If at first you don't succeed...

[Al Agnew]

So after having to abort my float trip a couple weeks ago because of Mary's knee injury, she told me I should do it today, and she'd shuttle me.  I love that woman!  

We did the shuttle first thing in the morning so I could fish as late in the evening as I wished.  It's a very long float, so I knew I'd be getting to the take-out pretty close to dark.  The shuttle took a while and it was about 8:30 AM before I pushed off.  I planned to mostly paddle through much of the first mile, because there was better water I wanted to concentrate on farther downstream.  But...there was some water I just couldn't pass up.  It produced a couple spotted bass on a jerkbait.  I then decided that I'd try different types of water to see if the fish had scattered completely out of their wintering pools.  First place was a rocky run, 3-4 feet deep, gentle current.  Nothing.  Then a deeper rocky pool with logs at the head of it.  Largemouth in the logs.  Nice 15 inch smallmouth in the rocks.  Another largemouth.  A couple spots.  All on the jerkbait.  The water was very clear, and I didn't think a crankbait would work.  I tossed a spinnerbait for a bit, caught one spot.  Came to a nice, deep, rocky pool that I figured would hold some fish.  Nothing.  Shallow rocky pool produced a couple fish.  I decided to try one of my homemade subwalks.  It got plenty of action.  Came to a long, deep, rocky pool, found several fish in it.  The subwalk produced the best smallmouth of the day, an 18 incher.

Then I started hearing thunder.  A small thundershower came close, and the fish really turned on for a while.  I had to try topwater.  They were eating one of my homemade walk the dog lures, including the biggest largemouth of the day, a 19 incher.  In one long pool, I must have had two dozen strikes on top.

Then the thundershower disappeared and the sun came out, and the topwater bite died.  But the water was slightly less clear, not from rain but just because who knows?  I decided to try a deep diving crankbait.  Bingo.  17 inch smallmouth.  18 inch largemouth.  Very fat spotted bass of nearly 17 inches.  Then the fishing slowed considerably, the sun was going down, and I was a half mile from the take-out.  Everything worked out perfectly.  Final tally, way too many spotted bass for this Meramec tributary.  34 spots, 17 smallies, 8 largemouth.

[Al Agnew]

[joeD]

Are those actual photos from AA?  What next, 80 degree temps in February?

Nice fish. Fat fish looks like. Why? What are they eating? We caught fish a month ago and they were fat. Just wondering.

[DownStream]

Nice fish Al! Thanks for the report. Glad someone was able to take advantage of the beautiful weather today.

[MOPanfisher]

Good healthy looking fish sir.

[Parkerhollow]

Awesome report and beautiful fish!

 

I love the start of canoe season!