Fishing Report...somewhere On The Meramec

[Al Agnew]

I know it's going to be warmer by mid-week and the fishing will probably improve with the warmer weather, but I just couldn't wait...today was the first day in a long time that I COULD go, and according to the river gages, the Meramec was high, but I figured it would have decent clarity, and the weather was supposed to be clear with fairly light north winds. So I went.

Got a late start and didn't get to the river until 11:30 AM. I wanted to go about 5 miles upriver in the jetboat to one of my favorite winter holes, and fish my way back down. But it was darned chilly, so I stopped after a half-mile run and started fishing. Water temp showed 43 degrees, and that was warmer than the air. Visibility was about two feet. Very first cast...14 inch smallmouth. Two casts later, 12 inch largemouth. Both took a jerkbait. I decided to see if they would hit a crankbait, and soon caught another small largemouth before I finished fishing the short stretch of bank that was out of the main current. The current was strong, river up 18 inches or so, and I figured that much of the pool where I had stopped had too much current. I really expected all the fish in the pool to be in this one spot. I was probably wrong.

So by now I had warmed up, found a heavier jacket, put on some mittens and pulled my hat down over my ears, and took off upriver. Went all the way past my objective to try a backwater that usually is full of largemouths. There was current coming through the backwater due to the high water level, and there was also another boat farther up the backwater than where I usually fish. At any rate, I caught nothing in the backwater, and went back down to my "all-seasons" pool. I had called it that when describing it (without telling where it is) in my talk at the Smallmouth Alliance banquet Saturday evening, because I've caught big fish there in all seasons.

The usual best wintertime spot in it looked great, gentle eddying current just off the stronger main current. But the best log was gone, washed out in recent high water. I immediately started catching fish on a black tube, but they were all small largemouths. In the second best winter spot in that pool, the current was much too strong (I thought). So I went down toward the lower end where I had never really fished in the winter because it's usually fairly shallow and a relatively long way from deep water. I was using the jerkbait, and felt a fish load onto it. I knew it was a good one when I set the hooks. It turned out to be a beautiful, fat 20 inch smallmouth. I snapped a quick photo with it lying on the front of the boat (where I have a ruler taped) and gently released it.

Two casts later, I caught a 14 incher. Then a nice largemouth, around 15 inches. It was tough fishing, because I had to hold the boat out in strong current and fish angling upstream, so I didn't really fish that spot the way I would have liked to. I finally hung up, and not wanting to lose a high dollar Japanese jerk bait, went in to get it. The spot was rocky, with a very narrow deep channel along the bank, 6-7 feet deep but only about 5-10 feet wide, rising very quicky to three feet or less as you came out toward the center of the river and the stronger current.

Then I went back upstream to the area that I had thought had too much current, and caught two small largemouths on the crankbait.

By this time, it was already after 4 PM, and I wanted to fish several more spots before quitting. So I motored back down to the first of them, where I caught three 12-14 inch smallmouths. Then to the second...a couple of smallies of the same size. Then the third...a couple more, same size. By the time I got to the last spot I wanted to fish, it was after 6 PM (glad it's now daylight savings time). I caught a couple more small smallies there, and hooked one more fish that felt like a pretty good one. It hit the jerkbait right against the bank before I had gotten it more than a foot or two deep. But it got off. By the time I loaded the boat on the trailer it was getting dark.

Uneventful wildlife viewing day except for a LOT of vultures, and one armadillo rustling around in the leaves on a steep hillside. It never got more than 45 degrees all day, although the water temp actually rose to over 46 degrees by late afternoon. Only one notable fish...but any day I can catch a 20 inch smallmouth is a GREAT day...and this was my first 20 incher of the year.

[Phil Lilley]

Thank you, sir. Great report.

[King Fish]

1 question.. were you above or below scotts ford on the river.. If you don't want to answer I might understand.. got a day off work tomorrow and I got cabin fever BAD!!! I got to go somewhere..

PK

[patfish]

Somewhere!?!?!?! Al, you're killin me!

Great report and sweet smallie. Thanks for sharing.

<I now have a personal mission to find Al's honey hole..... just kiddin>

[Al Agnew]

1 question.. were you above or below scotts ford on the river.. If you don't want to answer I might understand.. got a day off work tomorrow and I got cabin fever BAD!!! I got to go somewhere..

PK

Well...it was somewhere between Scott Ford and Times Beach

[King Fish]

Excellent.. excellent... LOL! now that really narrows it down.. thx...

PK

[creek wader]

Nice report, as usual, Al.

[Mottled Sculpin]

Hey Al, was that Jerkbait you caught the 20 incher on a soft plastic or hard jerkbait? I assume you were using a very slow approach?

Thanks for the great report!

barry

[Al Agnew]

Hard jerkbait...yep, you gotta fish them slowly when the water temps are below 50 degrees.