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BLUE RIBBON TROUT WATERS Daily limit is 1 trout at least 18" long. Artificial Don't
take our word for it. Click here to read the code for yourself. The Blue Ribbon
trout waters include: If you
are one of those few proud hardcore fly-fishermen, then this page is for
you. Missouri’s Blue Ribbon Trout Waters are among the most challenging
trout waters you will encounter anywhere in the world. All of the Blue Ribbon waters
(yes, even the Current River) have a naturally reproducing
rainbow trout population, and the strict regulations are designed to protect that
population while allowing for a true trophy to be harvested. What is a “good fly”, you ask? Well, the general rules are fairly simple. Make the flies generic enough to represent a variety of natural insects -- Adams, Pheasant Tails, Hares Ears, etc. Also, you should keep the majority of your flies to a size #14 or smaller. The exceptions are streamers and dries, which are sometimes productive in jumbo sizes. In general, wild trout are not terribly picky regarding what they eat, as long as the other pieces of the puzzle are in place.
Check out the other types of Missouri trout waters Barren Fork Creek is thought by many to be the most
difficult stream in Missouri to fish.
If you have a good day there, you have achieved something worth
bragging about. Barren Fork is an indirect tributary
of the Current River, so if you’re down for a
long weekend, it makes a perfect diversion. Blue Springs Creek is the closest trout water to
St. Louis. From downtown, it’s only a
bit more than an hour away, just South of Bourbon. Access to the river is good, and fishing’s not bad either. It’s a tributary of the Meramec River, so it can also be a good diversion
for fishermen heading in that direction.
Crane Creek is a bit more than a half-hour
Southwest of Springfield, and it is what a wild trout creek should be. One of only a few remaining homes to the
McCloud River rainbow trout. This
unbelievably beautiful fish is Missouri’s back-up plan, should some mishap destroy
our hatchery brood. Crane Creek is
strictly protected, because these fish will be used to rebuild that hatchery
system, if need be. The
Current River, the
Eleven Point River, and the North Fork of the White River
will be discussed together, as well, because they are all big rivers in the South-Central
part of the state, and they tend to draw the same type of crowd. These rivers are stocked
in various locations, all provide outstanding habitat for growing some very big fish,
and all have areas remote enough that the fish are now reproducing naturally.
What a great weekend getaway it is, renting a canoe for a couple of days of leisurely
floating, fishing and camping. It doesn’t get any better.
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