Upper / Middle Fishing Report

[Jadesjigs]

My father and I were able to get out last weekend on a 2 night 3 day float / fishing trip on the upper-mid section of the Meramec.  The fishing was great, the weather was perfect, and the fall foliage was gorgeous!  The quantity of bass wasn't huge, but the quality was fantastic.

 

I caught about 32 bass total, but at least 11 of them were 12+ inches with several in the 14-16 inch range.  It was definitely an early morning and evening bite.  The fishing was pretty difficult during the day with the low water and bluebird skies.  Even though the water was low, we had minimal difficulty with dragging through the riffles while hauling camping gear.    

 

I'm so used to fishing the James River where it is pretty easy to locate the prime spots where fish like to concentrate.  There were so many good looking spots on the Meramec that I had major fishing ADHD!!  I would use a shad colored whopper plopper size 90 as a search bait and then pick apart the prime areas with Ned Rigs.  The leaves made it almost impossible to throw a squarebill.  I caught quality fish on both the Plopper and Ned.  I had some major blow-ups on the Plopper that didn't quite connect; however, they still took my breath away! 

 

Nothing beats landing one of these beasts on finesse gear though with Ned Rigs.  Many people pass right by the prime spots and they would catch so many more fish if they would slow down and concentrate on "finesse fishing."  I also strongly recommend using the lightest weight Ned Jigs and smallest hooks that you can get away with for the conditions.  This gives the baits so much more of a natural presentation and they get hung a lot less.  The light weight also lets the Ned skitter along the bottom contours naturally through the current seams, current breaks, and eddies.  I usually use a 1/32 - 1/16 size jig with #4 - #2 size hooks.  The plastic of choice this weekend was a Robo Ned in Green Pumpkin Perch color.    

 

Most of the smallmouth were found near the end of the riffles where they drop off into the beginning of the pools.  I can definitely understand why some are concerned about managing the spotted bass on the Meramec.  Approximately 1/3 of the fish I caught were spots.  Most of the spots were located in the deeper bends around structure.  

 

I was talking to another fisherman on the river and we discovered that we were both OA members!  He was wonderful and gave me so much information and support.  There is a lot of bad that can come from technology; however, I believe an amazing community of respectful fisherman with shared knowledge has also formed due to this.  Thanks again GL for taking the time to talk with me on the river! 

 

My dad is mainly a crappie fisherman.  Even though he grew up on the Meramec, he never truly understood the significance of the natural resource that the native smallmouth hold in these pristine waters.  I'm so happy that I had the privilege to show him first-hand!  He finally took his crappie jig off the last day and tied on a Ned and immediately caught a 10" smallmouth.  He could not believe how hard such a small fish could fight.  I think he's hooked!     

[Jadesjigs]

A little back story I forgot to mention - My Grandfather bought the property on the Meramec while my Dad was young in prospect of having lakefront shoreline when the dam was completed. After they moved to the land, my Grandpa fell in love with the river so much that he was actually glad the Dam was never constructed.  Guess those genetics were passed down to me!

 

Dad also showed me the area where he killed his 1st deer along the Meramec. He said that back then it was a really big deal to even see a deer. So glad there were conservation minded people back then!

[MOFishwater]

Awesome pics and wonderful review. Nice to see someone share some actual information as well for once instead of just brag posting, might even help another OA member catch a few more fish. 

We floated the last Weds of September and fishing was very tough, similar conditions. Didn't see another person on the river all day, it's really a great time to get out when most folks have hung up the fishing gear. Only hooked up a couple fish on a ned and one on a zara spook near the end, was def one of the slower catchin' trips in recent memory but can't beat a float over a workday.

Thanks for sharing and for the offering up some tips/suggestions. Looks like a great time. 

[Jadesjigs]

A little back story I forgot to mention - My Grandfather bought the property on the Meramec while my Dad was young in prospect of having lakefront shoreline when the dam was completed. After they moved to the land, my Grandpa fell in love with the river so much that he was actually glad the Dam was never constructed.  Guess those genetics were passed down to me!

 

Dad also showed me the area where he killed his 1st deer along the Meramec. He said that back then it was a really big deal to even see a deer. So glad there were conservation minded people back then!

[Jadesjigs]

Thank you so much MoFishwater!  I have learned so much here that I just try to give back when I can. Sometimes hearing about unsuccessful trips helps me as much as anything else. Thanks for the support!