Kayak fishing on the Meremac River near Moselle, MO

The kayak fishing is really starting to heat up across the Ozarks.  Here is a video from the June 15th trip on the Meremac and Bourbouse Rivers in Franklin County.  This is a great paddle, even if you are not thinking of fishing.  The water on the Meremac side is clear, and absolutely incredible to paddle.  We have some more post available at www.fishmissouri.org

Kayak ON!

Mike

Meremac River/Bourbouse River Confluence point, November 25th, 2012:

Kayaking the Meremac/Bourbouse Rivers

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A fairly cool but sunny November day...perfect for a trip on the Meremac River!  The launch site was at Choteau Claim Access CA.  Good place to put in and gain access to both the Meremac and Bourbouse Rivers in Franklin County Missouri.
I set off to go up the Meremac River from the launch site.  The water was gin clear and was just a bit low (not too awful bad)

Flow: 875
Gauge Height: 2.3 ft (Near Eureka)

I got upstream just past the RR tracks, and the river started to narrow and get swift.  I paddled it from one side of the river to the other, and then banked it. The point at the Meremac where I stopped was fairly clogged with trees, and had a swift current.  If it was summer, I might have tried to get through, but in winter I do not like to take as many chances.  I got out and waded in to fish for smallmouths in the structure.  Big lesson was learned while wearing a dry suite: wear insulated socks underneath!  My feet got so, so cold....I think it caused me a few problems later in the trip, due to the cold of my feet!

I turned around and headed back, and fished a couple of deep pools.  No fishing success on this day.  The Bourbouse is a much slower stream, and not nearly as clear.  I fished all the way up and back as well- just was not my day for fishing success.  The Bourbouse is incredible at this point with the cliffs....very beautiful!

On the paddle back, I started to feel cold.  I am glad I packed some extra energy snacks and hot green tea- perfect when you want to feel warmer- combined with a skull cap, you will start to feel better almost instantly!

Incredible trip.....I did this trip a few years ago in the summer and took the Bourbouse all the way up (almost to I-44).  If you go this route, just be prepared for several portage areas.  This is an awesome trip as well.

Paddle ON!

Mike

Meremac River- Pacific Palisades CA, November 21st, 2012: Short but awesome trip- not exactly serene

Kayaking the Meremac River, Pacific Palisades CA, MO

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This is a conservation area I tried to kayak last year and never could seem to find the boat launch.  Technology and smart phones have so helped out the efforts to find boat launches.  I looked this one up and found it and decided I had a couple of hours to kayak before it got dark, so I went for it.  One of my favorite routes is just downstream at the Route 66 SP (see prior post).

The boat launch is nice, but you almost cannot find it (it is not signed very well from the main road).  I saw on a chat board in doing research that the launch has occasional problems with people breaking into cars and such.  I can see where that could take place here...very remote.
Earlier this year I heard a newstory about a teenager who drowned in these waters.  I can see, after kayaking this part of the river, how that would happen. The current in this part is medium, but the depths seem to go from 2' to 12' suddenly in many places.  The section that has the boat launch is right in the current and appears to be deep.  There is also an old gauging station about 300' upstream from the ramp that has a lot of old wood pilings and concrete blocks, but above and below water.  This is not a good place to swim!

I paddled up stream toward the Silica plant.  The railroad tracks are on the starboard side as you paddle upstream, so my title "not the most serene" comes from the noise of the plant and the railroad tracks.  I personally do not have much of a problem with this, but I have friends who would not want to paddle this section because of this (I consider myself to be a bit of an "urban kayaker" so I am good).  When you get up to the plant area, the river shallows out to about 2' and turns into a quick run.  I paddled it across, and could have gotten out of the kayak and portaged to go further, but I was running out of daylight, and wanted to explore the lake-inlet area of the CA.
What is cool about the Pacific Palisades area is that there is a lake in the middle of it that connects to the river.  I think it used to be a gravel quarry or strip mine of some sorts way back.This provides for a really nice wetland area right in the middle of the conservation area.  I padded a bit into it, and there were a couple of guys throwing decoys to duck hunt, so I turned around and headed back to the ramp.  Saw a nice herd of deer in the distance as I was heading back (I think the duck hunters scared them).
This will be a great place to come back in the summer time and explore some more.  I fished it a little, but did not have any results

Paddle ON!

Mike

Kayaking Meremac River between Route 66 Sp and Big River: Beautiful day chock full of wildlife!

Big River Confluence point

November and December can provide some of the best opportunites for incredible kayak trips.  I have kayaked this route many times (it is close to where I live), however, each time it seems to provide another type of kayaking opportunity.  This is an interesting time of the year....the sun goes down so quickly (I believe as of late Nov. it is setting around 4:45 pm. or so).  So in regards to kayak trips, it seems like to experience an entire day, a person needs to set off early.

