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.
DeGray Lake is located near the town of Arkadelphia, Arkansas about an hour south of Little Rock and about 60 miles north of the Texas/Arkansas border. I was on a kayak fishing chat room and was told that DeGray has Alligators, however, I did not see any on this trip.
This lake is absolutely incredible! It is speckled with little rock islands covered with various trees, many of the conifer variety, which, when I see these pine like trees, always reminds me of either northern Wisconsin or Colorado.
I did a little over 5 miles, setting off from the boat ramp at the state park and paddling around one of the larger islands and then crossing the channel to go around one of the smaller, rocky islands. This time of year you can see a lot of different variety of ducks. I hear that this lake is also known for its bald eagle winter population....I did not see any, but I am sure they are out there. On the paddle back to shore, I heard the call of a wipper-will, which really gave the whole trip a nice effect...there was no one out on the lake, and it was incredibly calm, so the whole trip had a nice "zen-like" effect (which is what I really needed)
I would like to come back when it warms up and camp on one of the islands with the kayak. I will be looking into what the exact regulations are in regards to that.
If you are down south, you owe it to yourself to explore this lake with a kayak or canoe
This was an interesting day due to the fact that Creve Coeur Lake was not my first choice. I had originally decided to go out to Coffeen Lake in Illinois. After crossing the river, I noticed just about every creek and river were out of their banks, and once I arrived at the lake, it was really high. Also, due to the fact that a power plant is attached to this lake (Coffeen), there was a ton of boat traffic, high water conditions, and it really got very windy and cold. So I decided not to go in....something did not feel right and safe with the lake.
On my way back home, I was wondering if I had made a right decision. Will this cause me to buy a mini van? possibly start drinking prune juice? Will I start taking Lipitor now? I was really getting down on myself for not jumping in. Had I turned into a paddy boy? Then, as if by divine providence, the sun came out as I crossed the Mississippi River. "Hey, how about Creve Coeur Lake?" a voice in my head bellowed to me.....and I answered "Why Not?". The rest of the story is in the film.....enjoy!
This was a incredible paddle trip on the kayak. The weather was cool (40 degrees) but could not have been any better. What is great about this time of the year is that you get a change to get out on the water without a lot of motorized boats or other types of watercraft (sometimes Seadoos are the worst).
You learn something new every time you take the kayak out.....two lessons learned: 1.) get a pair of the water-proof booties or socks. I learned this lesson when I landed the kayak for lunch. 2.) bring along your kayak cart. There was a point that I had to portage (paddled through on the way back). A kayak cart (which was packed in my car) would have been very handy.
Temp: 40 degrees
Milage: 5 miles round
Flow: 1,000 cfs
Height: 6.8 ft.
