HOLY COW! What an amazing day outside of the park. I paid $3 in parking and no tags. We went straight out of the park. First cast was by Ken and it was a catch on his new Schweba. I am trying to get him to post some pictures on his site. Soon, he will unveil it. We caught an amazing amount of fish. I caught at least 12 and hooked 18 rainbow trout. I caught them on the Schweba (one variant), light Cahill, olive blue dun, and an Adams. My buddy Ken, caught at least 24 and hooked another 24 rainbow trout. He caught them on the Schweba (three variants), light Cahill, and an Adams.
We caught an amazing flurry of top water trout. It was unprecedented for me to see something like that on the Meramec. I end up having to fish the guide bug, nymphs, worms, etc. Not today however. It was amazing to see the dry flies that I tied up from a picture in a book hit them like there was no tomorrow. It was my first time catching a trout on a dry. One thing is for certain I will always want to be hitting the top if I can. Fishing under water is fine. I learned a today about dries. I mean a size 20 hook is so small I did not know how to hook the fish let alone bring it in. What was amazing is that the fish barely get hooked, I crimp all my hooks so they are barbless, and when they come up to you, you just grab the fly and make a small rounding motion and plop the fish is gone. I did not even have to touch the fish. Why is that so important to me? I have decided to go catch and release except in farmed streams. I did not want to touch the fish unnecessarily or tire them out too much.
It was awesome. I have to give a special thanks to Ken who has been showing me all the trout holes these past two years. Without him, I would not have had the experience. If you are ever looking for a Missouri trout guide email me and I will pass it on to him.
Water: 62 degrees (approximate)
Weather: Overcast/Partly Cloudy
River: Up
Wind: 0 to 10 mph
People in Party: 2
Longest fish: 15-16 inches
Caught: 36
Hooked: 42
Fun Factor: 9.4
Flies: Schweba (black, brown, pheasant on size bead head 14), Light Cahill, Adams, Olive Blue Dun (All hand tied on size 18 & 20 hooks)
Time: 730 to 1230 non stop
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