Moreau River, Missouri: Nice flatwater kayak trip before the rivers rose

Kayaking/Canoeing

Apr 25, 2017

Duration (Total) 0h 0m , Distance 3.8 mi

River Gauge: 2.06 ft.

-Tracked by kayakthemidwest, on Ramblr

Quick after work paddle before all the storms and hell broke loose....no telling how high the water got after shooting these photos- nice calm stream with a few shallow spots- as always, beautiful :-)

　　　　　　　　　　

　　　　　　　　　　

　　　　　　　　　　

　　　　　　　　　　

　　　　　　　　　　

　　　　　　　　　　

　　　　　　　　　　

　　　　　　　　　　

　　　　　　　　　　

　　　　　　　　　　

　　　　　　　　　　

　　　　　　　　　　

　　　　　　　　　　

　　　　　　　　　　

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Kayaking the Lamine River, near Blackwater, MO: Deep steep shores and tons of rough fish!

The Lamine River just west of Columbia, MO is a river that one crosses on the way from St. Louis to Kansas City.  I have been eyeballing this river for years and years, and I finally had an opportunity to spend a couple of hours on it last week.

The water quality, in my opinion, is fairly poor.  It is very common of rivers in the northern part of Missouri- true mud bottoms, slow flow, and due to the proximity to flowing into the Missouri River, chock full of rough fish.  I do not think I have ever seen that many gar in one body of water- they literally were swimming around like sharks!  There were parts of the river that had a green algae like film, which are typical of bodies of water that have an issue with farm run off chemicals, etc.
I ended up kayaking about 4 miles total.  Heading up stream to one of the bridges (fishing for bass the whole way) and then turning around and coming back.  I also went down river just a bit to see the confluence point of the Blackwater River.   One of the more interesting highlights was about a 5 pound Asian carp literally jumped from one side of my kayak to the other side of the kayak.

This is a river I will probably not come back to fish (although it probably has some very large catfish in it), however it would be a great river to get the touring kayak out and go for some miles in the winter- very few people appear to use this river- probably due to the way the river lays out and possibly the water quality.

"Life is better on a kayak"

Mike

 

 click HERE for a water trail map of this adventure

 

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

Thanksgiving paddle on Joachim Creek- Jefferson County, MO.: Creek should be named river!



Don't let the cold stop you from your outdoor lifestyle!

Joachim Creek in Jefferson County, MO (near Herculaneum) is one of the little rivers in Missouri I have always wanted to paddle.  I first discovered this creek driving down I-55 towards Cape Girardeau.  Every time I would look over, I wondered how I could get on these waters.  Good news is with technology and satellites, it is so much easier to find boat launches.

I-55 Bridge crossing Joachim Creek

I found a ramp right by the the Herculaneum lead smelter of Joachim Rd. in one of the city parks.  I really think the site was closed (the road had some barricades) but I had driven too far to go back.  I originally tried to put in at the Mermac near the Mississippi, but the ramp was so low, I would have had my kayak over 1000' just to get to the muddly launch point. So I decided to try Joachim Creek out (which, in my humble opinion, is way more like a river than a creek.  The plan was to launch off and take it to the Mississippi River.  However, there is a huge dam blocking the entire creek (I am thinking it was built to keep the ultra polluted water separate from the rest of the the creek) that looked impassable in regards to portage.   That being said, I went ahead and started to paddle west.  The creek gets cleaner and better looking the further you paddle west.  By the time you go under I-55 bridge, it really starts to shape up and become a neat looking small river, with some nice limestone rock formations and huge cottonwood and sycamore trees.  A really beautiful paddle!  I would love to see if I could make it to DeSoto MO from Herculaneum!
Looking forward to hitting this trip again in the spring or summer when we have more daylight to explore a little longer
Paddle ON!

Mike

kayaking Joachim Creek, Jefferson County, MO

EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking near St. Louis, Missouri

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

EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking near St. Louis, Missouri