Current 8/23

Stoneman and I put in a long day on the water last Sunday and it paid off. We left STL around 4:45 and were fishing by 7. The morning started with this rainbow that Stone stuck on a large stonefly nymph:



I stuck a few fish on tricos but couldn't seem to get them in hand. I was using a size 30 black trico pattern and I think the tiny fly was causing problems. I've caught nice fish on these before but it was not working for me on Sunday.

As we fished, we had some park dwellers mosey on down the river. I moved down stream in an attempt to block off more water for Stone and I (a standard trick when dealing with crowds), but this husband and wife team did not get it. They just popped right in between us and started casting. You gotta love trout park etiquette. J and I are about 20 yards apart and they don't even think twice about hopping in there. Anyway, it turned out to be a good thing. They were nailing fish on nymphs. The woman, who was decked out in a green Montauk hoody, stuck a good brown and Johnston netted him for her. Thank god she didn't keep it. Stone's kind gesture turned out to be well received and the woman returned the favor by telling us what fly she was using. She said the fish had been crushing scuds all weekend. She was right.

After our friendly encounter, we headed down below Baptist to get away from the crowd. It was a pretty cool day and we thought there wouldn't be too many canoers. I actually don't think we saw any canoes. I hope this means the season is done.

Stone and I started fishing right at the parking lot. There is a nice long riffle where we spotted several good browns. I struck first with this 17 inch male:



After releasing this guy, I went back to the truck to get out of my waders. I was going to wet wade for the afternoon. When I came back, Stone had slid down stream a bit and I started spotting fish from the higher vantage point on the road while he casted to them. At this point, Stone was throwing a tan scud under an indicator.



After a few casts, stone stuck the big fish I was looking at but, unfortunately, he spit the fly after a short run. There were four other fish in the same riffle that I could see from the road. Stone kept casting. I watched his fly hit the water. Actually, I could see his split shot shine in the sun. The indicator landed slightly upstream of the fly so his scud was actually leading the drift. It was right on line to pass by two browns. When I realized that the drift was in line, my eyes turned to the fish. The first brown turned his head and opened his mouth right at the time Stone's fly was in the kitchen. SET! I yelled before the indicator moved. Stone abided and stuck this good brown:





The teamwork was awesome. Stone had no idea the fish ate. He couldn't see the fish from his angle. The only reason he knew to set was because I had a bird's eye view and watched the take. It was very cool.

The day pretty much continued like that. We stalked the lower section of the river spotting fish, casting to them, and watching them eat. They ate hoppers, caddis, scuds, stone fly nymphs, and PMDs. The lower river is really serene when there are no canoes. In fact, Stone and I had a pretty large doe sneak up on us and cross the river right next to us:



At the end of the day, we found ourselves in a nice PMD hatch and were able to stick several fish off the surface. It was a great day. 12 hours on the water and, aside from the first fish of the day, I think we caught almost all browns.

Current River, 8/16

I fished with "The Hen" on Sunday. He almost ditched me. He was supposed to be at my house by 5 am. I was up and ready but he was not picking up his cell. I was pissed and left the house without him. He's lucky I stopped at the QT by my house for a coffee. As I was walking in, he called alerting me that he was awake and ready to fish. I was a little pissed that we had to waste 45 minutes on the front end of the trip, but it turned out to be a great day on the water. He also had a decent excuse for being late, although I probably shouldn't mention it on the web.

We got to the river around 8. Conditions were money! I can't believe how many fish are in the river right now. I also can't believe how fat all of the fish are. Just about every fish we caught had a swollen belly. I don't know if it's because the river is higher and healthier than normal, or if it's because the park is being heavily fished and lots of guts are drifting down stream for the fish to munch on. I would like to believe it's the former, more natural reason, but either way, I love it.

The Hen and I did pretty well, although Henry needs to work on line control and LANDING FISH. Seriously, he stuck a bunch but could not get them in hand.

The fish of the day was a pig brownie, but she required a lot of patience. I spotted her first thing in the morning in a shallow riffle. I fished to her for an hour or so but couldn't get her to budge. I'll bet I showed her 20 different flies on 7X tippet but she wouldn't move.

I finally gave up, and Henry and I fished downstream sticking some nice rainbows. For some reason the browns were being a little pickier. At about 3, we headed back up to our original position. I wanted a second shot at that porker that I stood in front of all morning.

We got back to the spot, and sure enough, that beauty was in the same little slot in the riffle. Unfortunately, I was met with the same reaction. I tried fly after fly and and she didn't budge.

Eventually, I decided to try some big dries. Hoppers didn't work, stimis didn't work, neither did a size 10 caddis. The first fly that enticed a reaction was a Chernobyl ant. She came up off the bottom for a look and a chase, but did not eat. This at least kept my interest. After the ant, I decided to go subsurface and tied on a big stone fly pattern. After two drifts, she ate. I fought her for about 15 seconds and she threw the fly. I thought she was done for the day but, despite the fact that she had been stuck, she moved right back to her comfortable spot in the riffle and seemed to relax again. I walked away for about twenty minutes to let her cool off and returned again with the same fly. The first cast she ate again. I yelled down to Henry to come grab the net which was sitting on the bank behind me. He causually strolled up and scooped her:



She was a dandy. Right at 20 inches but had some serious girth. My uneducated guess was around 5.5 lbs. Awesome fish and a great reward after working so hard for her. I'm headed back this Sunday. I hope she's still sitting there.

Bass

I was able to get my fix last night by sticking a few bass on dries. Sorry for the blurry picture. I guess the lens on my camera phone needs to be cleaned. I can't wait to hit the river on Sunday.

Confessions and Congratulations.

I must confess that I joined the ranks of those that I hate this past weekend. I was a drunken floater on the upper Meramec. In my defense, due to the sheer volume of people on the river (thousands, not hundreds), I can safely say that I didn't disturb a single fisherman. In fact, no one in their right mind would try to fish this section of river this time of year. I have never seen anything like it. At no point throughout the day could I have walked across the river without having to dodge at least 5 to 10 boats, beers flying through the air, or bodies flying off bluffs and rope swings. I can't beleive how much of an industry floating has become. It's almost depressing. I remember when I was a kid, floating on rivers like the Black and the Meramec and not seeing more than 5 other boats all day. I think the good old days are gone unfortunately. Maybe I'll just have to find more remote rivers where Sara and I can take our little ones in the future (assuming we are blessed with little ones).

Anyway, this past weekend was the annual float hosted by two of Sara's friends who are really awesome people. Thanks to both of you for organizing the trip. Sara truly has a great bunch of friends and no matter how obnoxious those around us got, I enjoyed spending time with this group. I am trying to convince everyone to do something a little more tranquil next year. Perhaps mid September on the Current where we can camp alone, fish, and enjoy our surroundings as well as friends. It would truly be the best of both worlds.

On a different note, I also need to say congratulations to my boys Eddie P. and Mike H. Both hit the Meramec yesterday and both stuck real nice fish. I wish I could have been there gentlemen. Strong showing:





After this past weekend, I'm ready to get a fly rod back in my hands. Bass fishing tonight anyone? I know of a great golf pond.