Most anglers are unwilling to divulge information about their favorite fishing holes. Because the spot I’m happy to share is nearly seven miles long and has strict fishing regulations that protect my favorite targets, I welcome fishermen and anyone looking for fun on the water.
Several times over the past few years we have used Boiling Springs Campground (aka BSC Outdoors in Dixon, Mo.) as our base of operations for floating and fishing trips. Family-owned and operated by Larry Helms and his clan, the family-friendly campground on the banks of the Gasconade River delivers on summer fun.
Last year we floated from BSC to the new state Department of Conservation boat ramp at Jerome, Missouri. With 6.3 miles of Gasconade River between the put-in and take-out, we found ample angling opportunities on a famous Ozark stream.
Along with segments of the Big River in Jefferson County and the Meramec River in Crawford County, 20 miles of the Gasconade River have been included in special management areas that protect smallmouth bass since 1995. Anglers may only keep one smallmouth, and it must be at least 15 inches long.
The success of the special regulations experiment 30 years ago has led to additional locations adopting the rule for all or parts of 12 streams in the state, including the entire length of the Big River from Council Bluff Lake to the Meramec River at Eureka, and about 15 miles of the Joachim Creek from Highway V near Valles Mines to Highway A, west of Festus.
Also included in the expanded special management regulations is 45 miles of the Big Piney River from a place called Slabtown Access (that just sounds fishy) to its confluence with the Gasconade River. The last few miles of that stretch is where my newest favorite fishing spot story starts.
BSC has an access point at Shanghai Spring on the Big Piney River about five miles upstream from the Gasconade. Floating from there to the campground offers unique experiences to go along with the chance to catch some big fish. By floating and fishing both streams, it’s like taking two different trips on the same day.
In comparison to the Gasconade, the Big Piney is narrow. It has more rapids and a slightly steeper gradient, so it is conducive to fun floating speeds. The Gasconade spreads out wide between Ozarks bluffs. It’s current is slower but keeps the pace of the trip moving downstream. The two rivers have had a difficult summer so far as rain and storms out of Springfield often kept water levels too high for floating.
In simple terms I like to describe the difference between the two streams this way: If you float down the middle of the Big Piney you can cast to either riverbank looking for fish. When you reach the Gasconade, you have to choose to fish on the right side, the left, or in the middle.
Past trips on the Big Piney and Gasconade have produced both of my two personal best smallmouth bass. This summer I wasn’t able to match that success, but I did see my fishing partners boat some beauties. The other lure of river fishing comes in the variety of species that can be caught. Our group landed large and smallmouth bass, goggle-eye, crappie, bluegill, a big red ear sunfish, a gar, white bass, and a bruiser channel catfish that attacked a crankbait offering. In addition to the smallmouth bass regulation on the Big Piney, goggle-eye (also known as rock bass) have an eight-inch minimum length limit to improve that fishery.
BSC Outdoors’ namesake is an interesting spot on the Gasconade River. Located at the base of a towering bluff, Boiling Spring is below the river level most of the time, so its flow of nearly 42 million gallons per day bubbles to the surface like a cauldron of cold water. It is always busy with swimmers during the hot part of a summer day.
For information about camping or floating call 573-759-7294 or visit bscoutdoors.com.
John Winkelman has been writing about outdoors news and issues in Jefferson County for more than 30 years and was the Associate Editor for Outdoor Guide Magazine.
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