Pacific Palisades Conservation Area To Allenton Access Conservation Area

[mic]

I've been sidelined trying to recover from the hail storm (three cars, a camper, roof, windows, and siding) and dying to get back into the Ozarks. I can only afford a quick trip with the family this weekend. Can anyone talk about this run?

[Smalliebigs]

I can Mike, To start at Pallisades is a horrible spot to leave a car as the retards will break in your car or try to siphon your tank. The river there used fish good and still does if you hit it right. I have caught a lot of big Spotted bass there and downstream for about a mile, it is kinda flat there will a huge gravel deposit going on which can be a bit hectic. the river fishes there much like it does on most of the lower Meramec the fish are there they just really tend to school up a bit and only feed in small spurts when the time is right or your technique is right.Most people find it to be horrible fishing because of what i just said....they don't know how oe when to hit it. when you get below the Pallisades a bit it's actually quite pretty with some cool limestone and hills.there are about ten houses on the lefthand side as you go down and they will be full of guest this weekend thats for sure and the jet boat traffic will suck this qweekend as well. I know I'm sounding like Debbie Downer but, it's the reality.

If your taking your family and only wanting to float and not camp at the end then go to this linkhttp://oldcovecanoe.com/

They aren't the biggest canoe outfitter but they have two floats that both go back to your car....which is the only way I would ever go with an outfitter.One float is long and one is nice and short but both are in an area of the Meramec that you will see less crowds....mabey a few jetboats... but also they float thru the second best section of the river if you truly want to catch a real trophy Smallie 20 and over....very fertile section of the river. Ignorant guys on here will say to go to the upper sections of the river where it is crystal clear and wall to wall complete dorks.

There is another outfitter in Sullivan called Three Rivers that will float you from Blue Spring Creek ramp to Sappington Bridge...not as crowded as most.

[mic]

Smallie,

Sent you a PM different subject...did you get it????

[mic]

I...and the jet boat traffic will suck this qweekend as well. I know I'm sounding like Debbie Downer but, it's the reality.

You know I didn't even think about the jet boat traffic on Memorial Day weekend. Maybe, I'll just stay local. Drop me a PM if you want to take the kids out to one of your streams on Sunday.

Good news, Monday through Friday I'm with my Dad in Bennett.

[Mitch f]

Ditto Smallie on the Pacific boat ramp, user beware.

[jak1717]

They stole my plates last fall.

[Haris122]

I went out there (Pacific Palisades CA) today for the first time, and fished from the bank. It's a scenic area. Too bad it's ~ 25 miles away from me. And on the way back towards St. Louis there was a huge traffic jam due to some road work (and that was even at 9 p.m.). Luckily I didn't have any issues with anyone breaking into my car.

I wound up only catching one fish, a gar, I think a Longnose one. But that's within the average success rate for me for 4-5 hours of fishing effort at this time. I didn't see anyone else fishing from the bank, catch anything else, so maybe it was just that kind of day.

Now to the funny/sad part. For those of you who didn't think or know the Asian Carp have come this far up the Meramec at this time, I think I have some bad news. One of the oddly funny things I noticed was a school of about 15-20 surface feeding fish between 1-2 feet in length, a few yards away from me. And though I can't say with 100% certainty they were Bighead Carp, I do think I saw them close (as close as from 4 yards away) enough to identify them as Bighead carp. They didn't jump out of the water when some of the people started their boat motors at the access but, I'm still pretty sure that's what they were.

[Smalliebigs]

Harris those would be Bigheads.......I like the Gar though. That area can produce some really nice fish....some would disagree with me but, as I said before the lower Meramec is a puzzle. The bass specificly feed in schools and in very short spurts when the time is right. If you are in the right spot at the right time you will score bigtime.......I have. The area itself as you said if you don't have an attitude about it will reveal natural beauty, if you just sit back and be quite that you will not find in the city. As with everything it's a matter of perspective. I'm realistic it's not what it used to be but, it is still a cool river and I explore it any chance I get.If you are fishing from the bank try the access at HWY 141 at Fish Pot creek, there is a very visible gravel bar right where the creek flows in.The area there has a few more spots to fish from the bank, you can walk out on the island and hit the main channel and if you know what you're doing there are Walleye there.....also in the late evening it is a good area for topwater. I have also caught Blues and Channels between the 141 bridge and the Railroad bridge just downstream.....the cats will stage there before proceeding upstream I presume.

The lower Meramec is whatever you want it to be

[Haris122]

Yeah the Gar have so far always been cool to catch. They tend to put up decent fights. This one almost took off with my rod while I set it down just long enough to find the scissors I needed to cut and unwrap the line it tangled around its snout when it went for the lure. Up until last week I had never caught one, but the last couple days I've been catching nothing but them (at my usual slow pace).

I tend to go to Lower Meramec Park in South St. Louis county a lot, due to the short overall drive, and down there I kept hooking into some shortnose ones (now there's a stretch of the Meramec that's somewhat less than scenic thanks to the accumulation of trash left near the shore there, but I'm still fond of the area, even if the mud can be a real pain in the rear for c&r fishing), and then yesterday I decided I should go on a trip, see some new places, and I end up with a nice longnose one to complement the shortnose ones from down there.

I have to say I'm really not fond of the people that just toss the gar they catch somewhere on the shore. Not only is it totally uncalled for to do that to one of them, but on top of that, there's probably no other fish that can more resembles a snake when you're out hiking around the brush trying to avoid the muddy shore to get to a good fishing spot. Once the head has been eaten away/decomposed, the scales and the elongated body just make it look like you carelessly wound up stepping within a foot or two of a good size snake.

Thanks for the tips on the Valley Park access. I'll make sure to try it out one of these days.

[Hog Wally]

I am looking for help posting my walleye pictures. Caught 3 limits in three days. Lots of short ones. That's a new occurrence for me so hopefully they are reproducing better than I hoped