Deer by river

beautiful view on the way back

I got off to a late start on this trip, but still wanted to get a paddle in.   There were a couple of people in boats messing around (I think they were just going out for an hour or two).  I was really surprised to see anyone out on the river in a boat.  The paddle was excellent!  It could not have been a nicer day.  I stopped at the confluence point to head back, being mindful of the quick sunset.  It is interesting how the river has been changing over the last year at this point.  This is an area that used to have a large sandbar and a quick run next to (Meremac side).  Most of the sandbar is gone, and the run is not quite as "skinny"....however, it seems the river at the confluence point is quite a bit more dangerous now then it was a year ago.  You call tell when you paddle over there are more undertows and side currents then there was a year ago.
The wildlife were out, as you can see in the video.  Came up on a nice pack of deer, one was at water level getting some water, as well as a small flock of wild turkeys (caught some nice shots on camera in the above video).  This part of the Meremac River, although in a semi-urban area, has retained quite a bit of it's natural beauty.  That is probably why it is one of my favorite paddles.
The river awaits you!
Paddle ON!

Mike

kayaking the Meremac River from Route 66 SP to the Big River Confluence

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Kayaking 10.5 mile stretch between Route 66 SP and Castlewood SP, Meremac River Missouri

Great 10.5 mile paddle between the Route 66 State park and Castlewood State Park in St. Louis County, Missouri.  The weather was semi-cool and cloudy, but not too awful.  Weather like this really helps you to appreciate a spray skirt.  I had it strapped to the kayak for about 1/2 of the trip.

 Came up on some trapped raccoons close to shore.  Missouri has a season for this, however, I find it to be incredibly inhuman and just down right mean.  I am not "anti hunting" or anything.  But I think in todays world, there are other methods other than trapping.  I had thought about trying to help release them, but they probably would have tried to tear my arm off.  It had looked like a couple of them (still alive) had been trapped for days (that part is not legal).  In a kayak, I was really inequipped to handle it.  If I had a 9mm or something, I probably would have put them out of their misery...one more reason to pack when you kayak.

Sorry to be a buzz-kill......

Other than that, it was an awesome trip with my friends Ray Schroeder and Dan Main.  I think everyone really enjoyed the fellowship and kayaking.  We had a couple of rapids that were semi-challenging (the colder the water gets, the more challenging, at least in my book).

It really has been awhile since I have been out....I think it was like therapy or something

Paddle ON!

Mike

Kayaking the Meremac River from Route 66 SP to Castlewood SP, Missouri

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Kayaking the Bourbouse River, Chouteau Claim Access, Franklin County, MO, September 10th, 2011

I had said to a friend of mine the other day that I did not really care for the Bourbouse River in Franklin County Missouri.  I said it was "too wrangly" with "not enough portage spots, etc".  After this kayak trip, I stand corrected.  It just goes to show that you cannot evaluate an entire river on one 4 mile stretch.

Kayaking the Bourbouse River near the Meremac, Missouri

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I put in at the Chouteau Claim Access in Franklin County.  This is right at the confluence point for the Bourbouse and the Meremac River.  This trip was absolutely INCREDIBLE!  I did over 8 miles, and fished all the way back (caught one really small smallmouth, but nothing to photograph or comment on).  However, the scenery was absolutely incredible.  I had to portage about (4) times or so on the way up current.  Three of these spots I just paddled right through on the way back.  I was fishing on one spot and I saw a very large deer walk across one of the portage spots from a distance.  I swear it look larger than average....look like an elk, believe it or not.

The wildflowers were in bloom, and the temperatures were moderate.  I am looking forward to going back to the access point and paddling up the Meremac side to see how far I can go.  Looking forward to my journeys back to this amazing river!

Paddle ON!

Mike

6.8 mile Kayak Trip on the Meremac and Big Rivers, St. Louis County, Missouri, August 7th, 2011

Kayaking the Meremac and Big Rivers, Missouri

This was just what the doctor had ordered!  It had been a couple of weeks since I have paddled due to pulling a muscle in my back and the crazy schedule...this was excellent!  It was super hot, so I took my time in the initial put in.  I put in at the Route 66 State park ramp and went upstream.  Caught a medium sized largemouth on a Chomper Hula Grub with a stand up jig in some structure and shade.  I did not have a lot of fishing success the rest of the day.

It is amazing how much the gravel bar at the Big River confluence point has changed.  The heavy current comes a lot further and has some weird undertows.
I took a quick break and did a quick swim....that is the greatest thing about kayaking in the summer time on river.  No matter how hot it gets, as long as you can bring some water and can get in it, you really never have to worry about overheating.

I paddled up the Big River to the bridge.  I got on film these huge carp that were laying in the sun.  I was able to sneak up on them and scare them a bit.  I stopped at the bridge due to an old rock dam/levee.  I could have portaged around it, but I figured it would be good to get back (glad I did- about 15 min after I got out of the water, we had a thunderstorm).

Quick note: the real shame of the Big River is how much man made debris is on the bottom of the river (i.e pieces of metal, concrete stuff, etc).  You can tell it has been like this for awhile.  I would image it got there from attempts by people up river to keep the banks from eroding....at least I would like to think that is why.

Paddle ON!

Mike

Meremac River at the confluence of the Big River- border STL and Jefferson County, MO. November 21st, 2010

This was the maiden voyage of the new Feelfree Atlantis 14 sea kayak.  The temperatures were in the 50's and very windy.  We paddled from the Route 66 State Park ramp to the confluence point of the Big River.  This was a "getting to know you" paddle for me and the kayak.  We had a few challenges getting the rudder controls adjusted, but other than that, it was a magnificent paddle

Flow (CFS): 700
Gauge Height (ft): 2.2

MLT