A no-notice trip to check out the Meramec river happened on Wednesday, February 20th. Kenny Klimes and Jim Craig wanted to see if the Meramec is fishing better.  They fished about five hours from the bend outside the park to the old bridge crossing downstream.  From the cold temperatures and snow as of late the water temps were very cold.  Several times they had to exit the water to get feeling back in their toes.  A few fish were caught (3 rainbows and 3 browns) but it seemed that the trout were just a little bit lethargic from the ice cold water temperatures. Also, the flow was around 800 cfs which at times made it a little difficult to stand and/or cross in certain locations. The day remained cold and cloudy with the sun peeking out just once. The best flies were woolybuggers fished deep and slowly with a little “pop” every so often (no stripping). I feel once the weather breaks and the water temperatures rise the fishing will turn on outside the park and Cardiac Hill.