Missouri Trout Fishing has a lot to Offer

I grew up in Alaska and spent much time on the western slope of Colorado.  I have had the good fortune to take budget trips to some of the greatest trout waters in the East and West.  So I will not try to make the case that someone with the means to make a trip to one of these great destinations should cancel their trip and instead fish Missouri.  What I will do is get you excited about some truly terrific trout fishing that can be had in the Show-Me-State; at least by Midwestern standards.

One of the really cool things about fishing Missouri is the diversity of options.  There are classic freestone rivers of the western style, small babbling streams with small but wild trout, and at least one great option for lake fishing if that’s your style.  To top it off, Missouri hosts “trout parks” which as long as you do not mind a good measure of social interaction with fellow fishermen, you can stock up on stocked browns and/or rainbows with a limit every time.  If you want to put some trout on the table, these parks are the way to go. 

The purpose of this blog is to highlight some of the options available to the Missouri resident trout fisherman, or the fisherman making a visit.  It is not a comprehensive list of all the waters with detailed descriptions of each.  Next week, I will provide some tips on tactics for fishing these waters.  For highly detailed descriptions of nearly all Missouri trout fishing options, along with basic and more advanced tactics, visit the Family Outdoors Missouri Trout Fishing Section.

Freestone Rivers of Missouri

Believe it or not, and you probably won’t if you have never fished any of these waters, Missouri has some outstanding and cold crystal clear waters that might make you forget for a moment that you are not in Colorado or some other Western state.  The unique geography of Missouri has water erupting from massive springs after having spent long enough in the earth’s depths to arise crystal clear and cold (mid 50’s F).  This water has allowed for many miles of Missouri’s rivers fitting this description to be stocked with rainbows and browns, and in some sections to sustain what are now wild or mostly wild populations. Some of my purist friends do turn their noses up at our trout as being “unnatural” since they are stocked, or at least were at one time.  I find these fish to be game and in many cases, especially the wild fish, to be as beautiful as any I have observed.

Current River

The freestone stream on which we have spent the most time is the locally famous, at times infamous, Current River.  This stream has a partially deserved reputation as a party destination.  However, if one is at least moderately cognizant of the section of the river they will fish as well as the season, the Current can offer a terrific experience.  It begins at Montauk State Park near Salem and Licking Missouri.  There is a system of springs at Montauk that initiate the cold-water flow of the river, and is thus a great spot for a fish hatchery and one of Missouri’s trout parks. 

We will return to the trout parks later, but for now, the fisherman should understand that the first few miles of the river is in the Montauk Trout Park and stocked heavily with rainbows as well as a lesser number of browns.  It is also subject to the rules of the park in this section.

Below Montauk, the Current is a blue ribbon trout stream under Missouri Department of Conservation Regulations, which essentially means you are fishing catch-and-release, though you will occasionally pick up a fish, usually a brown that meets the 18 inch minimum.  Most fishermen will photograph their trophies if lucky enough to catch one, and then release them only to be remembered by the photograph, or perhaps a replica mount.

Current River

Below Montauk in the blue ribbon section, there are a couple of popular accesses, those being Tan Vat and Baptist Camp.  Tan Vat can be busy, and so can Baptist, but it seems like at Baptist fishermen do a better job spreading out along the river.  In all of this water, there is a nice mix of riffles which tend to produce more but smaller fish with deeper holes which produce larger and fewer fish.  Most of the nicer browns I have caught in this area were in these deep holes.  Do not confuse the deep holes with the slow rather stagnant sections.  The deep holes are downstream from riffles and often butt up against bluffs which plunge the water depth quickly to greater than ten feet. 

Downstream from the blue ribbon section is a white ribbon section with more liberal rules with regard to methods ande the fish you can keep.  These sections are stocked and I guess one can keep fish with a more clear conscience if that is his or her desire.  This section is equally beautiful, and is best accessed by canoe or kayak.

