Meramec River Red Ribbon Area
Fishing Reports This page was updated 3/9/08
Owned by MO trout fishermen, so be sure
to give them your business!
This report was submitted by K. Padgett of Jefferson City on 2/16/08
Date of trip: 2/15/08 Times fished: 10:00am - 3:00pm Air Temperature: Chilly Weather: Sunny Water Level: Average Water quality: Milky What worked:San Juan Worm
I entered the stream from the park access. Walked all the way to Dry Fork and did not see any fish.
Came back and fished the corner of the river (park side) and finally caught a nice 14 inch rainbow on a
san juan worm. The fish were set up in this area only. They spooked easily. Beautiful day, off work,
caught one fish. Can't beat that. Saw thirteen deer, several bald eagles. Better than working any day.
Will fish it again later this spring and summer.
Thanks for the report. This can be a difficult time of year to track down the
concentrations of fish (similar to Autumn, but for different reasons).
When the water warms into the 50's, they feel good and move upstream. When
it falls into the 40's, they get lethargic and drift downstream. Also, when
they're lethargic due to cold temps, they're more difficult to see, because
they just don't move. And if they're not moving, it's TOUGH to get them to
bite. A difference of just a few degrees can make the difference between
catching 20 fish and catching nothing!
This report was submitted by Matt L. of Ballwin on 1/9/08
Date of trip: 1/7/08 Times fished: 9:30am - 4:00pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Overcast Water Level: Average Water quality: Gin Clear What worked:Scuds were the ticket (green and gray)
A buddy and I decided to take advantage of the warm spell that we experienced over the weekend
and headed to the river. We parked inside the park and were greeted with trout rising everywhere in
the park stream. Geared up and Headed to the Meramec River. This was a good move, as we hooked
up with 12 nice sized trout between the two of us. From 9:30 until 11:30 we caught the majority of our
fish, drifting scuds. We headed down to the piles walking down the south side of the stream and spotted
several good holes full of trout about 1/3 of the way down to the piles, only problem was that we couldn't
fish the sections from the side we were on. Shouldn't have wasted the time walking down to the dry fork
intersection, didn't see anything past the holes mentioned above. Ended up back at the bridge where my
buddy picked up 4 more on a globall, and a crackleback. I landed a nice bow that was somewhere around
16" early in the day and got some nice pictures. It was a great trip and we were pleasantly surprised at how
good the fishing turned out! To top the trip off we saw a bald eagle swoop down out of a tree to snatch a
trout just before we left, what a sight!
That's awesome! The best I've seen is watching an eagle flop into the water,
quickly look around to see if anyone saw him miss, and then fly off with an
embarrassed look on his face. Thanks Matt.
This report was submitted by Kevin ___________ of Brentwood on 1/1/07
Date of trip: 12/28/07 Times fished: 12:00pm - 4:00pm Air Temperature: Chilly Weather: Overcast Water Level: Average Water quality: Slightly Clouded What worked:Olive Beadhead Wooly Bugger
Fished from Cardiac upstream. Flow was almost ideal at about 260 cfs and 1.6 ft. Temp was mid 40's
when I got on the water, dropped to mid 30's by the time I left. Caught 6 bows between 13-17".
Fish seemed fairly active, just very spread out. All were caught on a heavy, bead head, olive bugger.
Caught fish on a down and across swing, dead drifting, and by working the fly in and around timber.
I kept moving pretty much the whole 4 hours I fished and never got more than one hit in the same area.
Nymphs on a dropper produced no fish or hits. Probably could have found a few more fish, but when
the wind picked up and the temperature dropped 10 degrees it seemed like a good time to call it a day.
Good to hear from you again Kevin. There's a good chance you saw the guys
fishing from the next report down. They came down from the park to Dry Fork
and probably would've gotten there about the same time you made it there from
Cardiac. Small world, eh? Thanks for the report.
This report was submitted by Curt Dischinger of St. Louis on 1/1/08
Date of trip: 12/28/07 Times fished: 8:00am - 2:00pm Air Temperature: Freezing Weather: Overcast Water Level: Below Average Water quality: Gin Clear What worked:Black & Yellow Jig, Glo-bug, Crankbaits
Walt, what a wonderful day. Had a light sleet before day break turning into a light drizzle at morning.
The rest of the day was overcast, and the wind picked up as the day went on, but we caught fish.
Five of us decided to start at the end of Meramec Springs Park in the river and work downstream.
Two of us were fly fishing and the other three were using spinning rods. I managed to pick up 2 on
a glo-ball, but the other guys seemed to be doing well with jigs. So I switched to a light weighted
black and yellow jig and started to swim the jig instead of drifting it. In the next hour I got 4 more,
14" was the best for me and some of the guys caught 15" plus fish. Happy to say all fish were released.
We worked our way all the way down to the piles and dry creek where we all managed to pick up a
couple. Some of the spinning guys got a few on small crankbaits by the piles, but the jig seemed to be
the overall winner. By mid-day and being all the way to dry creek, all of us were starting to get cold,
and we called it a day. I kept count and Over all, 27 fish were caught by five guys. What better way
to spend a cold weather day.
Sounds like a great time Curt. Glad you guys had fun, and thanks for the report.
This report was submitted by Aaron Crawley of St. Louis on 11/30/07
Date of trip: 11/25/07 Times fished: 10:00am - 2:00pm Air Temperature: Chilly Weather: Rainy Water Level: Below Average Water quality: Gin Clear What worked:Olive Wooly Bugger, Black Zebra Midge
This was the first time that I have been to the Meramec since moving to the Loo a few months ago. Finally
arrived and started fishing from Cardiac. I caught a little brown in the first set of riffles on the first cast. Well
that's a lie, the first cast I caught a tree in my back cast. The brown took the wooly on the second cast.
Worked my way up river about 100 yards and caught another small one on the wooly. Ended up fishing
about a half mile past the cabin up on the right side before I turned back. After that second brown within
the first 20 minutes, I didn't even get another bite.
Good to hear from you Aaron. Thanks for the report.
This report was submitted by Kevin ________ of Brentwood on 10/23/07
Date of trip: 11/9 & 11/10/07 Times fished: 10:00am - 5:00pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Partly Cloudy Water Level: Very low Water quality: Gin Clear What worked:Buggers, scud
Fished the Meramec 2 days. Saw some fish, but surprisingly low numbers both days. And most
of the ones we did see were spawning - or at least pretending to. Made it fun to watch, but limited
the catching.
On Friday morning a friend and I fished almost from Cardiac back down to Suicide. Hooked and
lost one on a black bugger. Saw a couple more, but no more takers. In the afternoon we fished from
the Piles back to Cardiac. Saw several fish downstream from the confluence. Ended up pulling one
nice bow out of some logs by swinging buggers all the way into and under the logs. Saw some fish
but overall the water was too slow and too clear to make a fly presentation effective - fish had too
long to inspect the fly and got skittish by any movement. Tried dries, dry-dropper, nymphs, eggs and
buggers Fri.
On Saturday, three of us fished from the park down to the Cabin hole and back. Got one decent bow
early on a scud pattern below the park. Saw some below the park, half were spawning, half were
harassing the ones that were spawning. Tried to catch the latter. Landed a 12" brown on a black
bugger (my friend's nephew's first fly-caught trout, very cool). Fished through the piles, caught nothing,
didn't see anything. Got one more bow on a bugger downstream from dry fork. Tried about the same
flies as Fri, including nymphs, eggs, buggers, clousers, wets, dries and dry-dropper combos. A spin
fisherman reported doing OK between dry fork and cardiac - not sure on what. All said and done,
each of the three of us got 1 each. Tough couple days fishing, but nice to be out in good fall weather.
It's been a couple of years since we've had a "normal" autumn -- the kind where
the browns and pre-spawn rainbows feed heavily for a month as they move up, and
then the leftover rainbows gorge on eggs immediately after. The last couple years
the air temps and rainfall amounts have cycled up and down so rapidly, it's
really made things tough on the fish and the fishermen. That darn Al Gore!
This report was submitted by Kevin ________ of Brentwood on 10/23/07
Date of trip: 10/17/07 Times fished: 7:30am - 11:30am Air Temperature: Balmy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Very low Water quality: Gin Clear What worked:Black Bugger
Fished from upstream of the piles down to Cardiac Hill.. Landed one nice rainbow early on a black
bugger. Otherwise I watched fish watch flies. With the water so low and clear, it was easy to spot fish
but they weren't cooperating. A couple pretended to be interested in hoppers mid-morning, but didn't
take. Others looked at buggers and nymphs, but also weren't eating. I did manage a couple sunfish and
a nice chub on dries (thought the chub was a little brown). Water was very low and very clear, weather
was very warm.
'Tis the season! This is a tough time of year on the Meramec, because it's
often hard to find the fish. They're upstream one day, down the next. When you
do find them, the one's that are spawning are often not feeding. Definitely
tricky. Thanks Kevin.
This report was submitted by GK of Florissant on 10/8/07
Date of trip: 10/7 Times fished: 9:30am - 3:30pm Air Temperature: Steamy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Below Average Water quality: Gin Clear What worked:Hoppers, Copper Johns,
Parachute Adams, Disco Midge
Thanks for the directions. Found it easily. Started fishing from Cardiac about 9:30 AM. The
run at the end of the path produced several fish, one Rainbow about 12". I had heard so much
about the rest of the river, I headed upstream. Big mistake. Saw tons of fish, but couldn't get
anything to take. I headed back down the river, was planning to head home, but I gave that same
pool and run another try. Glad I did, caught several Rainbows and one brown on a parachute
adams with a beadhead disco midge dropper. One Rainbow was a 15 incher, that put up a great
fight before I released him. Turned out to be a great day.
