missouri question

[Mark Schafer]

looks like I will be traveling to Mizzou frequently for the next few years, so I’m changing my fishing and bird hunting plans accordingly, when I started looking up trout streams many are listed as private, are they truly private or pay to play, I’m willing to join a club if that’s what it will take.
I’ll head back to the White with the boat, just looking for some clarification and someone around that likes to drink beer and talk birds, fish and dogs.
Mark

[Marty Horn]

Mark,
Will be glad to have you in my part of the Country. You have several options. We have some good fishing on public ground. Our four trout parks will be very crowded. There is some places that have wild stream born trout. You have to be pretty stealthy to catch them. Google up the Missouri Department of Conservation and work your way to trout. That will give you all options for public fishing. Now to private stuff. I know of two places. I became familiar with them from volunteering for Reel Recovery for men and Reeling and healing for women. Both of these are no cost to the participants. It is for those that have cancer either under treatment or recovering. I started helping after my wife went through breast cancer. She attend her retreat several years ago and is an eight year survivor. After seeing what the retreat did for her I knew I had to get involved. So one of the private places is called Rockbridge, http://rockbridgemo.com/ The fish there are pigs, deep bodied and I would say average 20″ plus. Hard running and jumpers, I’m talking multiple jumps. The other place is Westover, http://westoverfarms.com/ Fish are smaller here but a neat place to fish. Both places raise there own fish on site. Last week I was at both places helping out. I will try to attach some photos from the women’s retreat. I had the pleasure of “guiding” Sue from St. Louis. My wife took pictures at the retreat and said Sue and I made a good pair as she had lost her hair from her chemo. I shave my head. Hope I attached the photos right,
Marty
For some reason I am having trouble attaching photos?

[Brian Greer]

Mark,

Check out Matt Tucker’s OzarkChronicles.com

There is a lot of information about trout waters in Missouri.
Just about all of the trout holding water is in the southern half o the state. Most of it around I-44 or south of there.
The closest trout waters to Mizzou is going to be Bennett Springs State Park and the Niangua River. (Bennett Springs flows into the NIangua.)

Like a lot of Missouri streams, the Niangua sees a lot of traffic from floaters/rafters/tubers. Fishing early or late helps. Fishing during the week will also help.

If you questions about other waters or more specific questions, I’d be happy to help.

[Mark Schafer]

Thanks for the help guys, and I will let you know what questions i come up with as i dig a little deeper, but for now are any of the rivers worth dragging my drift raft along.

[Marty Horn]

Mark,
Mr. Greer will be your go to man on floating. Like he said the Niangua or even the North Fork of the White are possibilities,
Marty

[Ronnie Moore]

If you’re dead set on trout then these guys have named the most likely candidates. If you want to get into some smallmouth then you have a lot of choices, but they are still going to be in the lower portion of the state. The Niangua is a very busy river in the summer through the trout waters, but the farther you get from the people the better the smallmouth fishing gets.

My buddy Jeff Trigg of Ozark Sweetwater has started running some trips through there and they are catching some really nice smallmouth.

The Gasconade, the James, Big piney, lots of good places to catch a smallmouth. But they are all going to be a little bit of a drive from Columbia.

PS – Everyone in Missouri likes beer. Those that don’t are being asked to leave.

[Author]

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