Riverview To 19 – Report And Water Quality

[catman70]

Floated from Riverview to Hwy 19 bride yesterday. Only caught a couple smallies. Most of the fish brought in the kayaks were largemouth (not spots). All were caught on flukes, buzzbaits and spinnerbaits, and most after the storms pushed through to cool everything down. It was HOT!

Usually throw jigs during the middle of the day, but everything was covered in some sort of moss or algae. There were intermittent clumps floating on the surface as well. This was my first time on the Meramec as most of the time I head south of Rolla. Is that amount of vegetation normal for this river? Is it throughout or found in certain sections? We couldn't throw a jig without it coming back covered in green goop. I thought perhaps with all the houses and such along the banks that septic systems may be contributing an inordinate amount of nutrients and contributing to the algal growth.

Thanks!

[joeD]

The water in that section has been up for much of the season. The water level has fallen and cleared lately, so the sunlight has been reaching the bottom and has ignited the algae growth (or whatever greenery that is). But I fished last Monday with excellent results. In fact, the water temp is still cool and the cfs (flow rate) remains above normal. That's why the fishing has been so good. I think.