Thanks for the report. One reason that the Cardiac Hill area is so
popular is that it's roughly in the middle of the trout management
area. That means that no matter what time of year, whether the trout
have moved upstream or downstream, you can usually at least find a few
trout around Cardiac. It looks like you found the leaders of the pack
moving upstream. Hopefully the weather will cooperate, so we will
continue to see the normal upstream movement this fall.
This report was submitted by Robert Johnston of Washington, MO on 10/2/07
Date of trip: 9/30/07 Times fished: 2:00pm - dark Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Very low Water quality: Gin Clear What worked:Didn't find it
A beautiful day. Slightly breezy and warm. I got in at Cardiac and fished upstream from there.
The fish were not in a good mood! I tried cracklebacks, small green and tan caddis larvae, bead
heads, attractor dries etc. No luck! Talked to 5-6 other people fishing, and they all had similar
results. One guy said he had 3 on a red San Juan worm but...
Trout: 1 Rob: 0. Despite the skunk, it was still a great day! I SAW lots of fish, and the weather
was great. Better luck next time.
Yep, things are still tough. Still waiting on that cold rain to jump-
start things. I get your implication re: the guy who claimed to catch 3
on the San Juan Worm. I'm not suggesting he DIDN'T catch them, but I
certainly come across a lot of folks on this river who... let's say...
STREEEEETCH the truth a bit! Thanks Rob.
This report was submitted by Milo B. of Bourbon on 9/28/07
Date of trip: 9/23-24 Times fished: 1:00pm-11:00pm and 6:30am-5:00pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Average Water quality: Gin Clear What worked:Olive Wooly Bugger
My friend and I set up an overnight trip on the Meramec about a month ago as a chance to chase
some big bows. We fished the spring and Meramec confluence, the pilings, and the riffle where
we camped with only one light strike on a pheasant tail. We tried upwards of fifteen different
patterns between us from nymphs to dries to big streamers at every depth without luck.
We met about eight early fishermen the next day, of which only two reported catching fish one on
olive wooly buggers and the other on blond leeches. My friend caught one 13" bow on a heavy
olive bugger. I watched several subsurface rises from large fish but didn't find anything after
siening the riffle. One 16" Bow took something a foot from my knee as I stood in an eddy fishing
the risers. The rest of the day resembled the proceeding.
Beautiful days but an odd lull. Any ideas on the mystry hatch? Though it might have been trico
nymphs or drowned adults. I had seen a few earlier.
Hard telling on the mystery nymph -- might've been trico emergers. Since
you didn't see much in the air, and you couldn't get one in your bug net,
might also have been midge emergers. If the fish were breaking the
surface, I'd also wonder if they weren't sipping air. The fishing is
still slow, because the oxygen is still low (sometimes causing air-
sipping). We need a couple of cold rains to turn things around. That
will get the fish that have sagged down toward Scott's Ford to start
pushing up and getting our favorite areas more crowded with fish.
Thanks again for the help Milo.
This report was submitted by Kevin ____________ of St. Louis on 9/17/07
Date of trip: 9/16/07 Times fished: 9:00am - 3:00pm Air Temperature: Chilly Weather: Overcast Water Level: Average Water quality: Gin Clear What worked:Nymphs
When we arrived to suicide hill around 9am and found it was actually quite chilly and very
overcast. The water had risen considerably since the last rainfall. It seemed to be very high only
becasue the water level had previously been so low! We were happy to see it has risen to its
normal level, but discouraged when we noticed that the rise had caused the fish to spread out
again, rather than all being pilled into a few select holes. The fishing proved to be rather
challenging. The wholes where you thought fish would be had no fish at all. My partner and I
both caught four fish each on stonefly nymphs with some sort of smaller nymph pattern as a
dropper. Any nymph would have worked because the fish that we could find wanted to eat.
Downstream from suicide fished very well, as did the upstream section. We did run into two guys
in a jet boat running up and downstream with no intention to fish, just disturb alot of water.
Thats the first time Ive ever run into a jet boat on the meramec. I hope I never do again!!
The jet boat guys are out on occasion, and many of us are a bit suspicious
of what they're doing. Of course, they may have been bowhunters, but the
guys you describe "running up and downstream" sound more like the guys
that many of us suspect of "farming" in the area, if you catch my drift.
If anyone actually sees where they pull ashore, please share the info.
If they're up to no good, they need to be put out of business. BTW,
thanks the report Kevin!
This report was submitted by Preston ____________ of Sesser on 9/9/07
Date of trip: 9/8/07 Times fished: 8:00am - noon Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Overcast Water Level: Very high Water quality: Brown What worked:None
Well, it was my first time to the river and let me first say: DO NOT GO WHEN THE WATER
IS HIGH. I looked at the water flow the night before and thought I would try it. What a waste
of a day. I cut across the park to start fishing down the river, and the water was brown and
murky and just plan hard to fish -- maybe impossible. I retreated back to the park and I had to
lie to my wife and tell everyone that I caught two fish. Really I didnt catch any. So I drove 6
hours for about 3 hours of fishing. I did learn my lesson. Looks really fun to fish though and I will
try it again in a few weeks. Just don't go after a rain..... Oh by the way, some people in the park
were catching a bunch of fish on some white gralic looking stuff they put on a hook with huge
bobbers. I watched them for about 30 minutes, and every cast they got a bite or caught one. As
for me I got skunked but now i know... don't go IN THE RAIN!!!
Yeah, this river does come up fast. Glad to hear you didn't get washed
away! Thanks Preston.
This report was submitted by Tom ____________ of St. Louis on 9/3/07
Date of trip: 9/1/07 Times fished: afternoon Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Below Average Water quality: Gin clear What worked:Wooly Buggers
Started fishing around 4:30 pm. Weather was beautiful. Started with various bead head nymphs,
copper johns, prince's, hare's ears, with no luck. When it started getting dark, switched to #6
brown wooly bugger fishing deeper holes below runs. Hooked into a 13 1/2 " Rainbow. As it
got darker, switched to black wooly bugger and caught a nice 15 1/2 " rainbow. Both came
well into the cast and off the bottom. Great Time!
That's the secret for this time of year. Use baits that look like they
have lots of calories, drift them slow, and drift them deep. Thanks Tom.
This report was submitted by Matthew Tieman of St. Louis on 8/30/07
Date of trip: 8/29 Times fished: 4:30-7:30pm Air Temperature: Steamy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Average Water quality: Gin clear What worked:#16 Olive Hare's Ear, White Mayfly
I got down there in the late afternoon. Two other fishermen had just got there two. Went down
Suicide Access and fished upstream. Tried a hopper because I saw them flying all over, but it was
to no avail. Switched to a Hares Ear with a soft hackle nymph trailing. No luck. Had some fish
interested in my strike indicator, so I switched to a stimulator. Targeted a fish, but it showed no
interest in a dry. Decided to try a size 16 Olive Hares Ear, and landed the rainbow a few casts
later. Interestingly enough, I drummed up some interest using a rising nymph technique, but didn't
manage to get another good strike.
I saw some large white mayflies landing on the water to drop eggs, and some sporadic rising, so
I switched it up. Ended up picking a couple more nice rainbows on the dry. Another interesting
point is I tried skating the fly across the top of the water to mimic one of the mayflies dropping its
eggs and got a violent rise, but didn't hook the fish.
Overall had a nice, quick fishing expedition on a beautiful river.
Thanks for the report Matthew.
This report was submitted by Matthew Tieman of St. Louis on 8/30/07
Date of trip: 8/29 Times fished: 4:30-7:30pm Air Temperature: Steamy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Average Water quality: Gin clear What worked:#16 Olive Hare's Ear, White Mayfly
I got down there in the late afternoon. Two other fishermen had just got there two. Went down
Suicide Access and fished upstream. Tried a hopper because I saw them flying all over, but it was
to no avail. Switched to a Hares Ear with a soft hackle nymph trailing. No luck. Had some fish
interested in my strike indicator, so I switched to a stimulator. Targeted a fish, but it showed no
interest in a dry. Decided to try a size 16 Olive Hares Ear, and landed the rainbow a few casts
later. Interestingly enough, I drummed up some interest using a rising nymph technique, but didn't
manage to get another good strike.
I saw some large white mayflies landing on the water to drop eggs, and some sporadic rising, so
I switched it up. Ended up picking a couple more nice rainbows on the dry. Another interesting
point is I tried skating the fly across the top of the water to mimic one of the mayflies dropping its
eggs and got a violent rise, but didn't hook the fish.
Overall had a nice, quick fishing expedition on a beautiful river.
Thanks for the report Matthew.
This report was submitted by Matt B. of St. Louis on 8/23/07
Date of trip: 8/22 Times fished: 10:00am - 3:00pm Air Temperature: Steamy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Below Average Water quality: Gin clear What worked:Stimulators, Hoppers
Fished from Cardiac up to Dry Fork and back. Caught several decent sized rainbows on dries...
missed several too. I didn't really bother with anything subsurface since they seemed to be willing
to take drys in the slick pools. Saw a few larger browns pop out to give my flies the once-over,
but no takers.
'Tis the season! Thanks again Matt.
This report was submitted by Darren __________ of St. Peters on 8/20/07
Date of trip: 8/19/07 Times fished: 9:30am - 3:00pm Air Temperature: Balmy Weather: Overcast Water Level: Average Water quality: Gin clear What worked:Copper John
I headed out yesterday for some much needed fishing and solitude. I parked at MSP and started
hiking. I got down there later than I wanted because I hit the snooze button about 50 times. I headed
straight for the piles and got to work. I fished the upstream part with some dries for a bit and didn't
get any takers, so I switched to a copper john. It didn't take long to hook a nice rainbow. It measured
14 1/2 inches and put up one hell of a fight. Shortly after that I landed a 14" bow on the same fly.