If you plan a visit to the Current, I suggest that you plan around the crowds of floaters.  From the park down to Baptist Camp, you will not encounter many of them, but if you fish downstream from here on a weekend in the summer, prepare for lots of company.  You are better off avoiding summer weekends if you can.  Fall and spring are in fact great times to fish the Current, with many days in the winter also being enjoyable times to be on the water.

For more information on the Current River, visit Family Outdoors Current River Trout Fishing.  You will find comprehensive answers to most of not all the questions you might have.

Eleven Point River's Greer Branch

The second river I will mention here is the Eleven Point.  It runs through some absolutely wild country, and has a fair number of wild rainbows resident to its waters.  If you wish to have more water all to yourself, this is a great option.  A nice place to start is at Greer Crossing.  There is very little in the way of access to the river except from on it, so this really is a canoe or kayaking river.  There are some potentially challenging spots on this stream for the novice if running the stream by canoe.  This sort of depends on river levels.

Without getting into too much detail, the Eleven Point differs from the Current in the respect that most of the fishing is streamer fishing and fairly deep.  There are some times where dries are effective, but the Eleven Point really is not the river for the dry fly purist. For more detail, visit Eleven Point Trout Fishing.

Small Stream Missouri Trout Fishing

With the internet, there are few secrets regarding places to fish.  Nevertheless, undoubtedly there are some who would rather there be no mention of these little trout fishing streams.  Several of them host wild rainbow populations and rarely produce fish that are larger than ten inches.  Unfortunately, despite almost all of these streams being confined to explicit fly only regulations, you will often find evidence of bait having been used leaving one to conclude that these fishermen were keeping the fish they caught.  These streams simply will not stand up to catch-and-keep fishing.

Having said all of that, perhaps the best protection for these little streams such as the Little Piney and Blue Springs Creek is the presence of ethical anglers willing to report transgressions of the necessary regulations.  This rationale, along with the simple reality that all of this information is in some form available anyway, will be my response to any who criticize me letting the cat out of the bag on these streams. 

Little Piney Creek
Vidas Slab

Little Piney is in fact my favorite place to fly fish in Missouri.  There is a blue ribbon and white ribbon section on the stream, with handy access right off of US 63 at Lane Springs just south of Rolla.  The section at Lane is in the blue ribbon section.  The white ribbon section is a bit more difficult to navigate to, but if you want the details on finding it, visit the Little Piney Creek Trout Fishing section of Family-Outdoors. 

There are numerous other of these beautiful little streams spread from down in the Springfield area all the way across the southern half of Missouri.

Trout Parks

Maramec Springs Trout Park in the Winter

Four trout parks are operated in Missouri by the Missouri Department of Conservation.  Many Missouri trout anglers ritualize the start of the Missouri trout park season as the start of spring.  On these first few days, the MDC releases some real lunkers, some topping ten pounds.  These first few days are combat fishing at its peak, and thus not really an attractive option for me even though they do offer some real chances for big fish.

There are a variety of options of regulations at these parks.  To the best of my knowledge, what they all have in common is a daily limit of four fish, and a great chance of filling that limit early in the day.  The parks are usually segregated as to the methods allowed in various sections.  Some sections allow bait fishing and some do not.  All offer some handicapped accessible areas.

These parks can be a lot of fun if you are in the right frame of mind.  They are also great introductions to the sport of trout fishing, whether you are a spin or fly fisherman.  Find specifics on the trout parks beginning at Missouri Trout Parks.

Lake Taneycomo

Lake Tanycomo

Here is a lake that has held and might in the future hold again record sized brown trout.  Fishing Taneycomo is a radical departure from the experience and methodology of trout fishing in the freestone streams, small streams, or even the trout parks of Missouri.

Taneycomo is stocked with over a half million rainbows every year, making the action up and down its twenty-two mile stretch pretty darn hot.  There are however some interesting tactics and baits that are used which we will discuss next week, or you can read about now at Taneycomo Trout Fishing.

