Maries River

[creek wader]

What a great day it was today. Temps were excellent and the sun was shinning. I finally got a chance to get out and do some wade fishing. Waded the upper Maries river. Judging by the debris up high in the trees, it had recently been out of it's banks and raging. It took a good flushing and recovered nicely. The water was clear with a strong current. The water temperature was comfortable as I wore wading shoes and swim trunks. The flood had rearanged that stretch of river. The gravel bars shifted and there were many more riffles and rapids. Some of the old holes were gone and a few new ones created. I found about a half dozen springs that I didn't know were there. So the water table must be up.

I fished for about 3 hrs and covered about a half mile of stream. I did fairly well for the first real outing of the year. I used 4" and 5" soft plastics, to avoid the dinks. I caught 9 smallies, 3 largemouth, 9 rock bass, and a handful of sunfish. ... Smallies; 1 @ 15 in., 3 @ 13 in., 4 @ 12in., 1 @ 8 in. / Largemouth: 1 @ 14 in., 2 @ 12 in. / Rock Bass; 3 @ 9 in., 5 @ 8 in., and 1 @ 7 in. ... That was the most Rock bass that I ever caught on one outing on the Maries. All fish had full bellies and were pretty hefty for their length. I don't think the fish had eggs, instead I think it was their last couple of meals. With the water being so clear, I saw many fish and they were activley feeding. I saw quite a few splashing in the shallows, chasing minnows. All in all, it was a good day. Next time, I'll have to take my camera. By the way all fish were C&R.

[Ozark Sweetwater]

Where on the Maries were you fishing?I used to fish alot around Westphalia Mo but it was getting a lot of pressure so I haven,t fished it for a couple of years.

Jeff

[creek wader]

Jeff, I believe that the Maries is one of the best kept secrets around. Please don't think that I am an butt, for not revealing the exact location. But, this is my go-to spot and could easily be fished out. I only C&R. I've covered most of the accessable water on the Maries, from the mouth upstream past Vienna, and this is my favorite stretch on the whole river. But, I will tell you that it is quite aways upstream from Westphalia. The further upstream that you get the water is much clearer, with more riffles and easier wading. It resembles more of an Ozark stream, then down by Westphelia.

While on the subject, there is quite a bit of good water that I haven't been able to reach because of the distance between accesses. I've roughly figured out that it would take between two and three days between points, (allowing for time to fish and portages), via canoe. I've always wanted to canoe/wade it but, unfortunately, I don't have that kind of time frame when I'm in the area. But, if your able to do 2 or 3 day float, I've got some ideas for you. I'm sure that stretch would produce some top-notch smallie fishing, close to you. Right now, there is a good flow and probably the best time in several years to float it. I've never seen anybody canoeing it, so there should be some virgin water there. You'll be able to fish a lot of water that even the locals can't reach. In fact any of the locals that I've ever encountered on the Maries, were fishing for suckers, not bass. Little do they know.

[Ozark Sweetwater]

I totally understand you not wanting to reveal the exact location.I was just curious about the general area.We used to catch some real nice smallies around Westphalia but it got really slow 4 or 5 years ago.I might have to break out the kayak and check it out in the near future.

Thanks again,

Jeff

[creek wader]

Jeff, it's just above hwy P.