Tom

I've only fished the Current down to Two Rivers. I've had minimal success for smallies from Baptist down to Pulltite, although I hear there are decent populations, even in the trophy trout area. I've had the best luck fishing from Round Springs to Two Rivers, but would love to try the larger water below Two Rivers sometime.

Arrived at Tan Vat at 6 am on Sunday morning to find the lot empty and free of any signs of camping, mischief, etc. Hooked a fish on my first cast in the slow pool right at the access before moving down to the plunge pool and tail run just below the access. Fished a hare's ear with a BWO emerger dropper under an indicator and got consistent hits on the BWO, probably imitating the tricos or other flies emerging. Caught several rainbows, all in the 10-15 inch range. Switched to a size 28 spinner up top and was able to sight fish to the rising 'bows. Flies were thick but not insanely thick--from what I could see, there were certainly more fish were holding down deeper than sipping up top, but I imagine there were plenty of spent bugs down there for easy pickings. Caught several more rainbows on top before moving down river. Had more success nymphing and stripping a woolly bugger as I fished down past the small bluffs before turning back. Fish of the day was 14-15" brown on the woolly--very colorful and healthy fat. As the sun came up the water became gin clear and the fish noticeably less interested in taking my fly, although I coaxed a few more small browns into chasing the woolly. Fished until about noon before heading back to St. Louis. Overall, a great day with total fish to hand somewhere around 10-15 and probably 2-3x that as brief hookups. Leaving, the lot was almost full with a couple large groups looking to swim? and even a family practicing scuba diving, a first to see on that stretch of the river. Does anyone know about the relatively new campground near Tan Vat and the Civil War battlefield that took place on the property nearby at Inman Hollow? Haven't been down in a few months that way and its the first time I noticed the sign. I'm wondering if its worth a stop.

Hey Rick, Impressive photos of beautiful fish. My personal best is 18 inches from the Current last year, with close second being two 17 inchers from the Meramec from this year. Did the smallie caught in the Meramec in February weigh any different in the summer when you caught it?

Does anybody know of outfitters that rent river kayaks in Missouri)? I'm specifically looking for kayaks that are NOT inflatable. Any advice/direction is much appreciated.

I had a great day on the Meramec last Friday 4/28 near the Cardiac access from about 2-7 pm. Water levels were slowly falling and at ~325 cfs, down from over 500 cfs a few days ago and up from under 200 cfs a week ago. In general, there were a lot of bugs on the water. A good mix of mayflys and a fair share of buzzing caddis. Mayflys ranged from size 14-16 to smaller than 30. Lots of rising fish taking bugs just beneath the surface. Started fishing the riffle right at the access with minor success. Had a couple good looks and a strike on a duskystripe streamer, then switched over to a 14 green PT soft hackle and then a 14 PT nymph. Had missed strikes on each. I moved up to the cabin riffle, starting with the 14 green PT soft hackle. Lots of rising browns to emerging insects in this area. Had a streak of either a landed or missed fish on a series of about 10 casts, all little stocker browns but very eager to put up a fight. Switched to throwing an olive clouser and then a black bunny leech. Landed a healthy 15 inch brown on the latter and a few casts later a pig of a 16 inch rainbow on the former. Both fish were great fighters and really used the current to their advantage. Continued up past the cabin riffle to the nice run above it. A couple years ago this run really didn't exist but heavy rains must have created a gravel wash and created it. Anyways, this run was loaded with bows and browns of all sizes. Worked upstream with a 14 PT nymph and landed a couple small browns but missed several more. Near the head of the run switched back to the hackle and then to a 20 BWO emerger. Landed a 17 inch brown swinging the emerger, though I'll admit more out of luck than paying attention. I was looking upstream trying to spot fish while letting the emerger tail out in the drift when the strike came. Moved up past the sawyer hole to the long, slower stretch adjacent to the huge gravel bar below Dry Fork. Picked up 5 bows (12-14 inches) drifting the PT nymph and missed probably twice that many. Decided to turn around and fish downstream with the clouser pattern back to Cardiac. Picked up quite a few more smaller browns (8-10 inches) on this. By 5:30, the rain started to pick up and steady, but it felt great out on the water. Didn't see a single other fisherman or canoe. Saw no other people on the water and a turkey on the way out. A great day of fishing.

If you have flexibility on when you can float try your best to do so Mon.-Thurs.. Any attempts at flyfishing (or even spin fishing) for trout below Cedar Grove are challenged by the insane number of canoes that hatch on the river Fri-Sun. from May through September. Even Baptist to Cedar Grove has moderate traffic, despite the poor floating conditions (i.e. low water levels). If you must float a weekend, start very early and be prepared for interruptions in your casting as canoers float by. Not to say you can't catch fish, but its frustrating trying to work a hole when canoes are constantly moving through and especially if people are flipping over. With that said, fishing the deep holes is your best bet, since most of the fish will be spooked out of the shallower runs and riffles. An assortment of weighted woolly buggers, leeches and other minnow/crayfish streamers are effective and may land a smallie or two. For dawn/dusk, hatches of blue wing olives, tricos and other tiny mayflies are possible, mostly size 18 and smaller for BWOs. The tricos on this river can get very tiny--28s. Caddis emergence in the evenings sometimes--size 16 or 18 in tan or olive cover the bases well on top and emerger patterns fished just below the surface. Alternatively a soft hackle swung through the current can also be effective. Below Cedar Grove you will find stocked rainbow trout, but from Baptist to Cedar its primarily brown trout. Many of the patterns you mentioned are effective when fished at the right time and place. Finding those conditions is always the fun part. For spin fishing, jigs are a good bet. Also, be aware of the special regulations from Baptist to Cedar and then from Cedar on down.

Sam, Are you speaking of the hatches as being just below the park or further down in the trophy area? I hope to get out there in the next few weeks (maybe Sunday) so the hatch info helps. I imagine hoppers may still be effective as long as we don't get a deep freeze? Thanks. Tom