River and Stream Fishing

Fishing guide services operating under a special use permit on the Eleven Point and Current Rivers:

Tightline Fishing Guide Services

River and Stream Fishing Areas

Ava/Cassville/Willow Springs Ranger District
Visitors to Ava/Cassville/Willow Springs District will find different landscapes from oak-hickory forests , shortleaf pine forests, and glades. Glades are open areas of native tall prairie grasses characterized by dry, shallow soils and limestone outcroppings.

The unique blending of eastern forest and western desert habitats makes a home for such varied wildlife as the bald eagle and the roadrunner, armadillos and wild turkey, white-tailed deer and black bears.

The sunlit balds and deep hollows, narrow ridgetops and steep slopes, secluded pastures and clear streams characteristic of the Ozarks are the trademark of the District. This is the landscape so eloquently described in Harold Bell Wright's famous book, The Shepherd of the Hills.

Nearby vacation destinations -- Branson, Silver Dollar City, Bass Pro, and Table Rock Lake -- make the District one of Missouri's favorite playgrounds.

If you drive through this area, you will be delighted at every turn by scenic views. Hike your way through the Forest and you will find solitude and tranquility.

The beautiful North Fork River is the pride of Willow Springs Area. A total of nine major springs flow into the river; two of the largest, Big Springs and Blue Spring, contribute some 18 million gallons of cold, clear water every day. The river is popular with canoeists as well as anglers.

The District contains three of seven Congressionally-designated Wilderness Areas; Devils Backbone, Hercules Glades, and Piney Creek Wildernesses.

The District has the Forest’s only National Forest Scenic Byways; Blue Buck Knob, Glade Top Trail; and Sugar Camp.
Bar-K Wrangler Camp
North Fork Recreation Area
North Fork Recreation Area provides camping, picnicking, boating, canoeing, hiking and fishing access to the beautiful North Fork of the White River, which has a total of nine major springs flowing into it.

As you drive into the site, the first right takes you to the boat access area. If you go straight you’ll hit a t-intersection, if you go left you enter the campground, if you go right you enter the day use.

The site is surrounded by an oak/hickory forest, there are a lot of tulip poplar and sycamore in that area.

From the day use area, and sometimes the campground, you have amazing views looking across the river of the mixed hardwood and pine forest and the rock bluffs that envelope the river. On the other side of the river is the beginning of the Devils Backbone Wilderness Area. Some sites have views of the river before trees and bushes leaf out.

North Fork Recreation Area serves as trailhead for the 35-mile long Ridge Runner National Recreation Trail and the Blue Spring Trail.

There are multiple springs that contribute to the river, one of the largest is Blue Spring, which contributes around 7 million gallons of cold, clear water every day to the river. Near North Fork, from the river you can paddle up into Blue Spring or hike the Blue Spring Trail. The spring is about 30 feet in diameter. One three sides, the stone wall is made of cherty Gasconade dolomite that surrounds the spring and represents the karst topography of Ozarks.
Eleven Point/Doniphan Ranger District
The Eleven Point Ranger District takes its name from the Eleven Point River, designated a National Wild and Scenic River in 1968.

Some unique features of the Eleven Point Ranger District include Greer Spring which is the largest spring on National Forest land and the Scenic Eleven Point River. Floating offers spectacular close-up views of rocky bluffs, springs, vegetation, birds and animals.

Camping is permitted on gravel bars as well as in one of seven (7) primitive campgrounds accessible only by boat.

Other recreation opportunities include: hunting, hiking, wildlife watching, mountain biking, horseback riding, fishing and camping.

The district has four (4) developed campgrounds, seven (7) primitive float camps, over (10) ten undeveloped camping areas located throughout the district, and many other special attractions like rivers and springs.

If your interest is tubing, tubing is popular at Deer Leap, Float Camp, and Watercress Campgrounds.

If your interest is in hiking, there is over 122 miles of trail available ranging from ½ mile easy loop trails to several days journey on the Ozark Trail or 18 miles located in the Irish wilderness.
Current River
The Current River is part of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. Our site provides information on the USDA Forest Service operated sites along the river. For information on the National Park Service operated sites please visit the NPS website for Ozark National Scenic Riverways.