Another quality fight to which I prevailed. After I released it I noticed my hook was slightly bent and
against my better judgement I tried to fix it and of course it broke. Of course that was the only one
that I had. Both fish came at the end of my drift when I started pulling the bug out of the water. I
tried every other nymph that I had without success. I tried two mohair leeches, a San Juan worm and
a scud too but no takers. I fished several dry patterns throughout the day and only got one rise on an
elk hair caddis but couldn't stick him.
I found tons of fish but just couldn't get them to bite. It's definitely time to restock the fly box. As
always the wildlife viewing was good. I saw two deer and had a river otter swim right up to where I
wasstanding. He just sat there and hissed at me but hewouldn't go away until I walked away from him
and even then he took his time. As soon as I reload I'll be back for sure. I've only fished the red
ribbon area twice now but I'm hooked on this river as a quality fishery.
Isn't that just the way? The one fly they want is the one you snagged in a
tree just out of reach. It's kind of like how it always seems to rain
right after you wash your car. Bad karma, I guess. Thanks Darren.
This report was submitted by Matt R. of Desoto on 7/19/07
Date of trip: 7/17 Times fished: 5:30 - 11:00am Air Temperature: Sultry Weather: Sunny Water Level: Below Average Water quality: Gin clear What worked:Brown Wooly Bugger, Gold Copper John
Started at about 5:30 in the morning and led off with a brown wooly bugger. Hooked a big one right
off the bat that wrapped itself around some branches and broke off. Headed upstream and brought in two
the wooly, eventually switching to a gold copper john. Lost four off that all due to broken line.
Since the water was low and clear I kept the line weight really light and ended up paying for it with
some lost fish. The fish are biting really good down there as long as you can fish around the heat and
canoes wanting to go right through the best fishing spots. Great day of fishing but it just got too hot by
around 11 or so. Good luck.
Good to hear from you again Matt. I've lost a few real whoppers this year, too.
Ain't it just grand?
This report was submitted by Jim S. of St. Louis on 7/3/07
Date of trip: 7/1/07 Times fished: 10:00am - 3:00pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Rainy Water Level: Very High Water quality: Milky What worked:None
Arrived at Cardiac Hill, and rain started coming down fairly hard. Climbed down to water
and saw that it was about two feet higher than normal and milky from all the run off during
the previous week. Tried some riffles and deeper holes where the water looked a bit clearer.
Had no luck at all with bead head nymphs, wooly buggers with flash, or small white maribou
jigs. The current was very swift and treacherous. I walked up river through dense foliage and
found a small island which I waded out to. Almost a big mistake as the current was very strong
and the water was up to my butt. Fished for about 45 min in eddies that flowed from the back side
of the island, but again no luck. There were many snags and lost a number of flies. This is one of
those days that I should've packed up and left. However, the lure of the river is compelling. This
is one of the most beautiful spots on the Meramec.
I know what you mean. After the drive and the hike, it's hard to just turn
and hike back up the hill. You HAVE to at least give it a shot. Glad to
hear you didn't go swimming. Thanks Jim.
This report was submitted by Kevin ___________ of Brentwood (formerly Glendale) on 7/3/07
Date of trip: 7/1/07 Times fished: 4:00pm - 8:30pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Partly Cloudy Water Level: Very High Water quality: Milky What worked:Scud, Nymphs
Water was very high and still rising after the rains last week - probably the highest I've ever fished
the Meramec. USGS site at Steelville said it was about 2.4 ft and around 500 cfs, but it seemed
higher than when I've fished it at 2.6 ft in the winter. Might have been because the water was still rising.
Clarity was way very low as well.
A friend and I fished from the piles downstream to cardiac access. Landed 2 browns (16", 10") and
missed a couple strikes. Tried olive and black buggers, prince nymphs, copper johns, BH PT's, GRHE's,
egg patterns and stims w/ droppers. First fish, the larger brown, came on a #16 scud fished as a dropper
under a #12 BH PT about 8-10 ft below the indicator in 5-7 ft of water. Second fish came on a Light Cahill
wet fly on a traditional down and across wet fly swing at the head of a riffle to mimic the sparse, large white
mayfly hatch (#10-12 PED's maybe?). I think the water was too high to effectively get baits down to the fish
and too dirty for them too see them, but catching the bigger brown made the trip well worth it. The other
wildlife viewing was worth it as always - saw a bald eagle, red head woodpeckers, kingfishers and several herons.
Yep, high water on the Meramec sucks. With the gauge being down at Steelville, the high
water you were seeing won't effect the gauge until the water you were standing in
actually gets to Steelville, so the actual levels for Cardiac on 7/1 were probably closer to
the July 3 readings at Steelville (2.5ft, 600cfs). Just a little something for everyone
to keep in mind. Very cool that you pulled a couple of nice browns. This time of the year,
evening and overnight is about the only time you'll see them get a little active -- usually below a good
strong set of riffles. The white mayflies you saw are the "legendary" Meramec white flies
(yawn). The white fly hatch is something that people speak of with awe, but fishing the
hatch is usually anti-climactic. You can sometimes pull a few using Pale Evening Duns or
Light Hendrickson. You can also clip the hackles and fish them like emergers to stick a
few. Overall, the hatch is overrated on this river as far as fish-catching is concerned.
Still, catching fish on dries is always fun, which is why I always tie on a white fly
when the time seems right. Thanks again for the help Kevin.
This report was submitted by Milo B. of Bourbon on 6/21/07
Date of trip: 6/21/07 Times fished: 12:00-2:00pm Air Temperature: Balmy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Average Water quality: Gin Clear What worked:#16 Elk Hair Caddis, Small Blue Globug
I was paddling the river with my family, so I only got to stop twice, but I saw numerous
large trout everywhere they should have been including thirty of forty stacked up at the pilings.
We stopped where the spring branch enters the river. I found an empty spot and watched for
fish for a few minutes. I saw many rising and watched one over 15 inches launch itself about two
feet out of the water at a dragonfly. I had no Idea what the risers were taking, but I tied on an elk
hair caddis and caught two twelve inchers in short order. I packed back up after releasing the second.
I rigged up again after lunch just below the pilings, but not knowing about the need for attractors in the
evening, I did not catch any fish until another kind fisherman offered me a hole that he had just pulled a
few large fish out of and suggested a peach egg. I did not have one, so I used a blue one and hooked
into a very large trout. Unfortunately it shook loose, but not before I got a look at it. It was very large and
built like a cargo ship. Unfortunately I had to pack up and leave to follow my group.
This is a great river with very friendly people, and it is packed with trophy trout to boot. Even with just
one trip there under my belt I am ready to go back. Thank you for the site otherwise I might never have
found this river.
Glad to have converted another fan Milo. Meramec River has had a spotty reputation
for many years, with a good number of published articles saying the fishery has
been in decline. Not so! Those articles are generally done by writers who also
fish but simply don't know what they're doing on this river. During the summer months,
you should try floating from the park to Scott's Ford behind an inner tube wearing a
scuba mask. Just float through all the fishy-looking spots with your face in the water.
You'll be stunned at what you see. BTW, be careful when you get advice like "you have to
use attractors in the evening". A certain fly and/or technique will generally work
consistently for 2-3 weeks, but these fish change with every rainstorm, cold front, and
hot spell. In a couple weeks, they probably won't be hitting anything after 2pm, attractor
or not. Thanks for the report.
This report was submitted by John Huggins of St. Louis on 6/15/07
Date of trip: 6/10/07 Times fished: 7:00am - 10:30am Air Temperature: Chilly Weather: Rainy Water Level: Average Water quality: Gin Clear What worked:Black and Yellow Jigs, Flatfish
We were lucky enough to find a good hole downstream from the park, just about the time the rain
came. When the lightning started, my son and I headed for the car. My crazy friend fished through it
all and caught twenty for the day in spite of the weather.
NICE! Glad he survived to tell you about it! Thanks John.
This report was submitted by Jim S. of St. Louis on 6/6/07
Date of trip: 6/5/07 Times fished: 11:00am - 7:00pm Air Temperature: Balmy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Average Water quality: Slightly Clouded What worked:Beadhead Pheasant Tail, Wooly Bugger, Prince Nymph
I really like this site and I read the updates faithfully so I figured it was about time I contribute.
I arrived at Cardiac about 10:30 and started fishing around 11. I put on a stimulator and used a
tungsten bead head pheasant tail as a dropper on three feet of line. The fish were active, and the
combination worked well as I landed about 10 or so rainbows between 12-16 inches in about an
hour and a half - all but one on the dropper. I missed another 6-8 fish during that time. Moved
upstream to another hole. No luck with the pheasant tail but caught one on a prince nymph and
then experimented a bit with a wooly bugger and hooked a few and landed one. Moved upstream
again and caught one nice rainbow by a fallen tree and then fished a plunge pool without much
success. Fished the long run above this hole with a wooly bugger. While fish showed interest when
I stripped it, they lacked that commitment step. I switched to a stimulator and pheasant tail dropper
and started catching fish at a decent clip. Got off the river around 7:30 - a bit before that the trout
started hitting emergers and you could on occasion see trout porpoising in the stream.
Overall one of the best days I've had on the Meramec, which is nice as I've had my share of slow
ones. The fish were feisty with a few going airborne which is fun. As usual saw a lot of wildlife on
the river - a few deer, some herons, turkey vultures and a snake or two swimming by.
Thanks again for hosting the site - it's a gem.
I appreciate you saying that! Sounds like you had a great day. We are
entering a transitional period on the Meramec (as well as other rivers
around the state). During this time, feeding behaviors will change from
day to day due to fluctuating water temperatures and occasional rainfall.
It can be tricky trying to figure out what flies and presentation styles
will work, but you've proven that they will definitely take the right fly
when it's presented the right way. Thanks Jim.
