On about November 5, 2024 Maramec Spring trout park was flooded due to heavy rains and the catch-and-release trout season there was delayed.  My internet search didn’t reveal an official estimate of fish loss but the level of flooding and the devastation sustained makes it likely that trout in the hatchery were flushed downstream.

I, Al Harper, decided to float and fish the Meramec River 11/18/24, two weeks after the flooding.  My effort was somewhat spur-of-the-moment and although I asked three FATC brothers if they could join me, it didn’t work out and I ended up doing it solo in my inflatable drift boat.  

I put in at Woodson Woods Access off Highway 8 between Steelville and St. James, MO.  My take-out was to be Scotts Ford 9 miles downriver. I rowed the first 2 miles without wetting a hook.  Past experience indicated that trout rarely ventured up into the warmer water river upstream.  However, about 50 yards from the spring I began to see surface activity and grabbed my four weight rod with a black Marabou jig under an indicator tied on.  

From my first cast I started catching trout.  A fairly deep channel in the middle of the river held fish and working my way down I caught 27 trout before I reached the confluence.  A couple of catches occurred when my drift reached its end and fish hit the jig as I picked it up to recast.  That was my clue that a streamer might be a fun way to proceed, so I hoisted my 6 weight rod with a sinking line and a small streamer with a hunter’s orange bead head.  

Fresh water from the spring gushed into the river and greatly improved its clarity.  I dropped my anchor, stood up and launched the streamer downstream.  I let the line sink it about 3 seconds or so and started a brisk retrieve.  Aggressive trout hit the streamer hard.  With successful hooksets they began the classic jerky head shaking to try to throw the hook.  They were deep and enjoyed the advantage of a strong current which made each one feel large as they fought upstream to the boat violently crisscrossing back and forth. 

Trout were very numerous at this spot and as I continued catching them trout downstream were hitting insects on the surface with gusto as well.  Conversations with a couple of contacts indicated this might have been one of the first days the water had cleared after the floods.  Additional runoff from strong showers the night before might have enhanced the clarity.  I launched only about 30 minutes after the rain had come through and it remained overcast most of the day which probably favorably affected the bite as well. 

I caught numerous fish on the streamer at the confluence.  I occasionally switched back to the jig set now at about 5’ depth and caught them on it as well.  But my favorite way to catch fish is on a fast moving streamer.  The shocking strike provides a jolt of adrenaline. In addition to many trout, I picked up a very handsome smallmouth that measured about 16” at the confluence.  That smallmouth and another I picked up downstream fought harder than trout that were the same size or even larger than the bass. 

Catching so many fish at the confluence made it hard to continue downriver.  And I confess I got many strikes that I was unable to convert to hooksets.  Often after a missed strike I continued stripping and got another chance. The fish were very fast, agile and healthy in appearance.  If they had been in hatchery holding vats a couple of weeks before, they were certainly fit and fending well in the river now.  

I reluctantly oared on downstream wondering if that was to be the highlight of my day.  I decided that if that was the case it was ok because I had done exceptionally well and had caught twice what I had just upstream from the confluence.  There were times last summer when I fished this same section hard without much success so I was thrilled with today’s results. 

But I was pleasantly surprised when down from the confluence I continued to catch fish.  Every stretch of water that looked like it should hold fish did hold fish. And those fish were aggressively hitting my fly. 

I easily picked up another dozen trout as I drifted on down toward what I hoped would be the next hotspot: the confluence with Dry Creek.  And at that confluence trout were stacked up almost as well as they had been at the spring.  It was evident the flooding had altered the landscape of the river bottom, but I was relieved to find a rocky shelf on the precipice of the main channel still in place there.  A color shift showing the deeper water beyond it was evident and I anchored up a few yards upstream.  I would cast the sinking line past the drop off and get hit after hit.  Some of the fish here were larger than the nice, healthy fish caught upstream.  I also caught another smallmouth here that fought very well.  

I was amazed at how the fish were biting at the creek and was again reluctant to leave, but I hadn’t made much of a dent in the miles I needed to float.  I decided to compromise by fishing while drifting and reverted to the jig and indicator.  Despite fishing in a rather haphazard way and trying to maneuver around obstructions I caught another 8 trout before arriving at the stretch of river below Cardiac Hill.  

At Cardiac Hill, having caught so many fish (yes I’m aware how pompous this might sound but it was that kind of day), I indulged in the luxury of only casting in spots I thought might hold bigger fish.  At a rocky bank with a nice flow I picked up three more decent sized, hard fighting trout stripping against the current.  Then I hooked what I initially thought was a log.  There was a lot of debris in the river as a result of the flooding. But then the “log” took off quickly for the depths in the middle of the river and I tried to restrain the momentum without breaking the tippet. This turned out to be a 20” brown.  He was old, hook-jawed and pretty ugly.  The only brown I caught this day.  He was excellent at using the current and was many yards downstream at one point.  It took me a few minutes to maneuver him to shallower water and finally into the net.  He recovered well alongside the boat and swam off briskly. 

After landing the brute, I was almost to Suicide Hill and was still catching good fish along the way.  But it was after 3 pm and the wind was starting to gust.  The overall direction seemed to be from downstream, or in my face.  With the prospect of some tough miles rowing on down to Scotts Ford before dark, I reluctantly put my rods away and got on my oars.  

I only saw one other angler all day and he was just below the suspension bridge technically still in the trout park.  He was picking up trout too but the real action seemed to be in the river itself.  The river flow was just over 900 cfs and temps were in the 60s.  I included a couple of photos showing what’s left of the Adventure Outdoors outfitters building and one showing many saplings still bent after the water receded.  The catching was truly phenomenal, the best I ever enjoyed. My only regret was not having someone else in the boat to share it with (and maybe to take a turn at the oars too).  Hope more FATC guys can catch some of these escapees too.