No bait restrictions -- bait, lures and flies
may be used throughout the fishing area. Daily trout tag required. Daily limit 4 trout, of
which only one may be a brown trout 15" or longer.
Maramec Spring Park is a privately owned park just south
of St. James, and it is truly a beautiful location. The park itself is owned and managed
by the James Foundation, and the park pays its bills by charging a parking fee ($3 per
vehicle) and selling various novelty items, like Maramec Spring Park T-shirts and
ball caps. The trout fishing part of the park is managed by the Missouri Department
of Conservation, so you'll also have to pay a daily fee to fish. And, as it is the
closest trout park to the St. Louis area, expect to fight the crowds for space on
the bank.
The Spring is stunning, and the river is lovely, but it has its detractors. Large
portions of the stream bank are paved, channelizing the spring branch. While this
provides easy access for fisherman, it eliminates much of the character that the
stream probably once had. There are precious few riffles, but plenty of deep pools, which
tends to cater more to lure and bait fishermen rather than fly fishermen. In fact, the
waters which are most attractive to fly fishermen are in the "fish sanctuary", which,
of course, means no fishing is permitted. We are hoping for the day when the James
Foundation and/or the Missouri Department of Conservation decide to change the trout
sanctuary to a catch-and-release fly fishing area, a la Montauk
State Park. Come on guys, please! Check out Montauk -- the trout in the catch-and-
release areas are doing just fine!
Like all of the trout parks, Maramec Spring is stocked nightly in preparation for the
next day's fishing. The fishing day is announced by a siren that sounds in the park,
and most every fisherman will catch a few at that time. After all, these hatchery fish
were hand-fed just yesterday. After 1/2 an hour or so, however, the fishing becomes
more difficult and trout don't seem to follow any consistent rules. The most successful
method for catching trout park fish is usually sight fishing -- cast your bait, lure or fly
directly to a specific fish and try to drift it right to his nose. Trout are naturally
lazy and will often eat something rather than move out of the way.
PLEASE NOTE: if you drift the fly to the fish and then yank it into his face,
YOU ARE POACHING. Stop it before someone smacks you!
The normal fishing season is open from March 1 through October 31. The winter catch-and-
release season is usually open on weekends from mid-November through mid-February for
fly-fishermen only. The winter of '05-'06 saw a change to this rule, however. Maramec
Spring was open to catch & release fly fishing everyday instead of only on weekends.
And it appears as if this new rule will continue in future years, aided with weekly
winter time stockings.
Regardless of your opinion of the fishing, the park is a wonderful place to visit. There
is a nice museum on the grounds, a driving tour of the old iron mine, a few playgrounds,
a great field for kite-flying, and numerous pavilions and barbecues.
To get to the park, take the St. James exit from Interstate 44 and head south right through
town. The park entrance will be on your left in about ten miles from the time you exit the
interstate.
Call (573) 265-7801 for more information
You can download a detailed conservation department map of Maramec Spring Park from our
Maps Page, and you can check the USGS water level
changes of the Meramec River in real-time from our
Water Levels Page. Click here to check a recent
Maramec Spring fishing report. After you visit Maramec Spring, we hope you'll come back to
tell us how you did
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