The Current River provides a wonderful opportunity for the public to experience a more social recreation opportunity in the southern ozarks. On weekends you will experience numerous recreationists enjoying a variety of water-based activities.

The swift, clear and cool Current River with numerous gravel bars provides motorized boating, non-motorized boating, tubing, camping, picnicking and wading opportunities in a more pristine recreation setting.

A favorite past time on the river, whether boating or tubing, includes taking breaks on the numerous gravel bars.

The recreation areas on the Current River are easily accessible by vehicle and are located near small communities which provide a variety of services.

From Watercress, and down the river you’ll see a mix of Park Service, Forest Service, and private lands. Occasionally you’ll pass by a hayfield.

The channel of the river meanders yearly, and a gravel bar you visited last year may no longer exist this year. The river does have trees down along the way so boaters will need to be aware of submerged objects as they travel.
Bay Nothing Gravel Boat Launch
Deer Leap Recreation Area
Float Camp Recreation Area
The Float Camp Recreation Area provides opportunities for camping and day use.

Float Camp Picnic Area is located only 150 feet from the cool waters of the crystal clear Current River and nestled under a mature forest of hardwoods which offers plentiful shade. Visitors enjoy fishing and hiking. A campground is only a half-mile away for those who want to stay longer than a day. Visitors enjoy hiking and other nearby recreational opportunities at Deer Leap Recreation Area. The day-use picnic area offers an accessible group shelter that can accommodate up to 75 people. The picnic pavilion is equipped with electricity, tables and grills. Individual picnic sites are available on a first come, first served basis. Accessible vault toilets, drinking water and trash collection are provided.

The Float Camp Campground is adjacent to the day use area. This is a large, open campground with little privacy screening between campsites. While there's not much solitude, but you'll enjoy level, roomy campsites and have a good opportunity to socialize with adjacent campers. Trash cans or dumpsters and vault toilets are centrally located. No sewage disposal is available.

Hiking: Woodchuck Trail is a half mile long trail connecting Float Camp Picnic Area with the campground. White Oak Trail is a 1.5-mile loop trail originating at the Float Camp Picnic Area's parking lot.

Fishing: Wade, bank and boat fishing permitted.
Watercress Recreation Area
Watercress Recreation Area is an ideal place to relax and enjoy a few hours, or a few days. Located within the town of Van Buren, the campground and day use area are adjacent to the Current River, which flows past scenic bluffs, springs, caves as it meanders through the Mark Twain National Forest toward Doniphan, MO.

Watercress Campground lies on the banks one of the forest’s greatest treasures; the Current River. Floats on the river provide views of southeastern Missouri that otherwise can't be seen. The area is home to a variety of birds and wildlife and recreation opportunities are plentiful in the surrounding area.

Boating and canoeing on the Current River, as well as on other nearby rivers, are popular activities. A boat ramp for both motorized and non-motorized boats is available on the east bank of the Current River. Anglers enjoy fishing for bass, sunfish and the occasional catfish.

Big Spring, Missouri's largest spring, is just seven miles from the campground. Hikers at Watercress area enjoy the Songbird Trail, a 1/2 mile loop that leads to Watercress Spring, passing remnants of Civil War-era earthwork that overlook the Current River.

The campground offers 17 campsites for tent or RV camping and the sites are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The campground is adjacent to the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, which is a series of protected rivers in the area managed by the National Park Service.
Eleven Point National Wild and Scenic River
The Eleven Point National Wild and Scenic River was established in 1968 as a 44-mile scenic river, free of impoundments with a largely undeveloped shoreline and watershed. This portion of the river between Thomasville, Missouri and the Highway 142 bridge is near Gatewood, Missouri. It became one of the 8 initial units of the National Wild and Scenic River system in 1968.

The Eleven Point National Wild and Scenic River meanders through the picturesque Ozark hills of southern Missouri. Its course is cut in the shadows of steep bluffs, through sloping forested valleys, and low-lying riparian ecosystems. Barely more than a small stream at its upper reaches near Thomasville, it gains considerable width and depth as its proceeds south-eastward.