This report was submitted by Rich _________ of St. Louis on 5/19/07
Date of trip: 5/17/07 Times fished: 9:00am - 2:30pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Above Average Water quality: Slightly Clouded What worked:BH Pheasant Tail, Copper John
It was my first time ever fishing the trophy area, and I can't say that I was
disappointed. I had good success in the stretch about a couple hundred yards
downstream from the park. In about forty five minutes, I caught four good-sized
rainbows and also had a real nice one break me off. A little after ten though,
the conservation department started to cut moss inside the park, and big clumps
of it floated downstream all over the place. The fishing really seemed to slow
down after this, so I tried to find some good water down by the "piles." When
I got down there, the water looked like a great holding area for trout (a lot
of limbs and deeper water). However, I noticed two bad signs - river otters
and a large school of gar feeding. The gar were big and seemed to be really
aggressive, splashing all over the place, and we all know the trout run whenever
there are otters around. So I decided to take a little break and familiarize myself
with the area.
One thing I noticed is that the area is crawling with all kinds of wildlife. The coolest
thing I saw all day was an adult bald eagle fly out of the tree right in front of me -
he flew real low and did a u-turn downstream, only to fly back in front of me once
more before going over the trees. After that I caught one more rainbow back near
the area where I did well earlier in the day. All in all not a bad trip.
Yeah, there are a few gar around. You usually don't see them in
the trout-holding water, but the flood stage water pushed them
downstream from Dry Fork Creek. They'll hopefully start moving
back up Dry Fork soon. Regarding the otters, they certainly DO
like to munch a trout from time to time. This time of year,
though, they're probably eating more crayfish and suckers than
anything else. The trout are very energetic and strong right
now, making them faster than a speeding bullet. Later this
summer, though, when the trout get lethargic, those otters could
potentially do some real damage. Even so, I'm sure you're right
in the assumption that the trout were at the very least a bit
FREAKED OUT by the presence of all the predators. And an eagle,
no less! Thanks Rich.
This report was submitted by Matt Rhees of Desoto on 5/16/07
Date of trip: 5/15/07 Times fished: 6:30am - 11:30am Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Partly Cloudy Water Level: Above Average Water quality: Slightly Clouded What worked:Brown Wooly Bugger
I went down to the cardiac hill access at around 630. I started
fishing with some copper johns and other small nymphs without
any success for the first few hours. I headed up river to the piles
where still I had not even a strike. I went up past the piles about
20 yards or so to a nice set of riffles and changed to a brown wooly.
I pulled out 5 big rainbows in about 30 minutes ranging from 16-18
inches there. I got a quick measure on one and it was right above
18 1/2 inches and she was a little fatty. Then some thunderstorms
came rolling in fast, so I made my way back down toward cardiac hill,
pulling out two more. One of those was 17 inches. The high water
gave a bit of oxygen to the fish and made them pretty active towards
the woolies. Wanted to stay but lightning started up pretty bad and
was striking close by.
Yes, dissolved oxygen content is definitely important.
The day after a good rain often yields good results,
because the rain incorporates new oxygen. Of course, a
good rain also often brings the Meramec up to flood
stage. I guess we just have to take the good with
the bad. Thanks again for the help Matt.
This report was submitted by Kevin Z. of Columbia on 5/1/07
Date of trip: 4/30/07 Times fished: 10am-4pm and 6pm-dark Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Above Average Water quality: Gin Clear What worked:Assorted Nymphs
I recently moved to MO and figured it was about time to check out the
local trout streams, so I played hooky from work and headed out to wet
a line. I chose the Meramec, because I heard of its crouding issues and
thought that a Monday would be a good day to fish it, plus it's only ~2
hours from home. I started at Cardiac Hill and immediately started
hooking up with fish. I landed several nice rainbows (some in the 16-18"
range, most around 12") on an assortment of nymphs, with a size 18-20
beadhead pheasant tail being the most productive. I caught 10-15 fish in the
first spot before moving on. By then though the sun was on the water, and
as the weather got warm the fishing got cold. After a couple more hours of
nothing, I decided to head back to the truck for a bite to eat and drink. And
WHEW! - I now realize why they call it "Cardiac Hill"!!
During the break I spoke with another fisherman that fishes the Meramec
often, and he told me that the water level was still about a foot higher than
normal, which made the runs deeper and the wading difficult. He said that
he too had little success as it warmed up, but said that scuds were working
well earlier. Being new to the state I didn't have some of these patterns that
would have given me better success - so it's off to the fly shop when I get
home. I returned back down the hill at about 6pm for another crack at it.
Still nothing, but I waited it out hoping that something was going to happen
once it cooled down a bit. It was right after sundown that a small caddis
hatch came off, so I got excited and tied on some dry's. I started fishing
all kinds of caddis patterns hoping to entice a rise, but to no avail. I stayed
in the water until dark, but I still didn't see any surface activity. I was a bit
confused by that. Oh well, all in all, a great day on the water. The morning
was awesome, the afternoon and evening were a bit frustrating, but hey it
sure beats being at work!! I look forward to fishing the Meramec as well
as the other waters in the southern MO.
Yes, the river was still pretty darn high on 4/30. The
discharge was hovering 700 cfs. Today (5/19), the river
was in the 350 range, which is pretty ideal. If
the levels are above 500 cfs, I try to talk my clients
out of going. If they're above 600 cfs, I really put
my foot down. Not only does it make the fishing
unpredictable and unneccesarily diffcult, but the wading
conditions can be dangerous. The fluctuating water
conditions make for some strong fish, though, and most
newcomers are pretty darn impressed at a Meramec trout's
fighting ability. Sounds like you got a good introduction.
Thanks Kevin
This report was submitted by Kris & Barb of Columbia on 5/1/07
Date of trip: 4/29/07 Times fished: 3pm - 730pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Above Average Water quality: Milky What worked:Brown Roach Micro Jig, #12 Griffith's Gnat
We took a quick trip to the Red Ribbon area just below the park. Fishing
was difficult but we did catch fish. We rented campsite #1 and fished the seams
and swirl s where the two streams meet from 3:00 to 7:30. River was cloudy,
fast and a bit high. This made for an impossible dry fly day. However, a brown
roach micro jig (ala Bennett Springs) dead drifting really really deep (4 to 5 foot)
did good. We couldn't get anything else to work. I even tried deep stripping a
Crackle Back (which always gets one or two) with no luck. The however is,
I changed to a #12 Griffith's Gnat deep again and had a great time. The first
drift had action and got better from there. I caught one nice 17inch, and about
6 more 15's and 16's (Catch and Release only) and some little ones from
5:00 to 7:30. So here is my question. Is it nymph fishing when you are using
a #12 bouncing off the bottom instead of a #20? Thanks again for site and the links.
Yep! When you say "nymphing", you're talking about the style
of fishing rather than the fly or the size. You can nymph
fish with any fly in your box and catch fish. The same goes for
other fishing styles, as well. Stripping a crackleback is
streamer fishing, for example. Size is also not the issue.
The Meramec's most underrated food source are the big black
stoneflies that you find here and there. Nymphing with a big
old #6 Kaufmann is a great way to pull a trophy fish out of this
river. Thanks for the report, and you're welcome for the site.
This report was submitted by John Huggins of St. Louis on 4/30/07
Date of trip: 4/29/07 Times fished: 7am - 3pm Air Temperature: Balmy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Average Water quality: Slightly Clouded What worked:White or Yellow Rooster Tails, Gold Flatfish, Brown Wooly Bugger
We had a great day on the river just below the park. My son and I
were spinfishing, and a friend of mine, an expert fly fisherman, was
tearing them up with a wooly bugger. He caught 29, I caught 11 and
my 12 year old son caught 5; all rainbows. We only kept one 17 inch
fish. Of the rest the smallest was 12 inches. Most averaged 14 to 15
inches and put up a great fight. It was good to be able to show my son
how to properly handle and release these beauties. We had a red ribbon
day on a red ribbon river.
Sounds like a great time. Thanks John.
This report was submitted by Kevin __________ of Glendale on 5/2/07
Date of trip: 4/22/07 Times fished: 7:30 - 11:30am Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Very High Water quality: Milky What worked:Streamers
Fished between Cardiac Hill and Piles. Water level was very high
(2.6 ft, 680 cfs) and clarity was, low but the fishing was very good.
A friend and I landed 12 between the 2 of us, lost or missed at least
that many. Most action came before about 9:30 am. Dark streamers
fished deep on sinking leaders worked the best - olive buggers, matukas
and sculpins. When the fish turned off the streamers they were hitting
nymphs fished in the same spots, but I had a hard time keeping them
hooked on the nymphs. Both egg and scud patterns hooked fish.
There were mayflies (#16-18 red quill), caddis and stones (#14-18 olive,
black or gray elk hair caddis) coming off but I only saw a few rises.
Yes, we have been seen some decent hatches recently,
but most of the hatch feeding has been on emergers.
Instead of seeing the ring of the rise, about all you'll
see is a little swirl. With so much water coming down
at you (680 cfs), congrats on wading so far upstream without
hurting yourself or going for a surprise swim! Good to hear
from you again Kevin.
This report was submitted by Chuck __________ of Chicago, IL on 4/9/07
Date of trip: 4/7/07 Times fished: 11:00am - 5:00pm Air Temperature: Chilly Weather: Sunny Water Level: Average Water quality: Gin Clear What worked:Streamers of all sorts
After struggling on the Current the day before (mostly due to the windy
conditions and trying to deliver dry flies with a 4 wt.), headed out to
Cardiac with my 6 wt. ready to nymph and streamer fish. The wind was
there but not as bad.
Got there about 11, and headed to deeper pools. Saw two trout deep
in one of the pools, so cast just ahead of the downstream fish (easier one
to get to) with a crayfish pattern....using a sinking leader (5.6 fps). Caught
and realeased a healthy 13" rainbow...saw the bigger of the two still just
upstream of where that fish was and cast to it... nothing, until I switched to
a brown/olive bugger....caught and released a nice 16" rainbow.
