Christmas Day report on the Lower

[snagged in outlet 3]

3 minutes ago, Smalliebigs said:

92% of the bass are gonna be in and around 8% of the river in the Winter when water temps are below 45

I haven't been able to find them consistently....Like you are

[Smalliebigs]

21 hours ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

The only thing I had to do today was be back by 3 so I hit the lower on a beautiful day.  68 when I put and 74 when I got out.  Fished from 11 - 2 or so.  Water was clear and looked great!  Ned, square bill, wart, stick bait, swim bait, neko rig, HD Craw and a tube.  Nothing, nada, squat, squadoush!  Two sticks and a grocery bag and I didn't take any pictures or weight them.  Saw 3 kayaks and a River Pro buzzed by.   Maybe @mreed81??  Still a very nice day on the water.   

I've about given up on the winter smaillies.  I'll leave it @Smalliebigs 😀

92% of the bass are gonna be in and around 8% of the river in the Winter, when the water temps are colder. When it spikes after a warming trend like this the bass start to move, now they are on the prowl in around especially that 8% they were just holding in very predictably.......then it can be tough but, they are eating, oh they are eating.

Lower Meramec is full of fish that eat fish and that's all I say about that.

1 minute ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

I haven't been able to find them consistently....Like you are

let's go

 

[JUNGLE JIM 1]

I fished the Lower Meramec yesterday where water is discharged into the river and if I was a predatory fish in the river it's where I would want to be. I'm not even exaggerating when I say there were tens of thousands of threadfin shad around there. If I were using a jerkbait I probably could have filled up a couple treble hooks with them on every cast. I was getting doubles just casting a jig but didn't stay long because the odds of something finding my jig with all that food there would almost be impossible. Great day to be out though. 

[mreed81]

On 12/25/2019 at 1:21 PM, snagged in outlet 3 said:

The only thing I had to do today was be back by 3 so I hit the lower on a beautiful day.  68 when I put and 74 when I got out.  Fished from 11 - 2 or so.  Water was clear and looked great!  Ned, square bill, wart, stick bait, swim bait, neko rig, HD Craw and a tube.  Nothing, nada, squat, squadoush!  Two sticks and a grocery bag and I didn't take any pictures or weight them.  Saw 3 kayaks and a River Pro buzzed by.   Maybe @mreed81??  Still a very nice day on the water.   

I've about given up on the winter smaillies.  I'll leave it @Smalliebigs 😀

Yeah, that was me! Wish I would have known that was you so I could stop and introduce myself. I have actually stopped smallmouth fishing and switched over to wading blue ribbon trout streams for now. Wife and I just use these nice weather days to get out on the boat, stop at a gravel bar, have a couple drinks, and eat food while the dog runs up and down the bars after eagles flying thinking she can jump 30 feet in the air and catch one. It would be funny to see the surprised look on her face at how big those birds actually are if they ever got face to face!

[mreed81]

On 12/25/2019 at 3:52 PM, moguy1973 said:

Bassmaster#1 went out with his kid  at Rt66 up to 109 Sunday and had the same luck.  Said water was low clear and cold.  His finder said the surface was something like 37 degrees.

I saw him out there and met him at the boat ramp, good guy. That poor hole below 109 gets pounded by everyone. In the summer I usually just pass it up and go to where I know the fish are biting. That hole can hold fish but as mentioned before it gets a ton of pressure.

[Brian Jones]

Fished Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. Took a trip on each section; upper or lower upper, middle and lower middle or upper lower depending on how you draw the lines. Each trip was good but Monday's trip was best. Partner boated a 20. I caught an 18 and we each caught a 17 along as well as 15-20 other "keepers". Brought home a wad of spots from the trip yesterday. Looking forward to Sunday's  lunch...................water temps were 45 yesterday when I took out around 2:00. 

[snagged in outlet 3]

Well I'm headed back out today.  Too nice to sit in the house.  Might as well practice casting again😂

[Daryk Campbell Sr]

36 minutes ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

Well I'm headed back out today.  Too nice to sit in the house.  Might as well practice casting again😂

I did that yesterday on the creek.

[snagged in outlet 3]

Mud, flotsam and jetsam.  WT was 50 3-4” visibility.  Not a sniff.  
 

[top_dollar]

Yeah, I was going to walk the banks around Emmenegar yesterday but the river was trashed, so I fished Unger for 2 hours and caught 10 crappies kept 6, with 3 @ 12 inches and 1 small white bass.  They were only a foot deep!  That was a nice pleasant surprise as the first time i went i got skunked, the second time I went and caught 1 crappie and 1 small largemouth.  3rd time was the charm.