405z06

Cool Deal! Glad you got your first MO smallie, plus some more! My advice for any MO smallmouth newbie is as follows: 1) Pick a day that you would be able to get down to Leasburg/Steelville or surrounding area by 8am 2) Call Ozark Outdoors to reserve a canoe for said day 3) Reserve float from "The Bluffs" back to Ozark Outdoors. Something like 9 miles. You wont want to do this on weekends between Memorial Day and Labor Day, typically, due to crowds.But during the week, it's fine. It's not the best fishing spot in Missouri, or even the best stretch of the Meramec, for that matter, but it's pretty darn good, and Ozark Outdoors is very accommodating to fisherman. That's the important part. 4) Focus on faster moving baits: When in a canoe, you are typically moving fast at the exact same time you are in the best water. Throwing a slow, bottom-bouncing lure in fast current while moving in a canoe is not optimal. You can take multiple rods, (I usually take 2 while in a canoe: a spinning real with a jig/bottom-bouncer, and a baitcaster with a fast moving bait). but take a rod/real that has the ability to throw something you have confidence in that is fast moving. If you don't happen to have confidence in anything like that,, throw a 1/4 oz tandem spinnerbait of some sort. Strike King, Booyah, War Eagle, whatever is available. Pick a bright colored skirt, if possible, so you can see it better in the water. 5) If you do well on that stretch, or enjoy it, then there are years worth of exploring at your disposal just in this area of the Mermamec, Huzzah, Courtois, Big Piney, and Gasconade. *I left off the Bourbuese and Big because they both suck and are chocolate-milk, frog-water waterways of Hell, and neither should really be considered an "Ozark Stream" 5) Bank fishing the Big River is a like the fat girl you try to pick up at closing time at the bar. Pure desperation. Sometimes you gotta do it just to get it out of your system, but the Big River is for addicts and hardcore folks only. I, too have driven down to Morse Mill or Rockford Beach when i was jonesing early in the season, so I understand your prerogative. I also recognize your shame. But don't do it. Just don't. Big River fishing is for super advanced fisherman or nihilists, it's not worth the stress. Certainty not from the bank, and usually not from boat/canoe, either.

Had a thoroughly mediocre day-trip on Saturday floating the Mermamec (the Bluffs to OOD). Fishing was really tough, but catching 5 spots - all about 9 inches - got my attention, as I probably haven't caught 5 spots combined in that stretch in the past 10 years.

If you are in a canoe or kayak, just fish it all (you kinda have to anyway without a motor), and you will figure it out quick enough, especially if you are an experienced angler on lakes and reservoir, like it sounds you are. When I first started I always looked for the deeper side of the river/creek to fish. If it is a turn, stay to the outside. If it's a straightaway, look to the bank and color of water to determine the side with the most depth and stick to those. Keep casting and you will pick up "patterns", usually related to current, breaks, wood, rocks, etc.

The Meramec is so diverse. I wish I could luck into an 'eye once in a while where I fish up river.

been watching these posts. was down near the 26 MM over this past weekend and it was the poorest fishing I have ever seen at LOZ. the bass fishing was so poor I bought some minnows for crappie and got skunked there, too. Back to the rivers and smallmouth for me, good luck, though.

Nice Poodle

Yeah, just a wee bit....

<i've said too much>

Are we talking about on the weekend or during the middle of the week? If it's during the week, it doesn't really matter. If it's a Sat or Sun, there are some nuances and tricks of the trade for the Meramec.

I'm no expert, and I pretty much stopped fishing impoundments when I discovered Ozark Stream Smallies, but I remember more than a few early May LOZ trips where fishing Wiggle Warts on main lake points that had a channel swing were magnificent. I also like to throw bubble gum floating trick worms behind dock cables. 1/4 oz tandem spinnerbaits are a good search bait. Those would be the 3 lures I would have tied on to start, and be ready and quick to adjust.

Yeah, the spot is pretty obvious. This thing was such a statistical fluke that i didn't think it was worth trying to hide the location. I caught a decent one there in March before the high water.

Hit the Meramec today. The last 3 weekends have been blown out due to high water, but before that - back in March, - we were really putting a hurt on 'em, numbers-wise. Which usually isn't the case this early in the Spring - at least for me and the people I fish with. With the weather decent, the river level and flow back to near normal, my buddy and were chomping at the bit to see if they were still in their haunts and active. Well, they weren't. We only caught 6 fish the entire day, but one of them was the freak below. I've been Ozark Smallie fishing for about 10 years and have never caught anything close to this, nor have I personally ever seen a another fish this size. 5.51 lbs on the Rapala digital scale. Didn't have a way to measure her length, so I am not going to take a guess. Beautiful, healthy, fat fish. She didn't have a mark on her, except on the top of her tail. Not sure what that could have been from. I could probably fish these rivers for the next 50 years and never catch another fish this big, so it was a very special moment! This post has been promoted to an article

I enjoy a good forum troll more than most. But to be a good troll you need intelligence and wit. This guy needs to go back and get his troll game polished somewhere and come back and try again.

LOL Right on, brother!