Anybody Fish The Mineral Fork?

[kevthebassman]

So my brother and I went down to the Mineral fork last Sunday, it was kind of a rainy, cool day, but we stayed mostly dry. The fishing was less than stellar, however.

We started off at dawn at Washington State Park, fished about a hundred yards on either side of the parking lot, caught a couple dinky smallmouth and a goggle eye, all on weighted black wooly buggers. The water was fairly murky and we weren't having much luck so we moved on up the road to Kingston access.

At Kingston, the water was much clearer, but the fishing was no better. I caught a couple more dinks on a crawfish pattern fly. Saw lots of dinky fish, and only one that was probably a 18-20 incher that I fished right over and almost stepped on as he was hiding under a log.

I really want to like this stretch of river, but I've never had much luck fishing there, be it with fly or spin tackle. It's fairly close to home, and pretty easy to wade. Does anybody get down there often that can tell me what's up with that water? Maybe someone can chime in with a better place in that area or even closer to home where a guy can wade for smallmouth?

[Al Agnew]

Umm...if you were fishing at Washington State Park you were fishing Big River, not the Mineral Fork, which is why the water was murky. At Kingston you were fishing the Mineral Fork. The Fork runs into Big River about 1.5 miles below the main part of the park. The access at the bridge on Hwy. 21 with the big parking lot and boat ramp is about three miles upstream on Big River from the picnic ground along the river in the main part of the park that you drive into from Hwy. 21.

The Mineral Fork at Kingston gets quite a bit of fishing pressure. There is a good population of smallies there with a few bigger ones as you saw, but they are probably a little sophisticated. And as I've pointed out a couple of times in other threads, in my experience the fishing on smaller streams like the Mineral Fork gets tough in autumn. In reality, though, the Fork is probably as good as any other wading size stream close to St. Louis. The ones that might be better have access difficulties.

[kevthebassman]

Umm...if you were fishing at Washington State Park you were fishing Big River, not the Mineral Fork, which is why the water was murky. At Kingston you were fishing the Mineral Fork. The Fork runs into Big River about 1.5 miles below the main part of the park. The access at the bridge on Hwy. 21 with the big parking lot and boat ramp is about three miles upstream on Big River from the picnic ground along the river in the main part of the park that you drive into from Hwy. 21.

The Mineral Fork at Kingston gets quite a bit of fishing pressure. There is a good population of smallies there with a few bigger ones as you saw, but they are probably a little sophisticated. And as I've pointed out a couple of times in other threads, in my experience the fishing on smaller streams like the Mineral Fork gets tough in autumn. In reality, though, the Fork is probably as good as any other wading size stream close to St. Louis. The ones that might be better have access difficulties.

By God Al you're right. You made me go actually look at a map of the place. I didn't visit the boat ramp, but I was on the Big River for half my day. From looking at it driving over the bridge at 21 I'd have thought it would have been, well, a little bigger.

I need to find myself a little honey hole somewhere. Some fellow on another forum was supposed to send me Chuck Tryon's 200 smallmouth adventures book, but it never materialized. I can never seem to find it at the library. I hear there are some good places in there, but lots of the access information is getting out-of-date.

[Gavin]

Kev, you can get Chuck's Book by joining Missouri Smallmouth Alliance. Chuck gave them the rights to the book before he passed away last year..

http://www.missourismallmouthalliance.org/MSA/Welcome.html

T. Hargrove Fly Fishing in Brentwood has them occassionally too...but they sell quickly.

The MF is very popular and the fish are well educated..Its usually better early in the year, and its best to float it or fish at night in the heat of the summer. Hwy F to 47 for a long float...or 47 down to Mammoth on the Big for a short one..Plus their is a canoe rental in Washington State Park if you want to float the Big in that are. A client of mine owns Cherokee Landing, and they offer a couple floats on the Big... A short one from St. Francious(sp) State Park down to their place, or a long one from their place down to Blackwell. Have fun.

[3wt]

Try the 47 bridge area. Close drive from kinston and significantly better water for fishing I think.

[LarrySTL]

“you can get Chuck's Book by joining Missouri Smallmouth Alliance.”

Yes you can. I joined recently and got my copy of the book in today's mail. $25 total for membership and the book combined.

[kevthebassman]

“you can get Chuck's Book by joining Missouri Smallmouth Alliance.”

Yes you can. I joined recently and got my copy of the book in today's mail. $25 total for membership and the book combined.

Now that's a deal. I'll be signing up for that.

[aftersh0ck]

Its been the 90s since I fished it and remembered some azzhats on 4 wheelers flying around in and across the creek.

Then like a year later someone was talking about having them banned because it messed with the spawning

of the smallies.

Anyone know if that ever went through or they still tearing up the stream?

[Al Agnew]

The area around Hwy. 47 used to be a major dirt bike and ATV racetrack. Lots of "waste" land where there were old tiff diggings that made for good off road "fun", and it bled over into the creek a lot. I don't think it's as much of a problem any more. One of the good things about the Kingston Ranch people, who bought up a whole lot of land in that area, is that they police their stretch of the creek to some extent. The stretch between 47 and the Kingston Access was badly affected by gravel dredging a couple decades ago, and is just starting to heal. The upper creek above 47 has the opposite problem...it has filled in a lot with gravel due to poor land use practices in the watershed, and there aren't many deep pools. Spotted bass invaded the lower three or four miles years ago and the smallie fishing down there declined, but hopefully the rest of the creek is just too fast and clear for good spotted bass habitat. The whole creek gets a lot of local use, especially from homes, cabins, and small private campgrounds along the creek.

That's about the size of it for the problems on the Mineral Fork.

[joeD]

It is counterintuitive, but I believe the Mineral was better when Pat and Rivermont and that circus of a campground were in full bloom, with all of Jefferson County's finest availing themselves of the river, than now, with Kohner Properties buying out everything and restricting access to the river. One would think restricting easy and public access to a gem of a stream would have a positive fishing effect on the river. But it didn't.

Why?

My theory is that the Mineral Fork appeared on the radar (social networking definitely played a part) of many anglers who, up until recently, were unaware of its awesomeness. This happened just as Kohner began buying everyone and thing out.Among smallmouth anglers, the small creek then became known, popular, and then more pressured. Coupled with the catch and keep practices of certain, shall we say, less scrupulous fishermen, the Mineral began its gradual descent.

We may have loved it to death.