So, despite Missouri not being blessed with a Madison, Frying Pan, Kenai, or Ausable River, it does have some pretty nice options for the trout angler.  Missouri is at the very least a great place to cut your teeth trout fishing, whether that be fly fishing or not.  Next week, we will get into some specifics on tactics including baits, lures, and flies, but much more.

What are some of your favorite Missouri trout fishing experiences?

Related articles

• Current River Missouri (family-outdoors.blogspot.com)
• Prairie Trout! (family-outdoors.blogspot.com)
• Prairie Trout! (kansas-outdoors.blogspot.com)
• Trout Fishing in SW Oklahoma (family-outdoors.blogspot.com)
• Wisconsin (family-outdoors.blogspot.com)

Great Places to Camp In Missouri: The Irish Wilderness

In my last post on Finding Great Places to Camp in Missouri, I talked in some detail about the Eleven Point River area and referenced the Irish Wilderness.  I mentioned I would discuss in a aseparate post camping in the Irish Wilderness backcountry.  Here it is...

The Forest Service has an excellent brochure on the Irish Wilderness.  This has a lot of history as well as backcountry ethics information.  On that score, let me underscore the notion that the Irish Wilderness is managed in a fashion that in the future it will be as much of a wilderness as it is in its current state.  The "Leave No Trace" credo is the rule here.  Having said this, let me jump into a discussion of modes of travel and camping in this area.

There are two major trail systems in this 16,500 acre gem.  A map of the area is essential, even if using one of the areas trail systems.  The major trail in the area is Whites Creek Trail.  Click on this map link for a basic trail map.  It is an 18.6 mile loop trail, and is of moderate difficulty.  It is used also as an equestrian trail, but motorized and non-motorized vehicles are not allowed (mountain bikes).  There is plenty of wildlife including bears, bobcats, deer, and turkey.  There are also plenty of snakes, some venomous, as well as ticks.  Be prepared, and consider Fall or Spring visits to minimize some of these things.  This is truly a magical place as the slideshow below portrays:



Irish Wilderness-Mark Twain NF, Mo

Come prepared and click the link below for a comprehensive list of camping gear to consider bringing:
Camping Gear Checklist

Great Places to Camp in Missouri

Missouri is blessed with many great camping locations. They are kind of segregated into the following categories:

• State Campgrounds
• Campgrounds on Federally Managed Land (National Park Service and National Forest Service)
• Conservation Department Lands, and
• Private Campgrounds.

The other way that camping areas could be grouped would be by geographic location. Because most camping in Missouri is done around the large lakes, along the Ozark rivers and Streams, and in other Ozark regions, I will concentrate my discussion on these areas. There are a number of activities to enjoy while visiting these places and I will touch on these as well. For the sake of brevity, I will split this over a number of blogs.

The first area I will take up will be the beautiful Eleven Point River and the Irish Wilderness. We have taken up the topic of Eleven Point River Trout Fishing and you can find out a lot by visiting this site. Here I will say that there are outstanding rainbow trout and smallmouth bass fishing opportunities on this river, as well as less outstanding but healthy populations of other species as well. The river is an outstanding floating stream year round with class I to class III whitewater in a couple of locations and depending on water levels.

The camping in the area is ample along the river. Let me state that camping is NOT allowed on easements which are private property and are marked in almost all cases. From the Thomasville access to the Riverton access you will truly feel that you are in a wilderness. There are few to no dwellings visible from the river. There are a number of float camps on the Eleven Point. They are primitive in that they do not have water, have vaulted toilets, are first-come (no reservation), and you are expected to pack out trash. They do have fire rings and tent sites. These camps are Denny Hollow (river mile 6.5/river left), Turner's Mill (river mile 21.5/river right), Stinking Pond Float Camp (river mile 22.0/river left), Horseshoe Bend (river mile 26.5/river left), Barn Hollow (river mile 27.0/river left), White Creek Camp (river mile 28.5/river left), Greenbriar (river mile 31.0/river left), Boze Mill (river mile 33.5/river left), and Morgan Creek (river mile 44.0/river right).

