My Favorite Ozark River Smallmouth Spot

[Blazerman]

I have decided to share one of my favorite smallmouth spots that I am not sure many people know about. You can find these spots on probably any Ozark smallmouth stream in summer but truthfully I have only tried it on a couple different rivers. But it has always worked and has been working for years. First let me say if you don’t like to fish with other people around forget this tactic. Because the key ingredient for these spots seems to be the people. The more the better. Because what I have discovered a long time ago is people on gravel beaches bring in fish. My guess is they are eating and drinking and playing which is leaving food in the water that bring in baitfish. Which in turn brings in the game fish.

I have caught two of my biggest smallmouth with people all around. I usually wait until late afternoon or evening and then start fishing using minnows for bait. But I have also done great in the middle of the day. One hook and a split shot is the only thing on my line.

What I normally look for is the deepest water close to the beach and start fishing there. I will start fishing off a gentle sloping bank once the depth gets to 3’-4’and move out some if there is deeper water. Most times once you find the fish you will find a bunch.

I discovered this tactic while camping at Meramec caverns a long time ago. I had my 3 kids and wife with me and we decided to try some fishing after swimming most of the day. We were fishing by the parking lots and it was late afternoon and using minnow traps I had caught a nice bunch of minnows. So we baited up 3 kids rods and preceded to catch probably 50-75 fish in less than 2 hours. Many people stopped to watch the action and many couldn’t believe it. I was so amazed I had to try it again the next day and the same thing happened. Since then I have tried this tactic on other beaches that draw crowds and the same thing has happened.

If you have ever seen Shady Beach on the Meramec on a warm Saturday afternoon in the summer time, you know how crazy it can get with people and boats everywhere. I usually wait to late afternoon and fish the Indian creek side and have had some of my best catches. There are always people around and they are always amazed when they see the fish I catch. For the record all my smallmouth are released. At Shady beach I have also caught walleye and catfish.

Next time you see a crowd on a beach try this and let me know how it goes.

The fish in the picture was one of my best ever and was caught with people all over on the Indian creek side of Shady beach, (which is in the background).

[Mitch f]

Dandy smallie Blazer!

[Al Agnew]

One of my favorite spots is under any rope swing. For whatever reason, I've caught a lot of good fish out from under where a rope swing is dangling over the river. I joke about it, but it actually often holds true...rope swings attract bass.

And for many years, there was a certain rock just above one of the most popular places to swim on Big River in St. Francois State Park that would produce a really big smallmouth for me just about every year. The rock is still there, but I haven't caught a big one off it for about ten years now. But it used to be money.

[Chief Grey Bear]

One of my favorite spots is under any rope swing. For whatever reason, I've caught a lot of good fish out from under where a rope swing is dangling over the river. I joke about it, but it actually often holds true...rope swings attract bass.

And catfish.

[Scott25.stl]

Wow. Very interesting! Wasn't excpecting that.

[Greasy B]

I have a freind who always told me about the fine fish be would catch among the partiers up near Cambell bridge. I guess the problem is not that the fish aren't catchable it's the people, or maybe more accurately my aversion to people.

[Mitch f]

One of my favorite spots is under any rope swing. For whatever reason, I've caught a lot of good fish out from under where a rope swing is dangling over the river. I joke about it, but it actually often holds true...rope swings attract bass.

And for many years, there was a certain rock just above one of the most popular places to swim on Big River in St. Francois State Park that would produce a really big smallmouth for me just about every year. The rock is still there, but I haven't caught a big one off it for about ten years now. But it used to be money.

I think the depth and lack of boulders create a transition area that allows a bass to hide next to it and rush out to ambush prey in an open area. Kind of like a mudline in the water from the confluence of a creek into the main river. I've always caught a fish or 2 on boat ramps too!

[Blazerman]

Greasy, I hear what you’re saying about not wanting to fish around crowds. It does take some getting use too. A lot of the time people look at you like you are crazy for wanting to fish. Until they start seeing the fish I catch. Then they start pointing and saying things like, look at that he has another one!

One time at the caverns I had to ask an overweight lady sitting in the water to move so I could stand where she was sitting to cast to a specific spot by a large underwater tree. She said you want to fish right here? Like I was nuts. So I pointed out the large tree with the deeper hole and told her the spot had held a bunch of smallmouth the weekend before and I thought it still would. So she said to her two kids “look guys this man says there are fish right over there”. I was standing in water about 2’ deep and casting to the hole that was about 4’. And preceded to catch about 10 bass in a row, all them between 13-16”. And then she couldn’t believe I was letting them all go.

[Smalliebigs]

Blazer,

I respect your knowledge of river fishing and jetting on the river, I really do but, I have to burst your bubble bud.You don't need a crowd of people on a sand bar to catch Smallies on live minnows on any river. Live minnows will pull bass right out of deep wood and rock anywhwere and they will more than likely swallow the hook unless you really know what you are doing. Two guys and a minnow trap and the gumption to keep could kill a section of river or creek real fast.......it is not very hard to catch smallies on minnows at all anywhere, I can only imagine some of the monsters I could have yanked up over the years if I used minnows. I wouldn't recomend it to someone who is not keeping the fish they are catching or at the very least using Octopus hooks and on that note I wouldn't recomend keeping smallmouth on rivers anyway but, each to there own.

[fishinSWMO]

You actually wanted some one to move their body out of the water, just to fish a certain spot?