Broke the cardinal rule of leaving fish to find fish.....and....FOUND fish.
Reached a pool where I couldn't seem to avoid rainbows. Ran through
the pool about 10 times, 5 casts each time through. Got a strike every 6
casts or so, managed to hook up with half of those (lots of short strikes,
and other false strikes- baitfish, I guess), and landed almost all. All in all,
pulled another 7 rainbows out of that pool.... all at least 12", and one of
the 16" variety. It didn't matter what I tied on, every streamer got action.
Saw a BIG rainbow jumping. "Accidentally" caught a smallie....when I
was stripping in to return to the head of the pool.... 9". Nice to get my
first smallie of 2007.
Spent the next few hours looking around and trying different techniques....
got a couple of strikes on nymphs, but didn't hook up.
What a great way to spend a cold, cold Saturday... well, a balmy one
for where I am from. A friend showed me the great trout fishing down
there, and I look forward to getting out there every time I visit my family.
Finally, saw a bunch of buzzards eating a fox carcass along the road to
the parking area. Very cool.
Keep up the great work!
Thanks for the report and the kind words. The Meramec is one of
those rivers where you have to take the good with the bad. This
spring has been very frustrating, due to the fact that the river
comes up so darn fast, and we've had just enough rain storms to
keep things interesting. I've had to cancel and/or reschedule more
than half of my scheduled guide trips this spring, and it's simply
infuriating. If you can catch the river when the water level
is good, though, you'll find the fish are feeling frisky and
feeding well. All the run-off and fluctuating water levels
puts a TON of oxygen into the water, and that always leads
to good fishing. Glad you had a good trip. Hope to see you on
the river sometime.
This report was submitted by Tony ______ of St. Louis on 3/25/07
Date of trip: 3/23/07 Times fished: 7:30am - 11:00am Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Overcast Water Level: Average Water quality: Slightly Clouded What worked:Nothing
Went down to the dry fork confluence and fished the piles. There was not even a
hint of a fish. I used many differernt flies, but the fish were simply not there. As I
passed the folks in the park it didn't look like folks were have great success either.
I headed to Westover and had a rockin good time!
I have to admit, I do like Westover a lot. They're putting a ton of
money into that place to make into a first-class resort, and I
hope they get filthy stinking rich. Regarding the Meramec,
this is a tricky time of year. Everytime it rains, the oxygen level
in the river goes up, the current speeds up, and the water temperature
changes depending on the air temperature during the rain. All
those changes cause the fish the move. Oxygen, of course, makes them
feel good, so they move up. Faster current weakens their endurance.
And we all know they can be picky about water temperature. So the tricky
thing is to figure out where they've moved. Apparently, they did not
move to piles this time. A month from now, those spots will probably
be clogged with fish. Thanks for the report Tony.
This report was submitted by Matt R. of Desoto on 3/20/07
Date of trip: 3/17/07 Times fished: 9:00am - 1:00pm Air Temperature: Chilly Weather: Snowy Water Level: Average Water quality: Slightly Clouded What worked:Gold Copper John, Rubber Leg Hare's Ear Nymph
We got down to the river from cardiac hill and started to fish the bend right at the
end of the path. I was using a double drop with a rubberlegged hares ear and my go
to gold copper john. I hooked up with two nice rainbows right off the back but they
got off. We then worked our way up the river to the fork when it started snowing
really heavy, we couldn't even see where we were casting for a while. I landed one
and lost one more at the piles. After that we worked our way back down to the
entrance path and I picked up two more little rainbows at that first bend. Overall
the fishing was really good, but the snow started to turn to rain and it drove us out a little early.
Sounds like a good trip. The Meramec trout have been hitting short
this spring, for some reason. We've seen plenty of lost fish and have
landed many fish that are hooked just by a thread. Thanks Matt.
This report was submitted by Kris K. of Columbia on 3/12/07
Date of trip: 3/10/07 Times fished: 9:00am - 6:00pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Average Water quality: Gin Clear What worked:Green Wooly, Crackleback #12
The fish we caught were the strongest and feistiest trout I have ever caught.
I had several run-outs and jumps with an 11. They just didn't give up.
Maybe the fish below the park have to bulk up to stay alive.
Started @ Cardiac Hill walk-your-tail-off access. What a lovely hike.
Made my morning, and by the time we were on stream I was ready to fish.
We were striking out and continued to hike towards the Park. My fishing
buddy started catching them on WB's just above the Dry Fork. I did my
best just below the park with Crackle Backs. Totally love the animal life
and solitude this area has to offer (And of course these Trout on Steroids.)
We started the hike back from the park around 5:00 and got to the car around
6:00 with only 2 stops up that no longer lovely hill. It gets its name appropriately.
I hear that from clients all the time. On the way down, they
say "this isn't so bad". After 6 or 8 hours of walking in a river,
and then walking uphill wearing waders, the story changes a bit.
Regarding strength of fish, yes they do seem to be on steriods
at certain times of the year. Right now, the oxygen content
is very good, and the water temperature is perfect. That always
adds a bit of spark to the old fins. Thanks Kris.
This report was submitted by Scott Luecker of Washington (MO) on 2/5/07
Date of trip: 1/31/07 Times fished: 7:00am - 2:00pm Air Temperature: Frigid Weather: Partly Cloudy Water Level: Very High Water quality: Slightly Clouded What worked:Wooly Bugger, Heavy Streamers, Crank Baits deep
Reached suicide hill around 7:00 and the air temp. was about 9 degrees. The walk
down warmed me up a bit after putting on my waders. Luckily there was little wind.
The sky was blue with a few clouds moving in from the west. The water was clear/
green in color and moving pretty good. I worked my way up towards the spring and
did not catch a fish until Dry Fork Creek. The hole below the confluence is deep and
full of browns and bows. I had both a fly rod and a spin rod. Heavily weighted streamers
(wooly boogers, eggsucking leechs, zonkers) worked best in black and olive. The wood
structure above Dry Fork should be worked throughly and plan on losing a fly or two,
due to lots of deep snags. I saw two very large trout here and even had one on for a bit.
As I continued on up to the spring the sky became more cloudy as the water. No more
fish until I reached the Spring . The spring water was a bit stained and as it mixed with
the river water it became apparent how clear the river water really was. Cast streamers
and diving crankbaits to where the waters were mixing and caught several more rainbows
14" to 16". No fish less than 13" were caught all day. On my way back to the car I caught
just one more fish but that was O.K. because I had caught and released a dozen nice-sized
trout already and have to admit I was also half frozen.
Sounds like a great day on the river, minus the icy digits that is!
Thanks for the help Scott.
This report submitted by Kevin ________ of Glendale on 1/31/07
Date of Trip: 1/28/07 Times Fished: 10:00am - 3:00pm Air Temperature: Frigid Weather: Partly Cloudy Water Level: Above Average Water Clarity: Slightly Clouded Successful Baits: Conehead Olive Matuka, Nymphs
A friend and I fished from the Cardiac access. When we got to the parking area the
car temp guage said 13 degrees. When we left it was at or about the high temp for the
day - 19 degrees. We fished almost 5 hours and still have all fingers, toes and other
body parts, so it was a success. It wasn't too bad, really, as long as we stayed in the
sun and there was no wind. If the steelhead guys up north can handle it........
The water was still up from the recent rain and snow, 600 cfs and about 2.5 ft, but the
clarity was pretty decent. The recent high water has moved a fair amount of rock and
trees, really changing several of the holes and runs near the Cardiac access.
The fish were feeding, but the hardest part was reacting to the strikes with frozen arms
and iced-up guides. My friend landed one rainbow on a conehead olive matuka and
missed a couple on various buggers. I fished several nymphs (RL Copper John, PT, BH
Prince, Soft Hackle Hares Ear) and lost one fish and missed several strikes.
To get an idea of what the fish might be eating - the receeding water had left several puddles
along the inside bends of the river. One had iced over in the arctic temps before the birds
had a chance to pick out the bugs and it created a little aquarium that was LOADED with
scuds - hundreds of them that I could see in a 2 ft x 2 ft puddle. The puddles that weren't
iced over had nothing in them. To match the hatch, the size ranged from #20 - #12 scud/
caddis hook with a majority about #16-18. Most were light gray to olive-gray in color. I
didn't have any scud patterns with me, but that won't happen again.
No scuds on the Meramec? Shame on you! Thanks again for the help Kevin.
This report submitted by Kevin ________ of Glendale on 1/3/07
Date of Trip: 12/30/06 Times Fished: 10:00am - 3:00pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Overcast Water Level: Average Water Clarity: Gin Clear Successful Baits: Olive Buggers
Fished upstream from the Cardiac access. Water and weather were great. Temp was
mid 50's, mostly cloudy with about 30 min of light rain. Tried nymphs (BH Prince, PT's,
Carrot Nymphs) working upstream in my usual successful spots but didn't move anything
and didn't get a strike.
Worked back down the stream with the heavily weighted BH olive bugger - my only 5 hits
of the day came in about 20 minutes and I landed 2 of them. The first was my biggest MO
trout yet - a little over 18" and she was releasing eggs. The spawn might be just around the
corner. The second was about 16". Both came from a run 2-3' deep. I would dead drift the
bugger to get it deep then swing it with subtle twitches - all hits were solid takes and came
shortly after the swing started. Tried more nymphs, buggers and even dries over the next
couple hours but no more hits.
Like a couple weeks ago, I did see another bald eagle, this time an immature mottled brown
one, so there are at least three of them working between the Cardiac and Suicide Hill access
points this winter.
Thanks again Kevin.
This report submitted by Kevin ________ of Glendale on 1/2/07
Date of Trip: 12/10/06 Times Fished: 11:00am - 3:30pm Air Temperature: Chilly Weather: Partly Cloudy Water Level: Above Average Water Clarity: Slightly Clouded Successful Baits: BH Prince, BH Hares Ear, Soft Hackle
Fished from Suicide Hill. On my way down, 2 spin fishermen reported doing well on spinners,
Rapalas and small spoons. Water was still above average following the ice storm and meltwater
runoff.
