ozark trout fisher

There are good gravel bars to camp on all along the river. Not so many as the Current or Meramec, but plenty where finding one to camp on shouldn't be a problem.

Buckshot, I always find your posts, well, interesting.......

There is a definite brown trout run on the Current, although I doubt if its as defined as in the tailwaters. I'm not sure if it has started yet, but when it does there will be an unusually high concentration of large browns from the lower end of the park to Tan Vat.

Oh stop it Chief. No one is saying your opinion isn't worth hearing, we're all just saying it ain't the ONLY opinion worth hearing. I know you know your stuff, and I'm sure you're a good fisherman. No one is debating that you're a knowledgeable fisherman, and you know that full well. Some people happen to disagree with you, and you shouldn't necessarily jump to the conclusion that we're coming after you personally. I WANT to hear what you have to say about the spotted bass issue. I find your posts informative and interesting. I just don't want to be attacked personally.

Amen to that.... I watched it tonight, its very nice.

Hey.... No worries. I've been known to bust out the Powerbait when times are tough. I can't remember the last trout park trip I didn't at least take it along for trip insurance......... You're probably right its no the right thing to just tell them its illegal and walk away... But frankly I'm not good enough of a lunker fisherman to show anyone else... If I tried to teach them, they'd probly go right back to snagging

Wow... That brown in your picture has some huge freaking teeth... Sorry, I know that's way off topic, but it just kinda caught my eye.

In that case, this migration would be caused by rising water temperatures in the Meramec River. But I am not aware that water temperatures are rising.... Maybe they are, but I've not heard of it. I don't dispute that there is global warming going on, I know there is, but I am just not sure that the Meramec's water temperatures have been rising. Is there a way to figure out if they have been, I'm honestly asking.

I accidentally made it to Maramec on derby day one time. I won't ever make that mistake again. I honestly believe more fished were snagged than caught. It kinda made me want to throw up... What satisfaction could a person possibly get from snagging a fish? One guy even walked up to me and bragged about catching them on a "treble hooked wire nymph". I told him it was illegal, but he didn't seem to care.

It sounds like you had ALL the elements there for a perfect day. Well done.

Orange and peach work well.

Eggs, eggs, and eggs this time of year. Bring scuds too. If the water is low, remember the 7x.

Yeah, next weekend I might go again, and take out another dozen or so. That is if the water drops a bit.

No. I was going to, but I got too wrapped up in fishing below the park, and time just kinda ran out.

I didn't go to the roundup... But I drove over the Bourbeuse today, and it was high and muddy... I bet fishing was tough this weekend.

I made it down to the river this morning... I took a few half-hearted casts in the park, then headed down to do some real fishing in the Red Ribbon area. The fishing was good today. Water flow was strong, at about 800 CFS when I left, 700 when I got back. The current was very manageable, and not too hard to wade. Water was milky, but definitely fishable. I fished the stretch between the Park and Dry Fork over several times, picking up a few trout each time. I did really well in one particularly deep pool only a few hundred yards downstream from the park. The trout population seems strong in the river, and I think this might be a good fall for the Meramec. For trout, all were rainbows between ten and fifteen inches. I caught one smallmouth too, above the piles.

You certainly are a character buckshot............................... Oh yeah, just tell me the name of your pond so I don't accidentally swim in it :lol: Have you considered stocking the Loch Ness Monster? The water quality might be just perfect in your pond. How about giant squid, and blue whales???? I think you should stock them in the pond, seriously. I bet they'd keep a pretty good check on the crappie population............................ Just kidding of course, no offense intended...

Yeah, I think my general plan is to get a few hours of smallie fishing in tomorrow morning, and then fish the park in the afternoon. I've been wanting to catch both smallmouth bass and trout, and this plan should kill two birds with one stone if everything goes right................... I will probably bring my kayak to fish above the park with, and maybe a bit below. Unfortunately, I can't use soft plastics for bass in that stretch, so I'll be limited to crankbaits, spinners, topwater, etc. Oh well. If there's still time at the end of the day, I might try a few casts in the Bourbeuse at Union as well, because its right on the way home. Hopefully I'll have some nice fish to report. I doubt it though.

Just trust me on this one man.... I like to eat fresh stocker trout, but a big brown absolutely is the gamiest, worst tasting fish you'll ever care to find. I made the mistake (it still upsets me that I did this) to keep a pretty decent brown in the White River. I almost instantly felt bad, but it was too late to release him. To add insult on to injury, he didn't taste very good, although I did eat him. And this fish wasn't even close to seven pounds. I find I always feel better after releasing a trophy (whether it is a smallmouth, trout, whatever) than keeping it, but I consider it a matter of preference.

Just one more question to anyone who may know the answer.... If I was to wade the Meramec upstream from the spring branch, what kind of fishing would I find? I realize it would be more warmwater species, but that's just fine with me. Any nice smallmouth or trout to be caught up there? Just in case I'm bringing my smallmouth tackle box along with trout gear. My 5-weight rod was broken today , so it'll be spin-fishing tomorrow. Any smallmouth or largemouth bass caught up there will be released by the way..... I might try to gather up a trout dinner of dumb stockies in the park, but I'll release resident trout and bass.

Will do.

No worries.... I spin fish too.

You're the only one throwing punches, and slinging mud here. No one appreciates it. I listen to your opinion and think its worth listening to. The problem lies in the fact that you don't think there is merit to anyone else's opinion, and you invariably come in with both guns blazing. But Creek Wader is right. I'm going fishing. Maybe I'll be nicer when I get back.

I suppose you're right. Maybe they should just pick one section of ten mile or so, and just focus on that... At least maybe we'd have one stretch of the Bourbeuse or lower Meramec for those who want to catch smallies. Until then, we need to get a special management area in place.

The MDC already electro-shocks the rivers. All they would need to do would be to not release the spots that they shock... Doubt if that would cost much extra. But in general, I agree. Spots are probably here to stay. Still, I know I'm going to do my part to manage the population, of them, which means I'm not releasing any I catch in the Meramec basin. Also, I think there need to be regs that eliminate or greatly reduce the harvest of smallies.