Guided Trip to the Meramac River April 10, 2024
Vestiges of winter were still around. Most of the trees had not fully burst out their leaves. The understory held glades of bluebells that were very pleasing to the eye. The bright purple redbud blooms stood out almost as much as the brilliant white the dogwoods displayed.
59 degrees and light drizzle plus recent rains made fishing conditions seem perfect. And they were.
FATC members, AL Harper and DanStag met our guide, Augy Knickmeyer at the confluence of the Meramec and Maramec Spring. We shoved off around 9am.
Immediately we started picking up fish in the river below the Spring. It seemed that for 2-3 hours either (or both) of us had a fish on, every 10 minutes or so.
The hot setup seemed to be a tan/ginger marabou jig on bottom, with an attractor fly (like a Y2K or egg) 18” up. About 4 feet up was an airlock float tied above a tippet ring. This was important since if we got tangled or snagged, we simply snapped it off and still maintained the airlock indicator.
Getting snagged on the bottom or errant casts into trees was common as we tried to get in tight spots
Our guide, Augy was cheerful and patient about quickly tying us back up. We spent very little time out of the water.
As said before, we were steadily into fish with only a few lulls. If we came to an area Augy felt was unproductive, we would reel in and he’d row us to the next likely spot. We had 3 doubles thru the day. The last one was where both AL and Dan hooked and landed 2 nice 16-17” browns at the same time. AL got the opportunity to strip a streamer and was rewarded with 8 nice trout.
The rain was steady and did not hurt the fishing a bit. But our pants got soaked through, even with our long rain jackets.
We stayed on the water all day long since the fishing was either good to great, in most places.
When we finally pulled in to our destination at Scott’s Ford it was after 6 pm. We had fished a full 9 hours with only a 15 minute break for an excellent shore lunch provided by Augy. If pressed for a number of fish caught I’d say AL caught 35+ and DanStag caught 30+ trout.
60% rainbows and 40% brown trout.
AL adds the following observations about our day:
“I would emphasize the role that a guide can play in not only a successful excursion and but in enhancing our love of the sport we pursue in general. On a driftboat trip, knowing and reading the water is crucial. But so is recommending the right fly for the season and the conditions faced on a particular day. Dan enjoyed talking about the technical issues of procuring materials and tying flys with Augy.
I (AL) benefitted greatly from our guide’s suggestions about the mechanics of the fishing itself. From achieving the perfect drift to the best way to make a streamer come alive during a fast retrieve, to efficiently playing a hefty trout, Augy shared solid, productive advice. He also modeled proper stream etiquette with three or four wade fishermen we encountered by not poaching the water they were heading toward. He even offered generous advice to them about what might help their efforts too.
Augy and a couple of other knowledgeable guides I’ve hired have really increased my outdoors expertise and the fun I have fly fishing. Most of them require only fair compensation and when one factors in the knowledge they can bestow, it seems like a good bargain indeed. That was certainly the case on our Meramec adventure. “
A memorable fishing day that was certainly worth it for AL and I. Highly recommend it for any FATC members looking for a fun and educational day on our beautiful Missouri waters. Augy Knickmeyer delivers.
Compiled by AL Harper and Dan Staggenborg