Springs pouring from dolomite bluffs or rushing up from a vast network of underground flow systems provide a continuous source of water and beauty. Alternating stretches of rapids and deep clear pools wind around moss covered boulders and shading bottomland hardwood trees.

Greer Spring is the world's 10th biggest spring and doubles the size of the river while turning it into a cold water fishery.

Access to the River: There are currently eleven designated access points to the river by vehicle. Of these access points, 7 sites have amenities. The remaining 4 access sites have no amenities. In addition, there are 7 float camps designated on the river to provide overnight camping for river users, most of these are only accessible by boat.

Boating on the River: The river has been designated for both motorized and non-motorized use. The motorized users must adhere to a 25 horsepower limit.

Fishing: There are opportunities aplenty for small mouth bass and pan fish. Special regulations apply. Visit the Missouri Department of Conservation website for more information. Trout fishing starts at the confluence of the Greer spring branch and the river. This is the beginning of the blue ribbon trout section which extends about 6 miles to Turner Mill spring. More detailed information is available below under Fishing.

For Steam Flow and Flooding forecast.

A printable Brochure is available.
Barn Hollow Float Camp
Boze Mill Float Camp
Greenbriar Float Camp
Greer Crossing Recreation Area
Highway 142 River Access
Morgan Spring Float Camp
Riverton East River Access
Stinking Pond Float Camp
Thomasville River Access
Turner Mill North River Access
Turner Mill South River Access
Whites Creek Float Camp
Whitten River Access
Houston/Rolla/Cedar Creek Ranger District
The Houston/Rolla/Cedar Creek District covers about 207,000 acres in seven counties in south/central Missouri. The oak/hickory and pine forests intermixed with tallgrass prairie lands in the north provide opportunities for hunting, wildlife watching, wildflower viewing, hiking, dispersed camping and other uses.

The district is rich with rivers and streams: the beautiful bluffs of the Big Piney River, the Gasconade River and the Little Piney River in the south and central portions of the district and the Cedar Creek at the north end. Fishing and canoeing opportunities abound, including several river access points on the Big Piney and Gasconade Rivers. Smaller creeks such as Mill Creek and Spring Creek, supplied by springs, provide other fishing or water-based recreational opportunities, including trout fishing. Paddy Creek Wilderness with the 18-mile Big Piney Trail provides solitude for horseback riders and hikers. A total of over 80 miles of trails, including the Kaintuck, Cole Creek and Cedar Creek trails, provide multi-use trails open to mountain bikes, horses, overnight backpacking, and hikers and allow scenic views of rock outcrops and stream drainages. Other shorter trails provide hikes at the campgrounds. Four developed campgrounds provide picnic and camping sites, some with electric hook-ups. Other trailheads provide dispersed camping with ample parking for horse trailers and other users.
Big Piney River
This is a great, family-friendly river for those looking for a leisurely trip with beautiful scenery. The river is fed by numerous springs and is usually floatable year-round, unless it’s been particularly dry. You will be able to view limestone bluffs topped with pine trees.

The stretches between accesses are longer in this section for visitors looking for a nice, long trip down the river.

The Big Piney River offers 21 miles of water to enjoy floating, fishing and swimming. There are several river accesses on National Forest lands and others on the Missouri Department of Conservation.

The first Forest Service access on the river is 39 miles from where you can start floating the river, there are multiple accesses between the start and Slabtown.

As you travel downriver from Slabtown the river is narrow and shallower, with multiple riffles. After Ross Bridge the river begins to get wider and deeper.
Bookers Bend
Crossroads Access
East Gate
Slabtown Recreation Area
Dry Branch
Lane Spring Recreation Area
Lane Spring Recreation Area is situated along Little Piney Creek in a beautiful hardwood area. Its location and beautiful surroundings make it a popular destination for weddings, family reunions, fishing, camping, nature observation and hiking. While you have the peace, quiet and tranquility of a creekside campground, the audible noise of Highway 63 can sometimes be heard in the distance.