There are a couple of traditional campgrounds along the river. One is Greer Crossing Campground. There is a boat launch here and running water for drinking. There is a total of 19 sites and our experience is that the campground is very nicely maintained. It is located river right at river mile 16.7.

Floating the river is a relatively simple affair with 2 semi-challenging exceptions- Mary Decker Shoal and Halls Bay Rapid. A nice photo of Halls Bay is:
. Mary Decker is at river mile 20.1 and Halls Bay is at river mile 34. They can and probably should be run on the right river line. I have found especially Mar Decker to be deceptive in that it appears a better run on the left. A review of the run from downstream will likely have you agreeing with my assessment.

There are canoe rental and shuttle services in the area. One is Eleven Point Canoe Rental and another is Richards Canoe Rental. I do not vouch for either as I have always had my own gear.

The Eleven Point is a beautiful river and the Irish Wilderness is a true gem.. Next time I will discuss some of the area's backcountry.

Fishing the Eleven Point - A Crown Jewel of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways

Fishing the Eleven Point
By Davidson Manning

Image via Wikipedia

There is no other river like the Eleven Point. Its wilderness atmosphere, combined with blue ribbon trout and smallmouth bass populations make this one of the true jewels of the Ozarks. The river is situated in south-central Missouri, and north central Arkansas. The forty miles of river between the Thomasville, and the Narrows Access to the river is part of the National Scenic Riverways system. This means there is little or no commercial activity, or private land along the river. This helps keep the habitat, water quality, and beauty at a level unsurpassed in the Midwest.

The Eleven Point begins as a small stream high in the Ozark Mountains. From the headwaters to Thomasville, the river is lightly fished, but can produce very well for smallmouth bass. Almost no one floats this section. Below Thomasville, the river becomes a national river, and fishing becomes better. The area of river between Thomasville and Greer Spring is known for producing some of the biggest stream smallmouth anywhere. Trophy regulations help maintain this world class fishery. Shadow bass (also known as rock bass or goggle-eye) also are abundant, as well as several other species of sunfish.

The river changes dramatically at the mouth of Greer Spring. This massive, cold and very wild spring immediately transform an easy going, warm smallmouth stream into a large river with deep and rushing flows. Most notably, it makes the Eleven Point an excellent trout stream. From the mouth of the spring branch downstream to Turner Mill Access the stream is managed under Blue Ribbon trout regulations. This means an 18" length limit, and artificial lures and flies only. This beautiful and interesting stretch of trout water relies on both stocking and natural spawning to keep fish populations up. About 5000 rainbow trout are stocked each year in this five and one half mile portion of the river. You can access this part the Eleven Point at the Greer Crossing Access at the upper end, and the Turner Mill Access at the lower end. You can expect 300 to 500 trout per mile. Wading anglers do well wading up, or downstream of these public access areas. Most people float it.

Below the Blue Ribbon trout area, you will find the White Ribbon Area. This is managed a lot differently. It is stocked every few weeks from April through September, but you will find trout here all year-long. The White Ribbon area allows four trout to be kept, with no length limit, and no bait restrictions. Most people think of this trout water as a put and take area, but there is only limited truth to this. Fish populations do decrease rather significantly between stockings, especially in the winter when no fish are stocked. However, even at times when fish populations are at the very lowest, (which is usually during February or March) trout can be caught, and good catches can be made consistently, if you know how to read the water. The best fishing generally is in June, July, and August when fish populations are really built up. About 15,000 rainbow trout are stocked per year in this fourteen mile section of river each year.. Wading and floating access will be found at Turner Mill, Whitten, McDowell Access, and Riverton. The best trout fishing will be found between the Turner Mill and McDowell Access, but trout can be found in fair numbers all the way downstream to the Riverton Access, and sometimes even significantly further downstream. Below Riverton, the river transforms back into a smallmouth bass stream, typical of the Ozarks. It is now a large river, and species such as largemouth bass, spotted bass, and even walleye can be found. The river slowly warms, and by the time it reaches the Black River in Arkansas it appears very little like the upper section.

