Jim Franke and Dave Beerbower decided to take advantage of a beautiful day to fish at Meramec Springs. We started a little later than most, and started at the pool side of the island. There were lots of fish suspended in the water column, but not real active. Jim had his Montauk angel fly and Dave started with a size 22 Barr’s Emerger. We were able to sight fish and that was necessary because the takes were so subtle that the line never moved. If you saw the fish move erratically or turn, set the hook!  Once we figured this out the catching was on. One of the best mornings ever for me, and Jim did well too. Several fish sized 16-18” were caught. After lunch, things slowed down for a while. I caught two smallies down by the first big dam and Jim caught some further downstream on his special fly. We ended up in the island pool, and this time, dry Caddis flies were doing the trick. What a way to end a great day. This was a most satisfying day because we were able to flourish using very difficult fishing techniques. Finished the day at the chicken barn in Bourbon. Memorable. And they say you can’t catch fish in the island pool……

Dave

We had a great day! We fished mostly the still pool above the island and the fast water below the island. We had great success on bright green cracklebacks size 14, soft hackle (partridge and orange), Barr’s emerger size 20, and dry flies (elk hair caddis). Dave did a lot of sight fishing. He never saw or felt the line move, but watched the fish to roll, etc. for indication to set. I got most of mine on the crackleback, mostly on top but also stripping. All in all one of the best days in recent memory. Good luck tomorrow!

Jim