On 6/07/22, FATC member Denny Garner and I, Al Harper, enjoyed a nice float down the Meramec River in an inflatable drift boat. On that trip we caught both trout and smallmouth (with an occasional — almost accidental — bluegill or pumpkin seed bream as well).
It was so enjoyable we hoped to reprise last year’s float on the same section of the river just after Memorial Day this year. However, near drought conditions forced us to float a lower section of the Meramec instead. So on the advice of an outfitter familiar with river conditions we floated Scotts Ford to Riverview Access. MDC and other reliable resources are pretty much in agreement that trout just aren’t prevalent below Scotts Ford which is almost nine miles downstream from Maramec Spring (notice the quirky difference in spelling between the spring and the river, by the way). The dearth of trout downstream is due to the gradual warming of the water as it flows away from the big spring. Nevertheless I still hear from outfitters and anglers that trout are often caught as far as 15 miles down from the spring, so who knows?
But Denny and I found the Meramec to be just as beautiful farther downstream as we invaded the domain of the MO smallmouth in the 7-mile stretch below our last year’s float. I made a mental note that when the cfs drops under 300 as it did 6/1/23, this lower section still had enough water to make for a great float.
Denny landed a couple of healthy Goggle-eye in the early part of our drifting. MDC actually classifies a 24-mile section of the river — from Woodson Woods access to Bird’s Nest access — as a Smallmouth bass and Goggle-eye Management Area with length and daily possession limits in place. And while we didn’t really have to drag over shallow shoals, we did encounter a fallen tree that necessitated portage of a few yards when we chose to float down what turned out to be the wrong side of an island. It was obvious that someone had recently worked on the tree with a chain saw but they weren’t successful in completely eliminating the obstacle.
The lower water level also revealed many older, once submerged trees lining the shorelines in many places. While it’s a safe bet those old logs and root balls harbor plenty of fish, working a fly into those spots with a strong current working requires a degree of dexterity and good line management skills. If it’s possible to anchor just upstream and drift the right fly into this jungle of underwater obstructions one might be rewarded with a strike almost as often as they lose their fly. And if a hook set results from that strike, there is the new challenge of teasing a wildly careening and panicked fish out of the morass of underwater limbs while the current exerts its own forces on the situation. When one also factors in the intricacies of maneuvering the driftboat back out into the river after this tricky scenario you have an example of technical fly fishing with many moving parts.
Despite the challenges, Denny and I managed to land some decent smallmouth bass on a spectacular early summer day. Streamers worked best. Despite the fact it was a Thursday, we did encounter a few other floaters. Only a couple of them seemed to be fishing with any degree of seriousness. Most were content to enjoy the peaceful scenery. The most populated place we saw along our float was Indian Springs Family Resort a few miles out of Steelville, MO. There, within view of passing floaters, people were taking a dip in the cool water, grilling their dinner and/or soaking up libations. Things just seemed to slow down on the river and that was OK with us. The last couple of miles before our takeout we just worked the oars, talked, admired an eagle and enjoyed the tranquility. After reaching our takeout, we realized the Missouri Hick Bar-B-Q, a FATC-favorite restaurant, was just a few miles down the road so we took the opportunity for a little nourishment on our trip home.