I caught 2 in the first hour on nymphs - #18 BH Prince and #16 BH Hares Ear Soft Hackle each
caught one fish. I missed a couple more hits. Typical of what I've noticed in the past, when the sun
hit the water there were small mayflies and small darker stones and caddis coming off - not a heavy
hatch but you'd see one here and there. When I've seen these bugs coming off in the winter, let
small darker nymphs like the prince and a PT swing across the current and hang for a few seconds
at the end of a dead drift to mimic the hatching bugs. The trout will follow them and you'll get hits
both during the swing and at the end when they're hanging in the shallower water. I spent the last
few hours field testing new streamer patterns and not expecting to catch anything, but I did move
fish on both a bugger and a big tandem hook conehead rabbit strip muddler.
When you're on the Meramec for the next couple months keep your ears open and look up
once in a while - the bald eagles are back from last year! I saw a pair of fully mature eagles
between the Suicide and Cardiac access points.
Thanks again Kevin. Good tip on swing fishing.
This report submitted by Kevin ________ of Glendale on 11/20/06
Date of Trip: 11/18/06 Times Fished: 7:30am - noon Air Temperature: Chilly Weather: Overcast Water Level: Very High Water Clarity: Milky Successful Baits: Deep!
A friend and I fished upstream from Cardiac Hill. Water was high, about a foot higher than this
summer - 2.6 feet and 600 cfs according to the USGS site. It was cold and overcast when we
got to the parking area - the temp was in the mid 30's but there was no wind early so it wasn't
uncomfortable. We caught 5 fish between the two of us, 3 browns and 2 rainbows all between 10"-14".
3 came on olive buggers and 2 on nymphs. We probably missed about as many. I don't think the fly
mattered as much as the depth - as long as the flies got deep enough we got a few hits. With the water
that high getting flies deep was a challenge. My friend used a heavily weighted olive bugger on a extra
fast sinking leader and short tippett to catch his 3 from the head areas of deeper runs. I used 2 weighted
nymphs behind 2 split shot suspended about 7 feet below the indicator and fished them in the foam line
off a deeper cut bank where fast water met the slack water to take my 2 fish.
All the fish came between 8 am and 9:30 am. The wind picked up about 10:30 and we were cold enough
by about noon that we called it a day. Considering the conditions I was very happy with the results, but
wouldn't fish the river again if the water was much higher/faster than it was Saturday. Aside from the
tougher fishing, the Meramec's loose bottom materials combined with the stronger currents could make
for a dangerous and unplesant experience with one misplaced step!
Tricky footing is right. The positive thing about the gravel bottom is you don't
generally have to worry about the greased cannonballs present is many of the other
Missouri streams, but a bit of current will definitely dig a hole around your
feet on the Meramec. Thanks for the report, Kevin.
This report submitted by Tom ________ of South County on 10/24/06
Date of Trip: 10/22/06 Times Fished: 6:45am -4:00pm Air Temperature: Chilly Weather: Cloudy Water Level: Average Water Clarity: Gin Clear Successful Baits: BH Rubber-Leg Nymphs, Copper Johns, Pheasant Tails
Arrived at Cardiac Hill around 6:15. Two other vehicles showed up before we headed out, which is a little unusual from my past visits
there. We fished upstream, the first stop was cabin hole. My buddy and I fished it for a good 20 minutes w/o any luck so we continued
on. After the fork in the river is when we started to get some hits. We ended up fishing all the way up to Maramec Spring Park where we
ate lunch. All in all we only landed 7 fish between the two of us. Still you can't beat being out on the river fishing, even though it was pretty chilly.
Chilly is right, especially in that wind. I had clients out on the 22nd fishing from the park down
past "the piles", which is the series of downed logs upstream of the fork you mentioned. I want to offer a
very public "thank you" for your outstanding stream ethics. As you guys were heading upstream, I noticed
that you looked up and saw us about 100 yards up. You then left the
stream and walked around us through the brush, rather than staying in the river and screwing up the fishing.
That is a rare occurance, and I commend you on your stream manners. If I'm mistaken, and that wasn't you, then
NEVER MIND!
Yes, many of the larger rivers across the state have been fishing tougher than normal this October, but October
still brings out the crowds of fishermen looking for trophy browns. So, your experiences are pretty typical of
what everyone's been seeing this month. Thanks again, Tom.
This report submitted by Brett ________ of Cuba on 10/19/06
Date of Trip: 10/15/06 Times Fished: 10am - 4pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Overcast Water Level: Below Average Water Clarity: Gin Clear Successful Baits: BH Black Bugger
Fished upstream from cardiac, saw one other person with the same plan. Great overcast day with occasional light drizzle. Fishing
started great with several hits on the bugger. Landed a good brown, and lost a "trophy" (i.e. fish story) bow when it darted for fallen
trees. Fishing slowed after that, tried most everything in my arsenal, with no luck. Saw several feeding but nothing I tossed peaked
their interest. Tied the bugger back on,and landed a brown. I am still trying to get the hang of flyfishing Missouri trout waters--very
different than where I learned the art. Anyways... nice site, glad I could share, and I believed I ran into you on the river once
(recognized the taxidermy business from the advertisement on your truck). See you on the rivers.
Thanks Brett. Yes, you may have run into me. I'm on the Meramec at least once a week, and often 3 or 4 days
per week. My wife doesn't complain about this for some reason... hmmm...
Anyway, this October's been goofier than usual. Periodically, we've been seeing some streamer action, but it's
fairly short-lived. We've also had some luck fishing riffle-tails with scud patterns and throwing hoppers
along the deeper banks, but most of our luck has been sight-fishing drifting attractors right to a trout's nose.
Of course, sight fishing always works. It just requires more walking and watching than fishing.
This report submitted by Chuck __________ of Bourbon on 9/26/06
Date of Trip: 9/18/06 Times Fished: 8:00am - 3:00pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Average Water Clarity: Slightly Clouded Successful Baits: Egg Patterns, Hoppers, Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear
Fished from Cardiac up past Dry Fork. It was my first time upriver from Dry Fork, and I was impressed by the number of fish there.
All in scour holes, all near the bottom. The important thing is to get down to them. Then got the urge to tie on a hopper and throw it
under a cut bank, and hello, Mr. Brown! About 10 fish in all, largest fish (rainbow) was around 19".
That ratio is pretty consistent with what we've been seeing over the last 8 months or so. Average
fish size has been about 14" with 10% of fish caught in the 18" & up range. Sounds like a nice day.
Thanks again for the help, Chuck.
This report submitted by Anthony __________ of St. Louis on 9/15/06
Date of Trip: 9/15/06 Times Fished: 700am - 100pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Very Low Water Clarity: Slightly Clouded Successful Baits: Prince Nymph, Pheasant Tail, Olive Wooly
Fished Suicide and Cardiac access points with below average success. Caught 5 nice rainbows, but the fish seemed
more scarce than usual. I tried more flys than usual with less strikes. What I mean is that it has been a great summer on the
river....lots of fish. I'm wondering if the cooler weather has them heading upstream or the rain last week pushed them down.
It was kind of a let down day compared to the last few months. What do you say Mr. Trout Hunter? I love this site and
check it daily.
Dude. "Mister" Trout Hunter is my father! You can call me Walt. There's not much migration
going on right now, but the browns are beginning to feel a little friskier with the water temp
coming down. We'll start seeing them moving up before long. At this time of the year, the
rainbows are well scattered, with nice fish being taken even as far downstream as below Scott's
Ford. That's what you're seeing. Water that's too warm pushes the fish downstream, contrary to
the belief that they swim upstream looking for cooler water. So, at the end of a long hot summer,
they've been pushed as far as they can. But, every deep pool will still be holding fish. It's only
those fish that couldn't get a sheltered spot that continued downstream. Earlier in the
summer, the pools had more fish in them, and they were feeding competitively. Now that they're
spread out more, the competitiveness has calmed down, and so has the catch rate. Its just part
of the seasonal cycle. Thanks for the report.
This report submitted by Darrell of St. Louis on 9/17/06
Date of Trip: 9/13/06 Times Fished: 730am - 130pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Cloudy Water Level: Average Water Clarity: Gin Clear Successful Baits: BH Olive & Brown Bugger
This was my first time fishing here. Went with a friend who has fished here many times. Went in at Suicide Hill and worked
upstream to halfway point between the Piles and Cardiac Hill. He caught 2 rainbows between 10-14" and a goggle eye using
an ultralight with a rapala. I had no luck on the surface. So I switched to a heavy olive&brown bugger and caught 3 rainbows
by the Cardiac Hill access. The smallest was 10" and the largest 16 1/2". Saw some turkey and deer, including 1 fawn. This is
a beautiful area to fish.
You got that right. Fishing's been hit and miss, but most everyone's at least catching something
right now. The spotty fishing outcomes are mainly just a part of the seasonal cycle. As
Autumn and winter progress, we'll see some big changes -- most of them good. Thanks for the report.
This report submitted by Adam Sullentrup of Cedar Hill on 9/15/06
Date of Trip: 9/9/06 Times Fished: 900am - 500pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Average Water Clarity: Gin Clear Successful Baits: Black Crystal Flash Wooly Bugger
This was a fantastic trip! I know what you mean when you say the Meramec is addictive, and if your not careful you might get
hooked. I've floated it 10 times already this season with another trip planned for this weekend. Considering the fact that I have
been fishing the Meramec since I was 5, I have learned a few things about it (Okay, I am only 20 now but I have still learned a
few things). You must get to the Bottom. I hate fishing with split shot, but it really helps. I fish it about 16 inches above my bugger
and bounce it along the bottom. I caught at least a dozen on this last trip and lost three times as many. Definitely one of the best
days I have had in a while. Also, the sight fishing has been phenomenal. Give it a try, you won't be disappointed. All in all the
Meramec is my favorite river in Missouri.
