ozark trout fisher

My guess too. It's a bit early for the fall lake-run browns, but it almost had to be from Lake Michigan. It didn't really have the typical silvery color of a coaster brown, but who knows.

Not really, actually. I just listen to people that have many years of experience on the river in question. Let's face it. You don't fish here, you really don't know what's going on with the system. I don't really know either, because I have only been fishing the river a few years myself. Personally, I will chose to trust Al Agnew's observations on the subject. The difference between you and I sir, is I admit it when I'm not sure of something. You can consider that a weakness, but I don't.

Seriously.... I really don't understand why you think you know WAY more about the Meramec River system than anyone else, even though I'm pretty sure you don't fish it very often, if at all. Mr. Agnew has been on all of the rivers in the system, and has fished them all extensively for decades. Just like I don't really know what's going on in your part of the state, you may not know what's going on in this part of the state. Experience on the river is the best judge of these things if you ask me.

You'd be passionate about it too if all your home waters were in the Meramec basin. I don't mind a differing opinion. I just don't agree with you.

Definitely go out and give it a try. It really reminds me of an eastern brook trout stream. If you need specific locations of the better accesses, just let me know and I'll shoot you a PM, provided you're gonna release what you catch. Not many legal fish in that creek anyway.

Wow! What a fish. That had to be a lake run brown. I just can't imagine a fish growing that large in a Michigan stream.

You're right. Winter equals less numbers, but much bigger fish.

I went to Yellowstone for a couple week a few years ago. It was pretty much just a fishing trip (didn't do all the sight seeing stuff, so I can't help you out there). Anyway, I hiked up above Yellowstone Lake (its a long hike, and there are no roads) and fished the headwaters of the Yellowstone. That is about the most memorable fishing I've ever had. There are lots of cutthroats, and they're pretty good sized too. And not another person for miles around. But that doesn't help you much for a family trip. I also had good results on the Gibbon not far from where it meets the Firehole to form the Madison. It's flies only there, and I did well fishing a Prince nymph under a bubble on my spinning rod. There are some good browns there. But that area is almost too road accessible, and the fish are educated. If the lower Gibbon is too warm, you might do well in the Yellowstone below the lake, or the Gardiner River. Both are pretty good streams. Also, the Upper Gibbon (above Gibbon Falls) almost always remains cool through the summer, and has pretty decent fishing as well, although the fish are generally smaller. You can also do well on Yellowstone Lake. The cutthroat population is down, but there are still enough to be worth fishing for. The best part is, they generally stay within casting range of the shore all summer long. I caught a few nice trout out of there as well.

Okay, let me make my point with an analogy.... Say a thief goes into your house and steals everything, because the lock on the front door is broken. Will you fix the lock so someone else can't rob your house? Of course, that's just common sense. But you also will want to find the thief and have him charged, right? For those who don't get it, here's a little help..... Thief=spotted bass All the valuables in your house= smallmouth bass The broken lock= the habitat problems on the Meramec River house= The Meramec River system

It's a good creek for sure. There is a fair amount of dead, slow water, but every riffle or fast moving pool holds several fish, mostly in the 8-14 inch range, but there are some bigger ones. Fall can be pretty good fishing, as long as its flowing at least 40 cfs or so. The fish always seem to be pretty concentrated. Wherever you find one, you can usually get a couple.

Sometimes a little tough love is needed to save a fishery. Unless I'm incorrect, natural evolution in almost all cases occurs over a long period of time, moving so slowly that we can't really observe it happening. The spotted bass invasion happened so quickly, and without any warning, that I do not think this could be qualified as natural evolution. They are invading the smallies habitat, and drastically reducing their numbers. That's proven. I say kill 'em all.

My opinion exactly.

It sounds good to me too... Sounds like that might be a lot of fun. I camped at White's Creek float camp earlier this year on a fishing trip , but we didn't go back into the wilderness area. Caught a nice trout in the water right by the campground.

I'm confused. Do you mean for trout? If so, that's a new one on me. I was down there a bit ago and just killed them on 1/24 ounce roostertails with a small split shot a foot ahead, (trout I mean).

Congrats!

I was planning on fishing out of the canoe, but getting out and going hunting anyway. The Buffalo seems a bit far though.... Plus the out of state license would be kinda prohibitively expensive. Thanks for the info. I know this sounds silly, but I don't mind floating in an area where the deer hunting isn't exactly prime. I've been hunting for 4 years out here, and only ever harvested one deer, a small doe. That gives you an idea of my intensity level when it comes to hunting.... I just wanted to try something different than the stand hunting I usually do. I wonder how many deer have walked past my stand while I've been asleep??? Plus fishing, in my humble opinion, is way better, and it just seems like a good idea to incorporate a bit of it into deer hunting.

Definitely fish the Gunnison. That is one of the best rivers in Colorado for sure. If you hit it right, the fishing is absolutely epic. Another area in Colorado you might look at is the northwest corner around Steamboat and Craig. I used to live out there, and there are a lot of options for awesome, un-pressured trout fishing. You got the Yampa, White, as well as Trappers and Stagecoach Lake out there, along with countless mountain creeks and lakes that hold mostly cutthroats. The trout fishing isn't as famous as much of the rest of the state, but it is just as good if not better. You also have world class pike and smallie fishing in the lower Yampa. Again, just an idea.

Pretty little creek.

Forget that man... You should have used dynamite.

You sound like a conservationist. Welcome to the forum. By the way, I'm glad you use an actual photograph of yourself as an avatar. :lol:

I wouldn't recommend anything upstream from Mill Rock right now. If you do, you'll be fighting the river hand and foot, dragging every single riffle. Also, I would make sure to keep floats short. You'll be dragging a lot no matter where you go. Good luck.

Yeah, this was definitely an interesting thread, in a very weird type of way... Scudz Rule LOL

Thanks for all the suggestions. Decisions, decisions.... I don't bow hunt, so the Meramec is probably out, but all the other options sound great. Thanks again.

I've caught a few white bass on the Meramec just about 1/4 mile above the mouth.... One time at Howell Island conservation area (fishing a Missouri River backwater), I really tore up the whites on a rattle trap. I've never found them again since though. Thanks for the reply.

I was just curious, does anyone fish for white bass on the Mighty Mo? I've heard it holds some, might be fun to try sometime. If so, what kinda bait do you use?