Here’s a trip report sent in to us by Jim Craig!!

 

Wednesday, Oct 10th was the perfect day to visit my daughter at Missouri State University in Springfield, MO. Why, because I knew I was fishing with FATC at Montauk the next day. That allowed me to meet the guys at the park on my way back, right? “Coincidentally,” I was also passing a couple trout parks on my drive to MSU. Soooo, why not do a little fishing on the way. After all, my daughter had classes until late afternoon. I decided to fish the Meramec River, just outside Maramec State park. There were very few people in the park and no one on the river. The weather was very threatening all day. Maybe that kept some folks away. Rain on Saturday had added a little color to the water, but not too much. I started fishing at the bend about 8:30 A.M. To my surprise, the first two fish I caught were smallmouth bass—a first for me on the Meramec. I started to worry the trout were going to be scarce. But, as I worked my way around the bend and toward the first riffles, the trout came out of hiding. They were hungry for rubber-legged stoneflies and copper Johns. The fish were definitely on the bottom, and I lost quite a few stoneflies as I tried to get down fast and stay in their zone. But, the cost of the stoneflies was worth it. I caught many rainbows and even more browns as I fished down to Dry Creek. I think the off-colored water (and heavier tippet) gave me an advantage. The last fish of the day was another smallmouth, a fat 15 incher. By 2 P.M., I was walking back to my car and by 4:45 PM I was in Springfield. And yes, my daughter and I had wonderful dinner and a great visit. After all, that was the point of the trip! “