St. Clair area guide

[Gavin]

Campbell to to Blue is a very scenic stretch. Not great fishing IMO, but worth floating.

[basska]

1 hour ago, Gavin said:

Campbell to to Blue is a very scenic stretch. Not great fishing IMO, but worth floating.

Would you suggest further upriver for better fishing?

[Lloyd]

On 3/5/2025 at 11:51 AM, snagged in outlet 3 said:

Why wouldn't you just float?  More satisfying to catch one on your own than with a guide....  IMO

I can catch smallies in creeks fairly well, but on a big river like the Meramec I wouldn't know where to start (both literally and figuratively). I'm thinking about hiring a guide at some point to learn the ropes.

[snagged in outlet 3]

32 minutes ago, Lloyd said:

I can catch smallies in creeks fairly well, but on a big river like the Meramec I wouldn't know where to start (both literally and figuratively). I'm thinking about hiring a guide at some point to learn the ropes.

If you float farther upstream like around Steelville it's not very big.  If I can do it anybody can do it.

[basska]

11 minutes ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

If you float farther upstream like around Steelville it's not very big.  If I can do it anybody can do it.

Definitely not rocket science, but I understand where he is coming from.

For me I will probably have one day on this river and not see it again for at least a year or two. I will have to choose a stretch that is easily doable in a day and hopefully one that has both decent scenery and fishing. With a river of this size, it can seem a bit intimidating, at least compared to wading creeks where fish are limited geographically.

That being said, an Ozark River is an Ozark River, and most of the time, patterns remain true. So now I think, maybe I will try to float Onondaga to Campbell Bridge. OR, I'm really starting to get further away from homebase, so maybe I just bite the bullet and go all in on the upper Courtois or far upper Meramec in an attempt to find a more isolated experience. A lot to weight out.

@Lloyd, let me know what you find out on the river this season. Maybe we can tear em up.