The streams of Missouri's (and for that matter the northern portion of Arkansas) are blessed with the flow of cold springs. The water flows into rivers that would be much warmer, infusing 57 or 58 degree water. For some number of miles thereafter (depending on whether the stream receives reinforcement from additional springs), the streams are transformed into trout habitat oases. This provides anglers of the region, or to those whom visit, the opportunity for some great trout fishing. Primarily this fishing is for browns and rainbows.

The more famous streams are the Current River, North Fork of the White River, and the Eleven Point River. However, there are many more that offer solitude and plenty of fish. Streams like Little Piney Creek, Capps Creek, and many more offer plenty of this type of fishing. In fact, while none of these streams have native trout, some do have self sustaining wild trout populations. These rainbows are stunning in their coloration. While they rarely are over the 18 inch minimum length required on most of the areas with wild trout, just coming into contact with these fish is worth the experience and effort.

For the fly fisherman, the fly selection required is fairly modest. We will categorize the bare minimums to bring in the categories of dry flies and streamer/nymph flies. It is always true that any list made of flies will be open to question. In fact, there are more flies than these listed that can be useful in certain circumstances. These are the most critical ones based on our experiences in this region.

Dry Flies:

• Adams


• Parachute Adams


• Elk Hair Caddis


• Dave's Hopper


• Royal Wulff


• Griffith's Gnat


• Crackleback

Streamer Nymph Patterns:

• Woolly Buggers (Olive and Black)


• Copper John


• Hare's Ear Nymph


• Pheasant Tail Nymph


• Stone Fly Nymph (Black and Gold)


• Glow Bugs (Often called eggs patterns or glow balls. Also, we usually carry an assortment of peach, white, and rainbow glow balls)


• San Juan Worms

You will want to experiment with sizes and colors. Also, depending on conditions, you will vary presentations.Having said this, we catch at least 90% of our fish in the region on these basic flies. The streamers and nymphs can be used as bead head or non- bead head. We prefer the pheasant tail nymphs, the hare's ear nymphs, the copper johns, and the stone fly nymphs to be beaded. We prefer the glow balls not beaded so that we can float them near the surface or put some weight on if necessary. The crackleback is hard to find as it's regional in nature.