Good to hear from a fellow addict. The Meramec has been hit and miss recently, as it usually is
this time of the year. Sounds like your day was a hit.
This report submitted by Kevin __________ of St. Louis on 9/6/06
Date of Trip: 9/1/06 Times Fished: 5:00 til dark Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Below Average Water Clarity: Gin Clear Successful Baits: Olive Wooly Buggers, Copper Johns
I arrived at suicide hill at about 4:45 or 5 and was extreamly happy to see that there was not a single person or car in sight! The
first hole you would approach coming down the trail was holding a few big smallmouth, but very few trout. So I worked my way
downstream to the first and second riffles. I was drifting a size 8 olive wooly bugger with a copper john dropper. I ended up
catching about 7, mostly on the dropper. But the fishing wasn't even the best part! I rarely have the chance to fish that stretch of
river in the evening, and i must say that it is the most beautiful river I have ever fished!
Amen, brother. Meramec has gotten a bad rap over the years, because the trout migration habits
here so radically change the fishing results in certain locations at certain times of the year.
But this river is truly world class, both in appearance and fishing results. Thanks for the help.
This report submitted by Larry __________ of Maryland Heights on 9/3/06
Date of Trip: 9/2/06 Times Fished: 7:00am - 3:30pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Average Water Clarity: Gin Clear Successful Baits: Black Wooly Buggers, Parachute Adams
Went with father and grandfather. I was unsuccessful at catching trout -- caught just about everything else. Grandfather caught a
14 inch rainbow and father caught a 10 inch rainbow. Seen several of them though. For being my first time there was very pleased
with the area. Plan to return soon.
Glad you had a good time in spite of the limited catch. Meramec can make the best fishermen want to
pull out their hair at times. Even so, its a fantastic river, and you'll get hooked on it if you're not
careful. Thanks for the report.
This report submitted by Ryan __________ of St. Charles on 8/25/06
Date of Trip: 8/24/06 Times Fished: 2:00pm - 7:00pm Air Temperature: Steamy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Average Water Clarity: Gin Clear Successful Baits: Black & Olive Woolly Buggers #8-10
Saw lots of active fish. Missed a lot of fish, caught a couple really nice rainbows and browns on heavy wooly's. Finally
brought some in at the big bluff w/ the brown house on top. Been there about 10 times and never was successful here.
Any advice on this deep & fast hole would be appreciated. Saw a few white flies but no white fly frenzy as I've seen a
couple times. Thanks.
Since I guide trips on the Meramec as a significant portion of my
income, I can't give away all my secrets here! I'll send you a personal email with a few tips though.
Nice job getting some brown trout action. They've been very lethargic recently with the warm water.
Thanks again Ryan.
This report submitted by Bond of St. James on 8/2/06
Date of Trip: 8/2/06 Times Fished: 6:00am to 9:00am Air Temperature: Hell on Earth Weather: Sunny Water Level: Very Low Water Clarity: Gin Clear Successful Baits: Hoppers, Cracklebacks
Got to the water at sunrise. The water was very low but I saw a few active trout from the riffle to 50 yards upstream. I
tied on a brown caddis hopper and hooked a fish on my first cast. I broke if off. Moved upstream and hit the pool at the
end of a gravel bar and caught a 15 inch rainbow on a green hopper. Tried a streamer, switched to a soft-hackle copper
and started catching every non-rout in the river. I caught a 4 in sucker that was then swallowed by a 10 inch smallie. It
was too crazy, so I went downstream to finish up at another gravel bar. Several light hatches were going on, and a couple
of trout were surfacing so I put on a green crackleback. I caught a 13 inch brown and a 14 inch rainbow. I heard turkeys
the entire time I was down there. Good day to see wildlife as everything was getting a drink. We're ready for some rain out here.
The trout are certainly starting to change their feeding habits, which is typical for this time
of year. Cooler temps and better fishing are just around the corner.
This report submitted by Bond of St. James on 7/31/06
Date of Trip: 7/29/06 Times Fished: 5:00pm to 8:30pm Air Temperature: Steamy Weather: Partly Cloudy Water Level: Very Low Water Clarity: Slightly Clouded Successful Baits: Caddis Hoppers
Went in at the Suicide Hill access. Started fishing a black and bronze leach and caught the largest
goggle-eye I remember seeing. Two large groups of sunburned drunks bashed by at about 6pm. One
asked how far it was to the bridge and really thought I was kidding when I said 3 or 4 hours. I went
downstream 100 yards and tied on a geen caddis hopper on a size 6 hook and caught a nice rainbow.
They turn bronze after they've been in the river a while, and get big, too. I went back up to the deep hole
after things quieted down and there was no surface action at all. I fished a half dozen different flies
unsuccessfully and then went back to a hopper. I caught another big rainbow, flipped that bedraggled fly
out again and caught another behind the same rock.
I fish the Meramec, at least, 20 times a year and I have had more fun this year than any other. I have also
seen more wildlife. I know the Current has a lot of fish in it but if you can get to the Meramec when no one
else is around you won't be sorry. Unless you fall down the bluff.
I'm with you, Bond. The Current is certainly a fine trout stream, but the Meramec has
at least as many trophy browns, a good number of big rainbows, and SOLITUDE! Sometimes
the Current River is downright crowded -- both with fisherman and with loud drunk floaters.
Meramec is the most underrated big river trout fishing opportunity in the state. Thanks
again for all the help.
This report submitted by Kevin _________ of Glendale on 7/11/06
Date of Trip: 6/18 & 7/2/06 Times Fished: Sunrise to Noon both days Air Temperature: Sultry Weather: Sunny Water Level: Below Average Water Clarity: Slightly Clouded Successful Baits: Buggers & Nymphs
A friend and I fished from Cardiac Hill to the piles both mornings. Similar results both days.
6/18 - morning cloud cover extended the fishing. I found 2 fish very early that investigated rusty orange stimulators on
top, but no takers. Rest of the day was subsurface. Caught 3 on nymphs dead drifted with a lift at the end (#16 red
copper john, #18 flashback PT dropper behind a #10 rubber leg copper john point fly) and 3 on a #10 Chili Pepper
swung cross-current with a slight strip. The Pepper is an orange and copper bugger. For info Google "Chili Pepper FAOL"
- DISCLAIMER: I have no affiliation with the fly or the site :). We lost about as many as we landed. All were rainbows,
the biggest was about 18". Fish turned off about 10:30-11 am when the sun broke through the clouds. Very sporadic hatch
of caddis and mayflies at the tail outs of riffles all morning - no bug activity in slower water.
7/2 - Got on the water a little earlier, about 6:30, but it was a very sunny and hot day. Fly of the day was a very heavy #8 BH
olive wooly bugger with about 20 wraps of .025 lead wire. Swinging it like a steelhead fly after a big upstream mend produced
the most action. Caught 7 rainbows between 12" and 16". Also caught 2 fish on a #16 BH Prince and one on a #18 green copper
john. We had action until about 11 am, but it was slower after about 9:30 am. A lot more bug activity this day than 2 weeks ago -
a very steady hatch in the riffles. I saw one 12" fish feed on top, but didn't get any interest when I tossed dries over where it rose.
I think the fish are feeding on the same bugs that are coming off - just getting them under the surface when they get dumped out
of the riffles. The best nymph action was in the holes immediately after the riffles, not in the longer runs downstream. Buggers did
better there. I've been lurking for a while but have finally decided to post. This is a great forum - keep up the great work. It was
the minks from the recent report that finally made me post - I must have been "attacked" by one of the same ones on 7/2 - it swam
right up to me like I wasn't there until I moved and scared it away. It then spent the next 3 hours playing on the far river bank. It
was the first mink I've ever seen that wasn't in a coat! Another great outdoor memory.
Winter fishermen better watch their step. Based on mink sightings listed here, I anticipate greater
trapper activity on the Meramec next season!
This is going to be a bit wordy, because there's a lot to tell you -- my apologies. Been on the river
with three different clients over the last couple of weeks, and one time on my own. Each trip was different,
so here's a quick rundown.
First trip was about 2pm until dark and ungodly hot, and the fish were sluggish. Once the sun was off
the water the fishing heated up on streamers. Caught 6 or 7, lost about the same number. One
came in on a white clouser, with the others evenly split between very heavy olive woolly buggers and
medium-weight black buggers. Client hooked and lost one that went probably 18-19". All trout landed
landed were rainbows with the exception of one 12" brown.
Second trip was from sunrise until about 2pm. Good action on streamers early with client landing
a 16" brown on a clouser and 6 or 7 rainbows in the 12-16" range -- 2 on flashback crawdads, the rest on
buggers. Client probably lost 4, broke off 2. I was mainly testing the waters with various flies to see
if the trout might be open to something other than streamers. The a.m. pale dun hatches are fairly common right
now, but no dry or emerger action this day. Hooked and lost one on a scud and had 1 legitimate hit on a
copper john. Looks like streamers are still the "it" fly for now. I did pull a couple on streamers while
trailing behind my client. Fishing came to a screeching halt around 11:30am, so began trying various tactics
without luck. The day ended with a whimper, but decent results nonetheless.
Third trip was a solo trip from about 6pm until dark. Spent most of my time trying various tactics that
haven't been working recently to test the trouts' resolve. No action on cracklebacks, midges, emergers,
dun dries, various nymphs, and various terrestrials. Brought a little rainbow to hand on a scud and hooked
and lost another a tad bigger. Switched to streamers and caught 4, lost 2, broke off 1. All rainbows, as
far as I could tell. Favorite fly was black woolly, second was flashback crawdad. Clouser got skunked.
