Hickory Creek White Ribbon Trout Area This page was updated 3/9/08
No bait restrictions. Daily limit
is 4 trout. Brown trout must be 15" or longer to keep, no size requirements for
rainbow trout. Catch-and-release between November 1 and March 1.
Hickory Creek is the newest of Missouri's managed trout areas, and it is a lovely
family-friendly area to visit. The vast majority of the trout holding section of the
creek runs through Neosho's notably large Morse Park. This is a great opportunity for
the town to add to its revenues, as the creek is already becoming a decent regional
tourist attraction. And Neosho is making the most of it, with an impressive park area
improvement project, landscaping, adding new playgrounds, picnic tables,
barbecues, RV hookups, etc. There are a number of river crossings, including at least one
very nice foot bridge, and fish are easily visible to observers from above, if they are
patient enough to spend a few moments. Be advised: what appears to be a new gravel road
running along a good portion of the creek is actually a hiking trail -- NO CARS ALLOWED!
(I learned this the hard way, I'm sad to admit).
The creek enters the town from the South and progresses North to join Shoal Creek just
outside of the city limits. The management area technically begins at the Highway 86
bridge. At that point, the stream is rather slight, but the flow from Neosho's "Big Spring"
enters a bit further downstream, adding enough volume to elevate it from babbling brook to
legitimate creek.
Hickory Creek has plenty of character, with a variety of fair sized riffles, nice deep
pools, and plenty of obstructions like downed trees and strategically placed boulders.
And while the creek will likely receive a good amount of fishing pressure, there is
plenty of room, so no one should feel crowded. It appears that the majority of Hickory
Creek fishermen are using spinning rods with in-line spinners, and we also met a few bait
fishermen reporting that minnows are the preferred method. These fishermen appear to be
right on the money. A quick survey of aquatic food sources found very little. We
sampled a dozen locations along the length of the creek and found a grand total of 10
scud, 2 small stoneflies, 1 sowbug, 1 small mayfly and 1 caddis. There is the potential
for a decent midge population, however, since they are often small enough to be missed
by bug seining nets. There is certainly a thriving minnow population, which is the
likely primary food source. Fly fishermen have reported that attractor patterns like
glo-bugs and Y2K's tend to be more productive than traditional flies, which seems to confirm
that the fish are not dedicated bug-eaters. Streamers will likely work well when
the water conditions are right, and ants and hoppers will probably work well in the
summertime, as well.
Finding the creek is easy. Find Neosho, and you'll find the creek. Neosho is south
of the Jopin/Carthage area and West of Springfield on Highway 60, about half an hour
West of Capps Creek.
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