Capps Creek is actually a very nice place to take the family. When traveling West
on Highway 60 from Springfield, after traveling through Monett, watch for the Highway 97
intersection. A few miles past that intersection turn left on either County Road 1010
(Look for the Jolly Mill sign) or Wallaby Road and work your way down to the creek.
Downstream from CR 1010 or upstream from Wallaby road, you'll find the old Jolly Mill.
The Mill area has been renovated into a park setting, the lawns are manicured, and it is
a wonderful spot for picnicking. The mill dam creates a man-made waterfall and a pretty
set of riffles. Upstream from the mill a half mile or so, you'll find the springs. On top
of these nice diversions, the fishing is actually pretty good -- perhaps the best among
the Missouri White Ribbon areas. Aside from the mill area
shortly after stocking, there isn't usually a great deal of fishing pressure. A good amount
of the fishing access requires a bit of walking, so even if it is crowded, you can find some
solitude by stretching your legs. In fact, you should find yourself casting to good-sized
wild-living resident fish.
While the management area technically extends about 4 miles upstream from the creek's
confluence with Shoal Creek, the best trout waters are generally downstream from the
springs. At times, though, you'll find good fishing upstream from the springs as well.
The fish stocked further downstream are blocked by the dam, so there are also times you'll
find migrating fish stacked up just below or just above the dam, depending on which
direction they're moving. The pool under the bridge just below the mill is a
popular spot with bait fishers, but various flies and lures also work well here. Fly
and lure fisherman often have good luck farther downstream out of sight of the bridge or
upstream of the mill pool. Pheasant tail and hare's ear nymphs are good producers further
away from the mill where you're casting to fish who have learned to feed naturally. The
closer to the parking lot you fish, the more you'll find that the fish prefer attractor
patterns -- cracklebacks, wooly buggers, glo-bugs, etc. Spinners and small spoons are
proven successful all along the creek as well.
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Call (417) 895-6880 for more information
You can download a detailed conservation department map of the Capps Creek Conservation
Area from our Maps page, and you can check the USGS water
level changes in real-time through our Water Levels page.
Click here to see a recent Capps Creek fishing report.
After you fish Capps Creek, we hope you'll also come back to
submit a fishing report of your own.
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