No browns that evening. The water temperature has been getting quite warm during daylight, so darkness
is likely not going to be enough to get the big browns moving right now. Morning twilight will likely be
best chance at a big brown from here on out, and that chance is not terribly great.
Fourth trip was a morning trip 5:15 to 9:45 or so. Fish were somewhat sluggish, but we still brought a few
to hand on woolly buggers and crawdads. Pale dun hatch actually showed a couple of fish feeding on the surface.
I cast a dry to one and hooked and lost him in about 2 seconds. Grrr... After the hatch, streamer success
slowed noticably. We tried some nymphing and had a bit of luck -- client caught one on a hare's ear, I lost
one on a copper john. Overall, we caught probably 5, lost about the same number. Not a terrible day, but
expected better on a nice cool morning like this one. BTW, we had two juvenile minks walk right up to us
like they wanted us to take them home. One more cool event to tell the family.
Rainbows continue moving downstream, so action downstream from cardiac hill to suicide hill and beyond will
continue to improve. Real brown trout action is likely coming to a close until we get closer to Autumn, unless
we get some good hopper action coupled with some cool days. Otherwise, expect the rainbows to begin nymph and
scud feeding again over the next few weeks, as the insect population begins to recuperate from May's high waters.
If the Woolly's stop working for you, switch tactics.
Of course, you can always book a guided trip and let me show you first hand!
This report submitted by James Munoz of Rolla on 6/26/06
Date of Trip: 6/25/06 Times Fished: 7:00am - noon Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Average Water Clarity: Gin Clear Successful Baits: Olive Woolly Bugger
I had a successful trip to the Meramec on this day!! I used about a 10' leader with a weighted Olive Woolly Bugger with great success.
I started out by throwing it into some deep pools and underneath some down timber and didn't have much success at first.
I decided to put a split shot about a foot above my fly to get it down a little farther. I instantly started to get hits. I pulled in a nice
colorful 18" rainbow, which I promply released for the next lucky fisherman to enjoy catching. So I guess the key is to make
sure the fly gets down deep enough. If you don't loose a fly or two then it is probably not deep enough. There were some
smaller fish feeding on something, but I couldn't figure out what it was. I tried my hand at catching those but just got frustated an
switched back to the Woolly.
Thanks, James. Streamers are the ticket right now on Meramec, if you can present them properly.
Depth is certainly one aspect, as is action and swing. The smaller fish were probably feeding on scud,
which seems to be a primary forage item right now.
This report submitted by John LeDoux of Flint Hill on 6/22/06
Date of Trip: 6/18/06 Times Fished: 4:00 - 6:30pm Air Temperature: Sultry Weather: Sunny Water Level: Average Water Clarity: Gin Clear Successful Baits: Woolly Buggers, Copper Johns, BH Midge, Small Caddis
Fished the Meramec River in the afternoon with my brother Jay and his pal Matt. This was the 2nd half of a fishing day that started
at the Current. I had little knowlegde of the Meramec, and this was only the third time I had been there. I had only fished right outside
the park before and once at suicide hill in the fall, which produced nothing. We parked at the park and trodded downstream to the piles.
Wow, I was not disappointed. I landed 6 in a very short time all in the 10"-16" range. These fish were beautiful with color, unlike the
pale fish a saw being caught in the park. I caught all my fish on the bottom with an olive woolly bugger, copper john and a beadhead midge.
I noticed that the fish on the Meramec that day fought much more than the fish on the Current. My brother and I both noticed this and
conversed about how we thought each fish must be a 20"er. Is there anything better in life to do with our spare time? Me thinks not!
Thanks to missouritrouthunter for turning me on to MO trout and providing a great website! See you on the river.
Thanks for the kind words and the report.
This report submitted by Bond of St. James on 6/9/06
Date of Trip: 6/6/06 Times Fished: All Day Air Temperature: Sultry Weather: Sunny Water Level: Above Average Water Clarity: Milky Successful Baits: Soft Hackles, Minnow Flies
My friend Mike and I floated the Red Ribbon section from Woodson K. Woods to the Hog Trough. We caught several nice
rainbows just outside the Springs on gold crackle backs and white soft-hackles. We hit it again at a big gravel bar and caught
several more keeper-sized rainbows, some were three-pounders. We stopped again near Suicide Hill and had similar results.
Mike was trying to catch smallies, and he caught a couple, but got a half-dozen rainbows. I think he got most of them on a red
and gold Mepps. I tie and fish a lot of flies, but only changed patterns three times. I had great luck with a minnow pattern. Even
though the water was murky and the day sunny and windy, we had the best day on the Meramec of all times. Maybe the trout
were primed to feed by a big rain and flood conditions a few days before.
Thanks for the report, Bond. The rapidly changing water conditions is part of what makes Meramec
trout so difficult to figure out. It's also the part that provides the habitat that grows some very
large fish. Flood waters kick up aquatic insects which prompts increased feeding by rainbows and
immature browns. These floods also keep the baitfish well fed, which are the primary forage for the
big mature browns. As frustrating as the frequent flooding can be, it's really a Godsend in disguise.
Sadly, my wife's car died a horrible death last week, so I'm forced into the role of chauffeur for
the time being. This has drastically cut into my ability to get on the river, and even forced me
to cancel a booked trip last Friday -- something I've NEVER done before. If Steve from
Chicago is reading this, consider this a public apology. However, prior to our automotive
catastrophe, the fishing on Meramec has been pretty good. Canoe season is in full swing, and
the boat traffic will continue to grow as the summer progresses. To completely avoid the boats,
fish upstream from Scott's Ford and/or the Suicide Hill area from first light until the canoes
begin to drive you nuts. Then take a lunch break, go shopping for antiques, visit Maramec
Spring Park & feed the hatchery fish or check out the museum. The lunch counter at the park
makes a mean burger, and their onion rings are worth the trip. Starting in the afternoon, fish
the area between the park and Cardiac Hill.
Rainbow trout action has been pretty consistent below the park down to cardiac hill, but more spotty
further downstream. There's been decent dry fly action at times below riffles using cracklebacks,
adams and elk hair caddis patterns. Riffles and bottlenecks are giving up decent fish on pheasant
tails, hare's ears, copper johns, and gray scud. The little stocker browns are also responding
to these tactics. Mature browns are scattered throughout the river and are not being very active
during the bulk of day. Morning and evening twilight has been fairly productive, with mature browns
being taken on big streamers and big meaty ugly nymphs on the swing, but they must be heavily weighted.
Tungsten bead head flies are a good option.
I've taken two clients out in the last several days, and both days we did quite well. The rainbows
are still upstream but beginning to move back down. We concentrated on the rainbows,
mostly casting large woolly buggers and clousers. During the earlier trip, we brought in a dozen or
so nice rainbows, hooking and losing about the same amount. The fish ranged in sizes from 11" to 17".
The best producer was a white and red clouser minnow, but also caught a few on black woolly buggers.
During the second trip, continued to see aggressive hits, landing seven and again losing about the same
number. The fish ranged between 11" and 19". The fly of the day was the woolly bugger, both black and olive
produced fish -- the clouser did not produce this time. Also cast a white glo-bug to a small pod of rainbows and
watched them swirl around it and hit it time and again, but couldn't even hook one up. Out of curiousity, tried
some standard nymphing with pheasant tails, copper johns, etc., but no luck.
If you head out to the
Meramec in the near future and can't find the rainbows, just keep heading upstream. You'll eventually track them
down. You should also expect to see some decent stocker brown trout action, if you fish a little further
downstream -- 9-10" average size. Of course, you can always book a guided trip!
This report posted by Kevin_____________ of St. Louis on 4/9/06
Date of Trip: 4/5/06 Times Fished: 10am- 8pm Air Temperature: Comfy Weather: Sunny Water Level: Average Water Clarity: Slightly clouded Successful Baits: olive woolly buggers
My friend and I were very unsuccessful in the park, so we moved downstream about 250 yards to a nice set of rapids.
We were able to catch about 15 fish each on olive & black woolly buggers. Simply drifting the buggers through the deep
holes with a single split shot gave us much success. There was also a nice white drake hatch, about size 14 and 12.
Thanks for the report, Kevin. The area 250 yards downstream from the park with riffles and downed trees is
known as the piles by locals. That's a good sign that the rainbows have moved back down that far. As they
continue downstream, they'll begin to spread out more, and fishing will become more normal on the lower
portions of the river. The rainbows are still mostly concentrated upstream, so be fleet of foot. Transitional
times like this can make the fish hard to find.
Fishing this time of year on the Meramec is generally tough for most fishermen. The MDC does not
stock rainbows in the Red Ribbon section, so all rainbow fishing is for Maramec Park escapees. In November,
the fall-spawning rainbows start heading upstream. In early January, the rest of them move up as well. There
is virtually no real spawning that occurs, but the hormonal urge to migrate happens nonetheless. Brown trout, on the
other hand, remain scattered throughout the Red Ribbon area. As the days continue to grow longer, the
rainbows will begin migrating back downstream and return to normal behavior. Regardless where on the river
you fish, the flies of choice right now are streamers, spinners, and mini-crankbaits. Brown trout are generally
pursuit feeders, so streamers work well on them regardless of season. When rainbow trout are crowded together as
they are now, they will feed aggressively. Therefore streamers and such will work in the upper stretches of the
river as well. If you feel you absolutely must try nymph fishing, however, use large or gaudy attractor patterns
-- leaches, zug bugs, glo-bugs, etc. Above all, be patient, plan on walking a good distance, and give the river
several hours before giving up. Contrary to the opinions of many, there are some very big fish in that river. And
if you can find the rainbows, you'll find they are stacked up and hungry.
Remember, we rely on our visitors to tell us how the fishing is. Next time you go to the
Meramec River, please be sure to send us a report about how
you did. Click here if you would like more information on
Meramec River.
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