Justin92297 Posted January 6, 2013 Posted January 6, 2013 About to go cure some cabin fever on the Mac. I will report back on how I did later.
Justin92297 Posted January 7, 2013 Author Posted January 7, 2013 Fished just above castlewood for about an hour. Had one bite on a tube and that's it. Found a pretty good spot though. I can't wait to get back out with more time
Smalliebigs Posted January 7, 2013 Posted January 7, 2013 Good for you Justin......there are some good spots above Casltewood.....I used to ride my moutain bike in from Chub Trail and start on the Lone Elk side with two rods and a back pack.....work my way upstream. The river has a divided spot above Castlewood, I'm sure you found it I used catch some bass there and Walleye.....from there work your way up to Sherman bridge....good water there and the best spot of all IMO on that strech of the river is just above Sherman right at the small railroad in Wildwood. There is a nice turn in the river there after a long slow hole.......the river divides again there with some nice chunck rock and big boulders that have fallen into the river......there is really good current there.....you will know when you get there....anyway that is where I have caught most of my lower Meramec smallies of any size. Time and exploration will help.....good luck
Justin92297 Posted January 8, 2013 Author Posted January 8, 2013 Cool! I will check that out next time. And yes the big riffle where the river divides is where I was fishing.
Haris122 Posted January 8, 2013 Posted January 8, 2013 Hey Smalliebigs, do you know if that reservoir in Lone Elk has any fish in it, and if so if it's open to public fishing? I don't remember if someone has talked about it before but seeing it on the map got me wondering. Also, what's it like fishing on the lone Elk side of the river. Seems like there would a lot more solitude on that side. Though the banks right across from the beach at Castlewood are kind of steep.
Smalliebigs Posted January 8, 2013 Posted January 8, 2013 Haris, They (St.Louis County) used to really maintain the LoneElk lake well and it held tons of very large bass. It used to be a select number of days out of the year it could be fished and you were drawn a number to fish it and paid but, the fishing in the 80's and early 90's was crazy there. Since then the County has come on hard times the lake has had a few problems from what i have heard. The level of the lake has dropped a good 4 to 5 feet and the bass population has gone down bigtime......at least thats what my friend told me that fished it the last couple of years.....he is a St.Louis County ranger and has perks as I don't think fishing is even allowed anymore???? not sure. Haris let me say I love it when you post on here because it always from a location somewhere right by my house and always the most homest reports I read on here.....tough fishing conditions most times to say the least but, if you can catch fish at all on the lower Meramec, believe me when I say this you would be alot more sucessful somewhere out in the sticks a little further with a little less pressure and conditions that are more ideal.....it is what it is. I personally find the lower Meramec to be one the most interesting places and challenging to fish in Missouri. You were inquiring about the LoneElk or Chubb side as I call it for the trail that hugs the river on that side. I would ride my mountain bike in and stash it somewhere out of site and fish sections. You are correct the banks directly across from Castlwood are a bit steep but, when you make your way upstream it flatens out a bit. The weather conditions of the past year or so with soo little rain have made it to where the actual river bank is so far down in the channel, that pretty much everything is accessible and this allows you to scout structure and the channel itself for when the water comes back to a normal level you will have an idea of some very good locales. Haris I caught some really nice bass from castlewood to timesbeach, some of the looks I would get were precious from some of the dudes mountain bike riding back on Cubb trail as I would peddle by with two rods and a back pack. try chubb trail or Harris try this spot @ Sherman Beach go Big Bend west to New Ballwin Rd. make a left and go down the hill and make a left on Kiefer Creek rd..Go west to St.Paul Rd. and go left and take St.Paul Rd. until it actualy ends at a railroad crossing.......right before this make a right on to the drive for a parking lot. This the parking lot is for Sherman Beach County park......not many know how to get back in there but, you can access the river by foot there pretty easy and the fishing there has always been very good to me for a variety of species.Haris Please keep posting reports I like them and unfortunately for me live vicariously thru the reports on here when I am not on the water which is more often than not with my home life right now.I am trying a couple of screen shot from google earth to help show where I am talking about. One of just The Sherman Beach hole and another of all three good spot in that area.
Gavin Posted January 8, 2013 Posted January 8, 2013 Theres a big leak in the dam at Lone Elk...Used to have to call for a boat reservation, and bring your own trolling motor and battery. Fishing was darn good before the dam started leaking. Call St. Louis County Parks Department and ask them about it. Lots of big carp in that lake.
Haris122 Posted January 9, 2013 Posted January 9, 2013 Good info about that Lone Elk Reservoir guys. I definitely wouldn't mind hooking into some big carp. The river carpsucker or buffalo I accidentally snagged on the dorsal fin near the end of last winter turned into the toughest fish I landed to date. I'd bet the carp would be reminding me of that quite a lot. Smalliebigs, thanks man. if the weather cooperates I'm hoping to try Sherman Beach out today. I don't frequently get to go to Castlewood but the scenery is really nice there, and I do remember you guys talking about Sherman Beach before. I looked it up a while back, but haven't got myself over there yet to try. Hopefully I can find the time to go tomorrow. Probably won't catch anything though. I'd like to rest the blame solely on the Meramec, but I know a lot of it is my making too, haha. I did end up going yesterday to the Missouri River at the Weldon Springs CA Access to try my luck out there. Was planning on going to Bush CA in hopes of getting some trout to cooperate since I figured they'd be more up for it, than fish on the Meramec, but just about all the lakes I checked out there were still completely covered with ice, so I do a little exploring. I have to say the Weldon Springs access is not bad for fishing from the bank either. Unfortunately I didn't so much as see a single sign of fish activity there yesterday. I'm definitely thinking of checking it out again in summer though.
Haris122 Posted January 13, 2013 Posted January 13, 2013 I went to Castlewood (couldn't find my way to Sherman Beach) for 2 hours a few days ago, and then for 2 and a half hours yesterday at Lower Meramec Park. Got 1 bite on the 2nd one, but that's about it. I thought yesterday fish would be going crazy with the warm weather, but short of one wake real late in the day, there was nothing. Which is weird cause the Lower Meramec park one is normally pretty lively by seasonal standards.
Hog Wally Posted January 13, 2013 Posted January 13, 2013 I have only been down there one time and it was this past fall. It was pouring down rain and we had to stay under numerous bridges to even think about staying out. We caught walleye and whites. It looked perfect for bass. I am waiting for my Riverpro to get built and then you can look for me around 141 bridge. I will let you know how I do. I hope my boat is done before the walleye spawn. Sold my alweld now I'm bumming. 3 days of bow season left Then its fishing like a madman. Seen guy yesterday puttin in at 30 bridge. Said he'd been catching some whopper crappies. I can see that ramp from my office stop by and go fishin with me
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