The Eleven Point is certainly special. This is one of the best rainbow trout streams in the Ozarks, as well as an excellent smallmouth bass river. It is however, rather undiscovered. It is not used nearly so much as nearby streams such as the Current River, Buffalo River, or the Black River. Come out and give it a try.

Davdison Manning is an avid outdoorsman spending over 100 days per year pursuing his passion for fishing, many of them in the Ozarks of Missouri and Arkansas. He details many of his favorite spots on his website http://family-outdoors.com/ which is a good resource for general fishing, hunting, and camping information. His website area on Missouri Trout Streams and techniques can be located at http://family-outdoors.com/Missouri_Trout_Fishing.html and covers some amazing opportunities.

His other pursuits include many days spent in the field camping and hunting. Davidson loves to share his knowledge of the outdoors in the hope of helping others to find their own connection to the outdoors.

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Eleven Point River Trip: July 2009

We left our home 50 miles West of St. Louis on a Tuesday afternoon and arrived at Greer Crossing Campground that evening. The route to the area is one of the more scenic drives you can take in Missouri, taking us through the Ozark National Scenic Riverways and miles and miles of Mark Twain National Forest, as well as thousands of acres of state Conservation lands. It really hit me as to how fortunate we are in Missouri to have so many acres of public land in so beautiful and area.

We set up camp on Tuesday evening, and my two boys did a little fishing and then swimming. Let me tell you, that water was envigorating, as I found over the next few days as we made our trip. The river is fed from a steady diet of cold spring inflows, but perhaps the coolest section is there at Greer Crossing.

We got up the next morning and shuttled vehicles so that the truck would be there when we arrived at Riverton in a few days where our float would end. We got on the river mid-morning and were on our way. Our first day was full of great fishing (rainbow trout) and a mix of slow moving water, mildly entertaining riffles, and Mary Decker Rapid where one must pay attention to what he is doing if to accomplish the goal of staying dry. The advice of staying to the right was heeded and turned out to be wise. The left line of the river looks tempting at Mary Decker, but after going through an inspection upstream will make clear that it is not the way to go.

Though we planned to stay in one of the river campgrounds for the evening, we apparently missed the spot and instead found a beautiful and secluded sandbar for our camp. It was perfect.

On the topic of seclusion, I do not wish to leave the impression that one will encounter no one, but during the week as we were doing, the traffic was few and far between. Most of the time there was not another human in sight. Further, over our three days of floating we saw not one dwelling of any type.

Day two was equally beautiful, though without the excitement of a Mary Decker style rapid to provide entertainment. We again did well fishing, in this section picking up more in the way of bronzebacks (smallmouth bass). We put in this time at one of the river campgrounds. The campground was primitive (as expected). It was however, not well maintained. The pit toilets had been used as a dumpster by some very disrespectful campers and the area was kind of a mess.

As we prepared to shove off the next morning, a USFS cleaning crew arrived and explained they had been diverted to other tasks and had not been in for three weeks. Therefore, I felt the condition of the site was understandable. Based on the efficiency this crew displayed in their work cleaning up, I can say that they were a hard working bunch and took pride in their efforts.

Our final day was the only one in which we had so much as a sprinkle. The only real dampening effect this rain had was on the air temperature and actually was much appreciated. On our final day we went through Halls Bay Rapid, which was a lot of fun. The john boat my youngest son and I were in was heavily laden and hung up on one of the boulders in this ledge style rapid.

We stayed upright, but he volunteered to disenbark which allowed the boat to float free down the rest of the rapid.

We took out at Riverton and headed back to Alton, Missouri and enjoyed a great meal as there are several decent places to eat as well as good grocery stores, etc. All-in-all, this trip was all and more we had hoped for. We grew as a family as we worked together and enjoyed some of the most beautiful scenery the state has to offer, not to mention some great fishing!

Read more at Family-Outdoors Fishing.