An accessible stone patio, shaded by trees, overlooks tranquil Lane Spring, a bubbling spring with watercress and native plant species. It is bordered by a variety of trees, including sycamore, cypress, oak and many others.

Little Piney Creek parallels the entire recreation area and is a Blue-Ribbon Wild Trout stream offering opportunities to reel in Rainbow Trout as well as Bass and Sunfish.

The 1.25-mile Blossom Rock Trail and the 1.5-mile Cedar Bluff Trail traverse through lush bottomland vegetation with abundant wildflowers, before climbing to views of the river and rock outcroppings. Birding and wildlife viewing is popular along the trails.

The recreation area offers a picnic area and individual picnic sites, as well as camping, including several waterfront campsites.

During the off season limited parking is available for day use by the gate.

A printable Guide with a map is available (pdf).
Mayfield Spring
Mill Creek Recreation Area
Poplar Bluff Ranger District
The Poplar Bluff Ranger District has 150,000 acres located at the southeastern edge of the Ozarks, where the forest starts to give way to the Mississippi River lowlands. Poplar Bluff District offers two developed recreation areas, hiking and riding trails, fishing from barrier-free piers, and boating. As well as many other hunting opportunities there are also two walk-in turkey hunting areas providing plenty of sport for the Spring season hunters seeking out that most elusive game bird.
Hendrickson Boat Launch
Markham Springs Recreation Area
Located adjacent to the Black River, the Markham Springs Recreation Area contains bubbly springs and a small 2-acre pond that dates back to the 1800s. The area is covered by a dense forest of colorful trees, including ash, elm, maple and poplar. Six springs pour almost 5 million gallons of water a day into the pond, from there the water eventually makes it's way to the Black River. The bubble spring, a smaller outlet of Markham Spring outside of the pond area, has air with it, rises in soft sand forming the unique “air bubbles”.

This area gets its name from former owner, M. J. Markham, who acquired the property in 1901 and operated a lumber mill at the site until the 1930s.

The Fuchs House, a five-bedroom concrete and native stone home, also sits on the property, along with a neighboring mill. The historic Fuchs house was restored by a group of craftsmen under permit from the National Forest.

In the late 1930’s, Rudolph Fuchs built a 5-bedroom concrete and native stone house for his family, and also built the present wheel house to produce electricity for his needs. Power was obtained by building a dam in a semi-circle below a large spring forming a small pond. The water was to pour through a chute on the wheel to produce electricity; however electricity arrived to the site before the wheel ever needed to do its job. The area had an undershot wheel providing power to a grist mill in the late 19th century.

River and stream fishing are popular activities near the campground. The Black River boasts bass, sunfish, walleye and catfish. Many anglers fish from boats, but others fish from the riverbanks. Canoeing and kayaking is also possible on the river.

Markham Springs Recreation Area provides opportunities for camping, hiking, and day use.

Various day hikes within the Markham Springs Trail System are accessible from the campground. Eagle Bluff Trail is a 1.5-mile loop along the river, where birding and wildlife viewing are favorite pastimes.

Markham Springs Campground is set on the Black River in a scenic and historic recreation area in the southwestern corner of Missouri's Mark Twain National Forest. The campground offers single and double sites for tent and RV camping. Some rather primitive sites are located in a wooded setting near the river. Electric hookups are provided, as well as tables and campfire rings with grills. Lantern posts are also available. Accessible vault toilets, drinking water, showers and trash collection are provided.

Primitive camping is also available in a wooded setting near the Black River.

The day use area has a 2-acre, 20 foot deep mill pond that dates back to the 1800s, several picnic sites, open fields; river access for boating, fishing and float tubes and canoes; and short hiking trails that provide views of the river, the pond, the springs and the uplands.
Potosi/Fredericktown Ranger District
The 201,582 acres of Potosi Ranger District offer many developed and undeveloped sites for camping and picnicking. Because of the karst topography prevalent in this area, caves with springs that feed the rivers and streams can often be seen. They are currently closed to all visitors to protect bats from contamination by white-nosed-syndrome. Courtois and Huzzah Creeks are well-known "floating" streams, typical of the Ozarks, and much-loved by canoeists who flock there in summertime for the crystal clear water and safe passage. A portion of the Ozark Trail traverses Potosi District, and the segment encompassing the Berryman Trail is popular for mountain biking events. The 9,183 acre Bell Mountain Wilderness has beautiful views and challenging trails in a secluded and primitive setting.

