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LITTLE PINEY CREEK This is
a wonderful little creek, which is easily accessible from both Rolla and
Newburg, south of Interstate 44 almost exactly halfway between Springfield
and St. Louis. The majority of the creek jumps up from a series of at least 5
springs, the most notable of which is Lane Spring, the centerpiece of the
Lane Spring Recreation Area. Trout fishing continues for several miles
downstream from the springs, although the lower stretches do not generally
give up many trout during the summer months. Lane
Spring Recreation Area is a part of the Mark Twain National Forest and is
managed by the Forest Service. The Recreation Area is beautifully maintained
with a playground, hiking trails, a couple of nice shelters, numerous stationary
BBQ grills, and a number of campsites available. By the way, you can reserve
these campsites and shelters by checking out ReserveUSA,
which is the website through which you can make reservations for any and all
National Forest and National Park properties. To get to the Lane Spring
Recreation Area, take Highway 63 south from Rolla for about 10 miles, and
turn right at the big brown forest service sign. It costs $2 to park -- be
sure to pay it, or you will receive a sizable ticket in the mail.
Blue Ribbon Trout Area Only flies and artificial lures may be used, specifically excluding soft plastics. Daily limit is 1 trout at least 18" long. Don't take our word for it. Click here to read the code for yourself. This
portion of the creek has a ton of character. If you take Highway 63 south
from Rolla, you'll cross the creek in less than 20 minutes. The Blue Ribbon area begins
at the Phelps county line more than two miles south of the bridge near the
creek's headwaters, but the best populations of wild trout are found near and
downstream of the springs near Highway 63. In fact, there have been times when the
upper end of the Blue Ribbon area didn't actually have any water in it. There is
easy access to the creek below the bridge. Of course, there is also easy
access available at Lane Spring Recreation Area, if you don't mind competing
with swimmers during the summer. There is also access at Vida Slab and
Milldam Hollow, both of which can be popular with locals for bonfires,
beer-drinking, fireworks and swimming, but the locals are good-hearted folks
who are pleasant and easygoing.
While
the summer can be challenging, Autumn, Winter and Spring can be downright
exciting if you hit it right. A day or so after a good rain, when the water
is just a bit off-color and just a bit high, you can really tear them up on
little nymphs fished deep. When the water is low and clear, switch to little
dries. In fact, regardless of the
season, you'll probably want to fish little stuff -- nymphs size #16 or so,
dries #14 and smaller. The fish will aggressively hit larger dries, but
most of the fish are smaller, and so your hook-ups will be limited. Nymphing
in riffles is a good strategy using pheasant tails and hares ears, and little glo-bugs and glu-bugs
also work fine during spawning season (starting in January). This creek also
has some nice hatches, during which
blue-winged olives,
adams,
tan midges, and elk
hair caddis can work well on the surface, as
do cracklebacks and renegades on occasion. In August, small grasshoppers
cast along the banks can be dynamite. If nothing else is working, try black ants
around trees on breezy days. One
interesting and unusual thing about this creek is the brown drake hatch,
which typically happens in September (great big brown mayflies). While the hatch is not enormous and
doesn’t put the fish on a surface feeding frenzy, it does get them all
looking up. This
creek is really nothing terribly special, except that it is a textbook little
Missouri spring creek that happens to have a terrific wild trout population.
The previous paragraph is a good bit of flyfishing tips that will apply in
large part to nearly every little spring creek in the state.
White Ribbon Trout Area No bait restrictions. Daily limit is 4 trout, of which only 1 may be a brown trout 15" or longer.
Don't
take our word for it. Click here to read the code for yourself. The
White Ribbon area of this creek begins at Milldam Hollow and proceeds
downstream to the CR 7360 bridge. While this stretch of water is more than
three miles long, the Department of Conservation only stocks a stretch about
3/4 of a mile long. Take CR 7400 from Hwy T south of Newburg until the road
comes to a dirt road "T". The natural flow of the road would carry
you to the right, but turn off to the left instead. The road is a bit rough
and overgrown. You'll find a small parking area about a 1/2-mile down the
road right near the creek. The road continues on for another 100 yards or so
before terminating at private property. This is the section that is stocked. The fish
naturally work their way upstream from this area, and you'll find very few
trout downstream. Enter the creek and slowly work your way upstream.
Streamers, rubber trout worms, in-line spinners and such work well in the
deeper stretches. The riffles also hold good fish that can be taken on flies under
surface or by drifting bait under a bobber. Remember, these are 100% stocked fish,
so fly fishermen should seriously also consider using attractor patterns like glo-bugs, marabou
streamers, foam grasshoppers, and the such. Call (573) 468-3335 for more information You can
download a detailed conservation department map of Little Piney Creek, and
you can check the USGS water level changes in real-time, both by checking our
Even More page. Click
here for our Little Piney Creek
fishing report. After you visit, we hope
you'll come back to tell us how you did.
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