Little Piney

[Al Agnew]

Hey, I know it's a trout stream. In fact, the only time I floated the Little Piney, from Milldam Hollow down to the Gasconade, I caught some nice rainbows on the upper part of it. But, they were kinda overshadowed by the 19.5 inch smallmouth I caught a little farther down. A few more nice smallmouths were caught, as well. It's a stream that's on my short list to get back onto.

[Sharps4590]

From the county road bridge below Mill Dam the Little Piney is pretty well known as a smallie stream. Purty lil' crick, ain't it!

Vic

[2manyhobbys]

I fish the Little Piney fairly regularly since I live in Rolla. Mainly fish above the areas where they stock. Park at the low water bridge most often. I have some pictures on my website.

http://www.2manyhobbys.com

There are also pictures of the Robidoux too as I fished there a few weeks ago.

[elsah]

My buddie & I fished from Mildam up about a mile. We each caught one fish that put together wouldn't make a proper fish. We then went up to Vida Slab and walked up to Lane Spring. Nothing! I've never seen such a beautiful creek that was so stingy with fish. Has anyone had any luck recently? Is it any better above Lane?

[Gavin]

The Little Piney can be tough. I've fished about every inch of that creek and its usually a long way to go between spots that hold fish. The gravel miners & farmers (cattle & erosion) have done a lot of damage to that creek so its not unusual to have to travel a couple hundred yards or a mile between places with good habitat. Keep moving and find good habitat, you will find fish. Cheers.

[Tailwater]

Until the water gets any higher, the Little Piney will continue to be quite a tough creek/river to fish. I had lots of luck a few weeks ago fishing the riffles with small griffith's gnats, but caught only small, pretty wild rainbows. Buddy I fished with had luck on a small Prince nymph, but his biggest 'bow was 10 inches or so. We hiked from the 63 bridge all the way up past the campground and had SOLITUDE as we fished all the way back. The big boys are all hunkered down in the holes, and there's not enough flow with the water this low to even think about fishing in their areas. Beavers had been quite busy--I caught a few in small pools right above their dams.

[Sam Potter]

if you fish above Mill Dam, the wild trout in the little Piney can be difficult to catch IF you try to fish for them like you fish in a trout park, or Taneycommo, or even on the Current River or Meramec River. The trout in this stream a very spooky and they require a low profile and very slow movement. Fly lines slapping the water will send them to the banks or rocks for safety. If you have fished Mill Creek and had success there you can probably catch trout in the Little Piney. Remember, I am talking about wild trout, not the drab colorless stockers you will pick up around Mill Dam Hollow and below.

POINT TO REMEMBER, a lot of this little stream is on private property, and you need permission to fish it. I have know of property owners, with a shotgun in hand, meeting fishermen on the stream and asking them to leave. Make sure you stay on public land if you do not have permission to be on private property. Some of the landowners are very strict about allowing fishermen to be on their property.

It is a great little stream, and it is not fished a lot, but it can be difficult to catch anything of significant size. The average size has increased since the wild Trout regulation went into affect a few years ago.

"A bad day fishing is still a Great Day"

www.TightLine.Biz

[snagged in outlet 3]

Two years ago we pulled in to Lane Spring to check it out on the way back from Mountain Home. We walked the path to the creek and when we were sneaking up on it we saw 4 otters swimming up and down the creek. When they saw us they went to a downed log and hid behind it. In a small creek like that, 4 otters could desimate the trout population pretty quick. By the way, those were the first otters I had seen in MO since the reintroduction. They are big!

Snag.

[ColdWaterFshr]

Sam,

I know that that much of the private property that you are talking about is above the 63 bridge, but there shouldn't be any issues with fishing the creek from Lane down. As long as you're within the high-water mark, right, and not tromping through somebody's field or hopping over fences - correct me if I'm wrong.

[Sam Potter]

I'm just saying that the farmers don't always see the law as we do. To some of them, it is their farm, stream and all. Regardless if you are below the high water mark or not. Just don't be surprised if you are confronted some day by someone with a shotgun. I don't think they would be too upset if they know that you are only catching and releasing. Just don't take "their fish", leave gates open, pull down fences or leave trash. Most of these people will give you permission to fish if you ask, and if you assure them that you will not kill "their fish" or any of the other things I mentioned. They are proud of what they have and most of them are very friendly. However there are a few you need to be careful with.

My daddy always told me: "son just ask, the worst that can happen is that they tell you no"