Big Spring Fishing Guides
One of the largest springs in the United States, pouring a river's worth of cold blue water out of a bluff and running a short branch to the Current River below Van Buren.
Guides on the Big Spring
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About the Big Spring
Big Spring is difficult to describe without sounding like exaggeration. It discharges on the order of a quarter of a billion gallons a day, which makes it one of the largest single-outlet springs in the country and, on a good day, larger than many named rivers. The water boils up at the base of a dolomite bluff, blue-green and startlingly cold, and runs a short, powerful branch of less than a mile before delivering all of it into the Current River.
The spring is the centerpiece of a unit of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, the first national park area in the country established to protect a river system. That status matters for anglers because it locks in public access and keeps the corridor undeveloped. The old stone and timber buildings around the spring were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s and the setting has not changed much since.
The spring branch itself runs at a nearly constant temperature in the mid fifties year round, which is why it holds trout in a part of Missouri that otherwise could not. Rainbow trout are stocked and hold in the branch and in the Current River for some distance below the confluence, where the cold plume keeps the main river cool through the summer. That cold slug is what makes the lower Current fish well in August.
Below the confluence the character changes fast. The Current is a classic Ozark float stream of gravel bars, bluff pools and clear water, and it holds a strong smallmouth population along with Ozark bass, shadow bass and longear sunfish. Many anglers fish the branch for trout in the morning and drop into the river for smallmouth the same afternoon.
Access is straightforward and well developed, which is unusual for water this good. There is a park road to the spring, a campground, a boat landing on the Current and float outfitters in Van Buren. The branch is short enough to fish on foot end to end, and the river below is best covered by canoe or johnboat. Summer weekends are busy; weekdays and shoulder seasons are not.
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Access
Big Spring - the spring itself, with park road access, trails and viewing area.
Ozark National Scenic Riverways - the national park unit protecting the spring and the river corridor.
Van Buren - the nearest town with services, outfitters and lodging, just upstream.
Current River - the river the spring branch enters and the main float water.
Big Spring Campground - the park campground at the spring.
Highway 103 - the park road reaching the spring from Van Buren.
Peck Ranch Conservation Area - the large public conservation holding in the surrounding hills.
Seasons
Spring: high water on the Current and cold steady flow out of the spring branch.
Summer: the cold spring plume keeps the river below fishable when everything else warms.
Fall: clear low water, strong smallmouth fishing and the most comfortable conditions.
Winter: cold and quiet, with the spring branch running at its usual constant temperature.
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Questions
What is the current flow on the Big Spring?
As of Sep 17, 5:45 am, the USGS gauge Big Spring near Van Buren, MO reads 335 cfs. Conditions update every 15 minutes.
What species can you catch on the Big Spring?
Anglers target Channel Catfish, Longear Sunfish, Ozark Bass, Rainbow Trout, Shadow Bass, Smallmouth Bass on the Big Spring in Missouri.
Where can you access the Big Spring?
Big Spring - the spring itself, with park road access, trails and viewing area. Ozark National Scenic Riverways - the national park unit protecting the spring and the river corridor. Van Buren - the nearest town with services, outfitters and lodging, just upstream. Current River - the river the spring branch enters and the main float water. Big Spring Campground - the park campground at the spring. Highway 103 - the park road reaching the spring from Van Buren. Peck Ranch Conservation Area - the large public conservation holding in the surrounding hills.
When is the best time to fish the Big Spring?
Spring: high water on the Current and cold steady flow out of the spring branch. Summer: the cold spring plume keeps the river below fishable when everything else warms. Fall: clear low water, strong smallmouth fishing and the most comfortable conditions. Winter: cold and quiet, with the spring branch running at its usual constant temperature.
Where are the fishing regulations for the Big Spring?
Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Missouri agency site: https://mdc.mo.gov/fishing/regulations