Council Bluff Recreation Area is the largest lake in the Mark Twain National Forest. Providing a more developed experience, it features a sandy swimming beach, drinking water, restrooms, and many barrier-free facilities on a beautiful 440 acre lake, encircled by a 12 mile moderate hiking and mountain biking trail. Boar Ridge Campground along the spine of a forested Ozark ridge above the lake, offers a unique camping experience.

The 83,953 acre Fredericktown District features the rugged St. Francois Mountains and St. Francis River. In Spring, the "shut-ins" at Silver Mine are a magnet for kayak enthusiasts, who take advantage of the high water rapids. Marble Creek provides a quiet campground for family outings, and Crane Lake welcomes hikers to take the trail around it as part of their trek along the Ozark Trail. Rockpile Mountain Wilderness offers 4,240 acres of heavily-forested land, including some of the state`s last remaining virgin forest nestled in a narrow gorge.
Marble Creek Recreation Area
Red Bluff Recreation Area
Red Bluff Campground is named for towering red bluffs along Huzzah Creek, carved by the elements over the past 10,000 years. The area used to be home to timber mills, but now provides a serene spot for camping and enjoying nature.

Early settlement of the area surrounded the Boyer Mill constructed around 1830. Railroads created a thriving timber industry till the supply was depleted. The land was purchased by the U.S. Forest Service in 1940 and has been used as a recreation area.

Large, red bluffs on the opposite side of Huzzah Creek, gravel bars along the creek, a mixture of pools and riffles and natural vegetation provide a backdrop for a very relaxing camping experience at the campground. Red Bluff is located in the Potosi-Fredericktown Ranger District of the Mark Twain National Forest. Most sites are within 100 yards of Huzzah Creek, where tubing and swimming are enjoyed by visitors. The water can be swift-moving at times and rocks and drop-offs are not marked. Fishing is also popular in the area and anglers can expect to find bass, perch and catfish.

The Red Bluff Trail lies within the boundaries of the campground. It is a 1.2-mile loop that winds through a pine plantation and big oak timber, into an adjoining hollow before returning to the campground. The short trail provides an opportunity for visitors to enjoy a variety of ecological communities, while reaping the benefits of a half-hour of hiking.
Silver Mines Recreation Area
Silver Mines offers a variety of recreational opportunities and is abundant with historic and geological wonders. This beautiful area is located along the St. Francis River, the only river in Missouri classified as "white water," and is used for kayaking during the spring high waters. People enjoy hiking and fishing along the river throughout the year.

Silver Mines is located at a historic mining operation and is known for its Precambrian granite and felsite rocks. Silver Mines Recreation Area is named for the abandoned “Einstein Mine”, which was mined for Silver, Tungsten and Lead. The Einstein Silver Mining Company began mining in 1877, and mining ceased completely in 1946.

Nearby visitors can visit other natural attractions in the area, including Elephant Rocks State Park and Johnsons Shut-ins State Park.

Millstream Gardens Conservation Area, located up-river from Silver Mines, is the put-in for those looking to experience the white water on the St. Francis river.

This is a large recreation area, and particularly busy during the spring. However, visitors who come during the fall months will be treated to spectacular fall color along the St. Francis River.

Site Map

A printable Recreation Area Map.
Salem Ranger District
The Salem district encompasses approximately 175,000 acres within the Salem Plateau of the Ozark Highlands. The district includes lands located within Crawford, Iron, Dent, Reynolds, and Shannon counties in the south-east central part of the state of Missouri. The Ozarks are characterized by deeply dissected hills, karst topography, horizontal bedrock, caves, sink holes, and natural springs. The ecosystem is rich in biological diversity and includes species that are found only in the Ozark Plateau. The main vegetation is upland oak-hickory and oak-pine forest, with bottomland hardwood forest in the floodplains of large rivers.
Sutton Bluff Recreation Area