If You Were In Charge Of Meramec Springs What Would You Do?

[ozark trout fisher]

If I was king of the Meramec Spring Park I would:

1. Remove the dam at the end of the park.

2. Remove the sidewalk, crushing it into pieces and useing it for river structure.

3. Make below the bridge a Blue Ribbon trout area.

4. Make above the bridge all C&R

5. Stock more browns

6. Stop mowing the grounds and let the wild grasses take over.

Am I missing anything?

I agree completely with all of those ideas. The removal of the rock dam would be extremely beneficial to the Red Ribbon area as well... I think it would result in a lot more rainbows down there.

For me, Meramec is sort of a 2nd class trout fishery right now, both the spring branch and the river. The potential is there in both waters, but overcrowding and mismanagement really hurts things. I would go one step further on Maramec than you- I would remove all of the rock dams and return it to it's natural state, adding some more boulders here and there to give the fish places to hide from the current. Besides returning a formerly nice creek to it's natural state, it would remove most of the pressure from the sit and wait bait guys.

The biggest problem with the Red Ribbon area is overcrowding from floaters in my opinion (that may or may not have a significant impact on the trout population, but it can sure make it miserable to fish during the summer), but the rock dam at the lower end of the spring branch really hurts things too. Also, as several folks have already pointed out, the river is extremely susceptible to high water, and can remain unfishable for long periods of time. That issue we of course can't do anything about.

Until then, I will continue to fish the Red Ribbon area in fall and winter, but it's hardly worth it in spring (almost constant high water), or summer (crowds). In it's current state, Maramec Spring is pretty much useless all year, although I do occasionally like to try the riffle water up at the head of the fishable water during winter. Maramec Spring could be so much better, but I don't forsee the necessary changes happening anytime soon, and given our state's current financial condition, it would probably be fiscally irresponsible to do any of these things right now.

[eric1978]

MSP is the stream equivalent of an urban trout program...and it sucks. I'd actually rather go out to Busch. At least you can get a little space out there...until Feb 1st.

[BKB]

1. Lots more boulders/cover in stream.

2. Remove all rock jetties

3. Limit the # of fisherman on the stream per day (example: sell 50 tags RSVP and 50 first come-first serve)

4. I personally would like artificial only, but am understanding of bait.

5. 2 fish limit. C&R over 18"

6. Remove dam at end of park.

7. Stock browns for C&R fishing

8. Stock fish like they did prior to a few years ago

[Flyflinger]

1. Lots more boulders/cover in stream.

2. Remove all rock jetties

3. Limit the # of fisherman on the stream per day (example: sell 50 tags RSVP and 50 first come-first serve)

4. I personally would like artificial only, but am understanding of bait.

5. 2 fish limit. C&R over 18"

6. Remove dam at end of park.

7. Stock browns for C&R fishing

8. Stock fish like they did prior to a few years ago

At the risk of sounding dumb...what's a rock jetty?

[Outside Bend]

The artificial rock dikes, like the handicap-accessible one they installed in the C&R stillwater at Montauk, if that helps.

[Outside Bend]

Carte blanche?

I'd keep the walkway- concrete is ugly, but not as ugly to me as heavily eroded streambanks.

Cut back on the lawn mowing and redirect those funds to litter pickup and other maintenance.

Winterize the toilets so they can remain open during the winter.

Enhance non-fishing interpretive stuff- seems like an excellent place for bluegrass/country festivals, or an Ozark/Meramec Valley interpretive center.

Kid's only section, perhaps. Sixteen and younger, or similar.

Roving naturalist/ombudsman types- informative folks that can explain everything from knot tying and fly casting to karst geology and hydrology, stream entomology, stream ethics, and proper fish release techniques.

Limit the number of daily rods allowed on the stream, maybe do a lottery system like the state waterfowl areas.

[Randall]

I don't know, I'd like to see it become more like an actual stream and less like a pond. Then Gavin's point about how well it measures up to NFOW, 11 Point, and Current rivers is pretty good. It might be better to keep the park the way it is to act as a trap for the bait guys.

One thing I don't understand is the way the river stays blown out where the Current drops right out.

[Outside Bend]

One thing I don't understand is the way the river stays blown out where the Current drops right out.

It's an excellent example of the effect of landscape use on a watershed. Meramec's watershed is far more developed in terms of agriculture, with lots of issues regarding livestock access to the stream, streambank erosion, and loss of streamside cover (riparian corridor), especially in the headwaters. That leads to the deeper channel incision, flashier flows, warmer water temperatures, and higher turbidity.

Truth is, if folks in the watershed were interested/incentivised into taking care of their land, you'd probably see better fishing in the Meramec (and every other watershed in the state impacted by poor land use), for trout, bass, and other species.

The Current watershed is pretty well protected- lots of land in public ownership and the bulk of the riparian corridor basically intact. As a result flows tend to be more moderate, water stays colder longer, and you have less erosion and other streambank stability issues.

[eric1978]

It's an excellent example of the effect of landscape use on a watershed. Meramec's watershed is far more developed in terms of agriculture, with lots of issues regarding livestock access to the stream, streambank erosion, and loss of streamside cover (riparian corridor), especially in the headwaters. That leads to the deeper channel incision, flashier flows, warmer water temperatures, and higher turbidity.

Truth is, if folks in the watershed were interested/incentivised into taking care of their land, you'd probably see better fishing in the Meramec (and every other watershed in the state impacted by poor land use), for trout, bass, and other species.

The Current watershed is pretty well protected- lots of land in public ownership and the bulk of the riparian corridor basically intact. As a result flows tend to be more moderate, water stays colder longer, and you have less erosion and other streambank stability issues.

That's all true, OB, but the more important factor in why the trout water on the Current drops faster than the Meramec, is because Montauk is at the headwaters of the Current, and the Blue and White Ribbon sections are just below it. On the Meramec, MSP flows into the river nearly 30 miles below the first public access, so there's a lot more drainage area and feeder creeks to raise water levels at and above the park. When the Meramec floods, it backs up into MSP, but when the Current floods, Montauk and the trout water below it are the first to drop back to normal. I have a feeling if MSP flowed into the river up near Short Bend, it wouldn't stay blown out for as long as it does.

[ozark trout fisher]

Maramec Spring is fed by losing streams (losing streams are where the water goes underground to emerge in another area or watershed), primarily Dry Fork Creek, but others are involved too. Therefore, whenever the water levels spike on Dry Fork and the other area losing streams, that water finds it's way into the Maramec Spring system, the flow from the spring spikes big time.

Why the main river floods more and stays high longer than the upper Current is pretty clear- it's not located at the head of the watershed like Montauk, but below many creeks that tend to flood heavily when there is a lot of rain. I'm sure land use has something to do with the clarity as well (and improved land use would be an excellent thing for the watershed even if it didn't effect the fishing on the Meramec), but I think that it's location in middle of a large watershed-instead of being at the upstream end of one- is the main factor at play.