Our Approach to Fishing, Hunting, and Camping Information

Family-Outdoors is a different kind of hunting, fishing, and camping site. We started this site in 2008 to accomplish something we found lacking in other places.

We cannot help but notice that too much of the information on fishing, hunting, and camping is dictated by how to make a buck. So, what we are trying to do is let our content be driven solely by what our readers want and need. We were very frustrated reading the popular outdoor magazines where the bargain rifle issue left you believeing a $1,000 hunting rifle was a steal and the only fishing rods worth looking at were at minimum $250.

We do not begrudge people who want to spend the big bucks in pursuit of their outdoor passions. Sometimes spending a lot of money on a four season tent and a subzero sleeping bag makes sense if you do a lot of winter camping. But if you are that single parent trying to load a family of 4 for a weekend Summer camping trip, a $75 tent and $25 sleeping bags might make more sense. In fact it might be the difference between being able to enjoy your hunting, fishing, or camping activities, and not being able to go.

Of course our site is not just about gear for these pursuits. It is also heavily weighted to the pursuits themselves. Living in Missouri, we want to provide lots of information about areas besides Missouri hunting, fishing, and camping. But as this site is largely driven by the activities we actually engage in, there is a certain extra weight dedicated to Missouri information. As evidence that this is not all we do, you will find Fishing Guide Links for guides in all fifty states (a work in progress). You will find a directory of useful camping links for all 50 states. We have even provided links to Fishing Reports in all 50 states.

We have emphasized several area that we think will be particularly useful to outdoors men and women who live in Missouri or who will be visiting. Our most recent endeavor has been Missouri Smallmouth Central. Here we are placing information on approximately 20 of the state's best smallmouth fishing streams. On these pages, you will get section overviews for smallmouth fishing on popular parts of the stream, tips on how to fish the stream or river, and lures, baits and flies that are generally accepted as the best smallmouth bass baits on that river. We are also placing helpful maps and directions as time allows.

The next section of the site that we have had going for awhile, and seems to be evergrowing in popularity is the Ozark Trout Fishing section. If you are interested in fishing one of Missouri's (or Arkansas) bodies of water that has trout, we likely have information for you. We have the content divided into Freestone Fishing, Tailwater Fishing, Trout Parks, and Smaller Streams. If you are planning a trip to one of these areas, visit our Ozark Trout Fishing Reports to get water level information and what is currently catching fish.

Finally, we have gathered much information on hunting Missouri's public hunting areas. Whether you are trying to access information on Missouri's excellent conservation areas or perhaps Mark Twain National Forest, we have helpful information for you. For example, we have organized the conservation areas in Missouri by county and listed the most recent data on populations of game animals on each. We also have extensive information on hunting in Mark Twain National Forest. This information can be found at Missouri Public Hunting.