or wacky worm difficult to fish, and the water was probably too cold for a good topwater bite. Maybe a small spinnerbait would have been good, but I forgot to bring those. Anyway at the tail end of the first pool upstream of the bridge I saw about a 14 inch smallie cruising back and forth. I couldn’t get him to bite, but I was happy to see a bass. I got no bites at the next several pools that were hotspots last summer, and I was starting to get discouraged. Finally, after about two hours of nothing, I caught an 11 incher from a narrow run. It was a sorry looking creature with a hump back, but it was my first smallmouth of the year and I was grateful to lip it. I didn’t catch another decent fish until I got upstream of all my known good pools. It was at the pool just upstream of the farthest one where I caught a good fish last year. This pool LOOKED good then, but it seemed to be devoid of fish. This time, about midway up the pool I saw a big splash right next to the bank, and I was confident it was a nice bass. I made several casts to the spot but didn’t get a bite. Then I threw upstream to the head of the pool, in the middle of the strong current, and immediately I hooked a 15 - 16 inch bass. Man it felt good to have a nice smallie pulling drag on my spinning rod again. A little farther upstream I caught maybe a 12 incher, but I didn’t have much confidence in the creek upstream of there, so I decided to check out the pools downstream of the bridge. In retrospect I’m not sure whether this was a good idea. Perhaps I would have done better had I continued upstream. Oh well, I didn’t have time for both. I walked/waded downstream of the bridge about half a mile, intending to fish my way back up. At that point there was a broad, shallow section and I saw a handful of bass, some of which were on beds. But I didn’t catch any fish in the shallows (less than four feet deep). It was only when I got up to a pool where I caught a bass last year that I got action. First, when my casts were getting close to the head of the pool, I saw a nice smallie chasing the Speed Craw but he didn’t take it. Then, when I cast to the very head of the pool, just like earlier, I almost immediately hooked up. This fish was a chunky 16 incher. I made lots more casts throughout the pool, but I got no more hits. Maybe it would have been worth trying a different lure, like a jerbait or a fluke. Further upstream, and probably within 100 yards of the bridge, there’s another deep cut where I’ve never done well. There was a small tree sticking out into the water, and casting near the tree led to several hits, from which I caught two or three smallies, the biggest of which was maybe 13 inches. At that point it was a little after 7 pm and I called it a day. After about 8 hours of fishing I only caught three photo-worthy fish, but considering that this was my first April smallmouth trip, I wasn’t disappointed. What was interesting to me about this trip was that I didn’t catch any fish in the sections of creek that didn’t concentrate the current. I had figured that with the cooler temps the fish would be chilling in the slower sections (and some fish were, but they weren’t eating Zoom craws), out of the main flow. Nope, the fish that were willing to bite were in the strongest current at the heads of deep, narrow runs.

Very nice fish. I've been hitting the ponds around St. Louis and have done my best this spring during the periods of nasty weather, and between sunset and complete darkness. Crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and chatterbaits have all been good.

That's a crazy looking fish. To me the head looks like a cuda and the tail looks like a trout. Wild.

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.