Tips For Fishing An Ozarks Stream In The Fall

Many people don’t realize that fall is great time to go fishing and the Ozarks has some great places. Mary Scott with the Missouri Department of Conservation provides valuable tips to help you on your next fishing adventure.
To learn how to fish, sign up for an MDC Discover Nature Fishing class near you.
Learn more at your regional office or on our website at mdc.mo.gov
Well it’s fall and it’s beautiful out. A nice, crisp morning in the Ozarks and it’s my favorite time to fish.
Fishing is always good in the fall. The leaves are popping, the colors are looking beautiful and things are really happening.
Down in the Ozarks there’s lots of neat spots to go fish—little nooks and crannies and it doesn’t really take a lot of stuff. You just bring your ultralight, what you want to fish with, a little tackle box. Or you can look around the stream and find out the macro-invertebrates—what’s there--if there’s some crayfish there that you can put on your hook.
Another tip that you can take home with you is if you see a nice section of the stream that you want to fish in – don’t walk in the water – walk along the bank first—and then you find your ideal spot in the stream because fish can feel the vibrations and maybe you’ll be muddying up the water with your feet and you don’t want to do that. You’ll want these clear streams. Now fish can see you in a lot of these streams so be very quiet. And if you’re out here in the Ozarks, you may be the only one in fall.
I look for where there’s some riffles and then a deep pool, but I also want some habitat in the pool because I want a place to know where the fish are hiding. And this section right here along this cut bank looks like a good spot. So I’ll cast above it and then I’ll let my lure drift down a little bit and then I’ll crank it up in as it’s going down – I’ll let it set.
The Missouri Department of Conservation has a lot of resources available on our website or at our offices and we also have a fishing app to help you on your fishing adventures. We have brochures and maps and guidebooks that will also help you figure out where to go and what to fish with and if you catch a fish, what you caught.
We also have disabled angler accesses and equipment and that information can be found on our website. We have lots of great resources to get you started so go out and have a great fishing trip today.