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Mill Creek Artificial lures and flies only -- soft plastics are
specifically forbidden. Daily limit is one trout 18" or longer in
length. All other fish must be immediately released unharmed. Don't
take our word for it. Click here to read the code for yourself. Mill
Creek flows north through the Mark Twain National Forest South of Interstate
44 between Fort Leonard Wood and Rolla. It's a lovely little creek with a
very nice population of wild rainbow trout. Of course, most of the fish
you'll catch will be in the 6-8" size category, but the stream regularly
serves up 14" fish with the rare two-footer being reported on occasion.
The Mill Creek giant fish reports are usually met with some skepticism,
however, not only because the stream seems so small, but also because most
trout fishermen tend to forget to take their camera
on those trips when those giant fish bite! Coincidence? Of course! Trout
fishermen would NEVER stretch the truth, would they? The only
real trick to catching fish on this creek is finding them! Most of the creek
is slight, but some areas open up into very nice pools and riffles. When you
find the fish, you'll find hungry opportunistic feeders who readily take
nymphs and dry flies of various sizes and patterns. You might even be shocked
to learn that some fishermen report tearing them up on great big dries like a
size 12 Royal Wulff, Irresistible or Humpy. And, this can be quite entertaining
at times. Often smaller fish will hit these larger flies so aggressively that
they'll pop straight up in the air. For a lot of reasons, the fishing here can be a
wonderful experience. But… This isn't Bennett Spring, folks. The back-casting room in the fish-holding sections is usually tight, and the fish can be quite spooky at times. But, if you can read the water, make a stealthy approach and a decent cast in fairly tight quarters, you will catch fish. Fly selection is arguably the least important factor on this stream. You'll need a long leader and a short rod (which by itself can be maddening), a general collection of decent flies, and perhaps your nerve pills. To find
Mill Creek, you first have get onto Interstate 44 near Rolla -- about halfway
between St. Louis and Springfield. Just a few miles West of Rolla, you'll
take the Doolittle/Newburg exit and head South. You'll head through Doolittle
and downhill into Newburg on Highway T. Follow T through town and across
Little Piney Creek. Turn right on Highway P and follow it for a few miles.
Watch closely for the US Forest Service sign telling you to turn left to the
Mill Creek Recreation Area -- that's County Road 7550. This road will take
you to an area that used to be a campground but is now only a picnic area
with no camping permitted (vandals and keg parties caused this change in
regulation). There is decent fishing in this area, with the trout population
increasing in numbers as you head upstream. If you
would rather head straight to the springs, DO NOT turn left on CR 7550. Stay
on P, turning left on Highway AA instead. However, you can also reach AA from
the picnic area by simply continuing straight on past the picnic area on CR
7550 until you see the stop sign. Then turn left on AA. Just before heading
up a hill, turn left at the Pitts Pond sign. Cross the slab bridge and turn
left to park. You'll see a large pond, of course, which is fed by Wilkins
Spring. Yelton Spring is upstream of you. The
fishing begins at Yelton Spring and extends all the way down to Little Piney
Creek, but the best water is below Wilkins Spring, which dumps around 3
million gallons of water per day into the creek. Fishing upstream of the
bridge is only possible during the wetter seasons, as Yelton Spring does not
have a consistent flow and dries up at times. Most who fish Mill Creek
frequently will start at the picnic area and work their way toward the springs,
rather than the other way around. In all cases, be
mindful of private property signs. While the state of Missouri states that
waterways are public property, please be respectful of property owners'
rights and wishes.
Call (573) 468-3335 for more information You can
check the USGS water level changes in real-time by checking our
Water Levels page
and selecting Little Piney Creek. We do not have a recent
Mill Creek fishing report
on file. After you visit, we hope you'll come back to
tell us how you did. |
