Fishing Report 6-14

[Mike3004]

Got down to the springs about 11 AM. Water has dropped so the hillside sidewalk at the bathroom hole is out of water mostly. Water still dingy and moving fast, but probably the best I have seen it this year. At the bathroom hole a good number of trout are residing in the rocks and there was a handful of people actively fishing for them so I continued on to see how the rest of the spring looked.

A large tree had fallen into the river well below the bathroom hole but was not affecting fishing in that area I could tell. At the bridge there were 2 people fishing from the bridge, and one fishermen fishing the water going over the rocks. That was it. I only could see one trout in the hole below the bridge, but I suspect there may have been more lurking out of sight down deeper. The water color did not allow you to see the bottom. During the short time I was there watching the floaters moving slowly down the Meramec River from the spring, none of the anglers had

I walked back up and stopped at a spot up from the bridge about a hundred yards where the springs bend towards the hillside and a point across the spring funneled the water into a smaller chute. Although the water color prevented me from seeing any trout, I knew from past trips this was an area that held trout in these conditions. I cast the yellow and orange worm into the spring and soon saw and hooked a nice trout that had aggressively raced in to bite the worm near the bank. I landed a 2nd trout soon after.

Several times I saw some nice trout but they shied away. I suspected they were laying in am undercut in a deep hole slightly upstream. I was fishing with a doughbait at this point. I removed the small spit shot to allow a slower drop and different line angle. The next cast I hooked a nice fat trout that was 15"+ inches. Several casts later I saw another nice trout shoot out from the undercut and swallow the bait. After landing that 15"+ fat trout I was happy with my stringer and headed to the cleaning station. It was 1 PM in the afternoon and the day was heating up nicely. The only bad part of that trip was that long uphill wak to the parking lot. LOL.

There are several factors contributing to the quality of fish at the springs right now. The reduced creel from 5 to 4, the dingy water hindering sight fishing, and the smaller weekend crowds that should make the rest of this year an enjoyable trip for those that can afford to make the trip to the Springs.

[FishinCricket]

Nice story.. I had just about the same experience today over at Bennett.. Dontcha just love this site? Do you tell everyone at the river about it? I just can't help but mention it to anyone that wants to talk.. Usually when you catch fish often people ask for tips.. And you know what I tell them? Ozarkanglers.com

[Bman]

Mike, Thanks for the report!