There is less than a mile of stream in Maramec Spring Branch, but it's almost all good. This short spring branch is part of the Missouri Trout Park program, and is stocked daily with rainbows in the catch and keep season which lasts throughout most of the Spring, all of the summer, and part of fall. Don't expect to be able to fish here alone, and it can be downright crowded. Also, this a spring creek, so the fishing will be hard, and most likely somewhat frustrating. With that said, you can always find lots of trout, and with some skill you can catch a few. Spin fisherman will have success on spinners, dough baits, nightcrawlers, and marabou jigs. Woolly buggers, glo-bugs, and scud patterns are the ticket for fly fisherman. Expect to try four or five different flies or lures on a school of fish before you get them to bite. It could be argued that the best part of fishing here is the morning fog on the water which stays 58 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the year. The winter catch and release season is also a good option, providing much more solitude. During this time some methods are restricted, and trout aren't stocked nearly as often. With that said, the stream still holds many trout, and the Missouri Department of Conservation stocks some absolutely huge trout at this time. This area is within two hours of St. Louis, near a small town called St. James. If you can't stand the crowds here, head down to the Meramec River just below the park. From the Highway 8 bridge to Scotts Ford, the Meramec River is managed as a trophy brown trout area. Concentrate your efforts between where Maramec Spring branch dumps in down to Scotts Ford, and you'll find more than 400 hungry trout per mile in this seven and a half mile section of river. This is the only true coldwater section of the Meramec River. Above the junction with the spring branch, and again downstream of Scotts Ford, you'll find great black bass fishing with rock bass and sunfish mixed in. Whether you would rather fish the river or the spring branch is a matter of personal preference, but they're both very productive fisheries.

Current River (Including Montauk State Park)

The Current River in south central Missouri is probably the most diverse fishery in the state. The upper twenty miles are known for its top quality trout fishing. The middle and lower section of the river holds some of the best smallmouth fishing in the world. . I’ll start by describing the upper section, and move downstream. The first twenty miles of the Current River is known as some of the best trout water in the Midwest. The headwaters begin at spring fed Montauk Lake, itself a great place to catch and release trout. The three miles below Montauk Lake are part of Montauk State Park, and are a mix a mix of catch and release water and put and take trout water. One surprising thing about Montauk State Park is that these waters also The put and take water is stocked with rainbow trout every day during the catch and keep season, which lasts from March through October. The main event lies in the nine miles of water downstream of Montauk State Park. This section is managed as trophy trout water, and strict length limits and daily limits are imposed. Most of the trout in the section are brown, but wild rainbows can be found, as well as trout that escape from the trout park. This water is known as being productive year round, even in the hottest part of summer. Some of the brown trout are huge, and access is ample. Below the trophy trout area, the river once again is managed as a put and take river, but is not stocked daily. The water from Cedar Grove to Welch Spring is good from mid- September through early July, but water can get too warm for trout stocking from mid-July- through late August. Welch Spring makes the river cold again, and this section of river is stocked throughout the year, including the hot parts summer downstream to Akers Ferry. Even though trout aren’t stocked downstream of Akers Ferry, the trout fishing is good for about four miles downstream of Akers, even in the summer. Though not stocked, the first few miles below Akers Ferry holds predominately trout, as water from Welch Spring makes this water just a little bit too cold to hold a lot of smallmouth, and keeps it cool enough to hold trout year-round. Below the Pulltite Access, smallmouth become common again, and trout populations are almost non-existant from the Pulltite access downstream. Another kicker is that just about any deep pool downstream of Akers Ferry is likely to hold a walleye or two. This isn't a great walleye fishery, but walleye can be a nice diversion from smallmouth bass, although walleye are much less common. Most of the walleye caught in this river are probably accidentally caught by smallmouth fisherman. If this all sound too complicated, hungry bluegill are just about everywhere from the headwaters pool to the river's mouth.

Jacks Fork River

This gin clear tributary of the middle Current River you will find Smallmouth bass fishing at its best. It could be easily mistaken for a huge spring creek (In a way it is), and might well me the most beautiful river in Missouri. Due to its restrictive bag limits on smallmouth there is a very heavy population of bass here. They can be caught on all the standbys, including tube baits, spinners, jigs, and crawfish imitating crank baits. It can be a little hard to fish, but it's a lot of fun. The river is also loaded with rock bass, sunfish, suckerfish, and pickerel. It's also a great river to take your family on a floating, fishing, and camping trip. Public access is ample through out. The Jacks Fork is part of the Ozark National Scenic River Ways system.

Rocky Falls Plunge Pool

Most people that come to this pool don't even think to fish it. And indeed, on summer weekends, countless swimmers can make this an impossible task. But if you come on a summer weekday, bring a pole. The fishing can be exceptional for green sunfish, and longear sunfish. Smallmouth bass are also present. Most of the bass here are found in a rocky area about fifty yards downstream of the beautiful waterfall. This isn't really a destination spot for fishing, but it's a great place to pack a pole, and take the kids swimming. Get a safe distance away, cast, and you might be surprised.. This is also part of the Ozark National Scenic River ways.>

Bourbeuse River

The Bourbeuse River that courses through Franklin County, Missouri is probably the most underrated smallmouth bass stream in Missouri, maybe even the Midwest. Trophy fish in the eighteen inch range are not at all uncommon, and smallmouth numbers are exceptional above Noser Mill. You'll find good numbers of smallies in the entire river, even as far downstream as Union. However, spotted bass and largemouth tend to out compete smallmouth below Noser Mill, which is located. about 40 miles upstream of Union. Below this point, spotted bass make up the lion's share of the catch, but smallmouth and largemouth can also be found. The most Smallmouth bass tend to be found in fast moving pools and riffles in this marginal habitat. Don't overlook the deep, slow, pools which are so common either. While they hold fewer bass, these are the places to find trophy largemouth and spotted bass. The river also holds plenty of catfish, except near the mouths of cold springs. Of course you also find rock bass, sunfish, and more suckers than you can count. The river has plenty of access, and bank fishing as well as float fishing are productive.