Trout or smallmouth bass? Have you ever asked yourself that question while deciding which stream to fish. I know this is a trout fishing site but, the smallmouth bass (brown bass) is pound for pound one of the fiercest sport fish where I live in the Ozarks of Missouri, and we have streams full of trout and streams full of native bass.
Well, the truth is you don’t have to decide. You can find them both in many Ozarks rivers. One of the best fly fishing rivers for trout or small mouth is the Niangua, near Lebanon, Missouri. The entire length of the Niangua is known for smallies, but the portion of the river from Bennett Spring to Barclay Conservation Area is stocked with rainbows and brownies and provides some of the most enjoyable dual species fly fishing in the Ozarks.
A few years ago, my brother and I floated the six miles of river below Bennett Spring. As soon as we put in, at the state park access, the fish started biting. I made my first cast in the pool where the spring branch flows into the Niangua and hooked what I imagined was a rainbow, but as soon as the fish jumped, it was clear I was fighting a nice smallmouth bass.
All day long, we caught smallies and rainbows. It was really about half and half, and we lost count of how many. We caught a lot of fish in the runs along the islands just downstream from the Bennett Spring access. This area probably gets fished a lot, but there are still a lot of them in there, due to escapees from the trout park and the influx of fish from downstream who might be coming upstream for the cool spring water. I caught the only brown trout of the day less than a mile below our put in. He was hiding beneath a downed tree beside a swift run. That fish was actually my first brown.
My brother and I took turns steering the canoe and fishing. One of us would sit in the back of the boat to steer and play the role of guide, while the other sat in the front and did the majority of the fishing. This worked well, especially in those swift runs where someone needed to control the canoe. It seemed like every run held a trout or a bass. They were down deep along seams in the current, or beneath logs, or behind rocks.
The Niangua is a nice, easy float. Canoe rental businesses along the river work to keep it free of obstructions, and landowners tend to take good care of their frontage and keep livestock out of the stream. The only big drawback about the Niangua is the crowds of rowdy floaters it draws on summer weekends. I only fish it on weekdays or during the off season. Though fish can be caught during busy days, you’re more likely to hook a drunk floater.
So, if you can’t make up your mind, and you’d like to catch a lot of smallmouth and trout, grab your rod and head for the Niangua River.