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Home › Waters › Missouri › Bennett Spring
Spring creek · Ozarks · Missouri

Bennett Spring Fishing Guides

One of Missouri's four trout parks — roughly 100 million gallons a day out of the spring branch into the Niangua, with daily-tag trout fishing from March through October and catch-and-release in winter.

A small boat on flat water at first light against a wooded shore

Map of the Bennett Spring

26 numbered points: 2 access points, 5 campsites, 4 outfitters, 3 bridges, 1 park or conservation area, 3 agency offices, 3 regulation section limits, 2 hazards, 2 springs, 1 USGS gauge. Tap a marker for details. Reviewed Sep 7, 2026.

Printable version →
  • Access / boat ramp (2)
  • Campsite (5)
  • Outfitter / canoe rental (4)
  • Bridge crossing (3)
  • Park / conservation area (1)
  • Agency / conservation office (3)
  • Regulation section limit (3)
  • Dam / hazard (2)
  • Spring (2)
  • USGS gauge (1)
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Points are curated from OpenStreetMap and state agency sources; confirm access and hours before you go.

Print it. Bag it. Bring it.Phones die, screens crack, and most of this water has no signal. Print this map, fold it into a zip-top bag or dry bag with your license, and you have a backup your electronics can’t give you. Every marker is numbered so you can say exactly where you are.

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All 26 points on this map
#PointTypeLat, LonNotes
1Bennett Spring
Head of the branch · Bennett Spring State Park		Spring37.71657, -92.85675One of Missouri's largest springs, roughly 100 million gallons a day. The spring pool is the head of the 1.5-mile branch; the trout water starts here.
2USGS gauge · Bennett Spring
Spring flow gauge at the spring		USGS gauge37.71715, -92.85757Live flow for the branch. Coordinates from the GuidedFloats roster.
3Zone 1 · spring to the hatchery dam
Upper zone · starts at the spring pool outlet		Regulation section limit37.71817, -92.85805Zone 1 runs from the spring down to the hatchery dam. Zones are posted in the park; methods and limits are set by MDC and Missouri State Parks — check the park regulation page before you fish.
4Bennett Spring State Park
Missouri State Parks · Dallas & Laclede counties		Park / conservation area37.71687, -92.85233Missouri's most-visited trout park. Daily trout tag sold in the park during the March 1 – October 31 season; a winter catch-and-release season runs on select days.
5Bennett Spring Nature Center
Missouri State Parks · exhibits & park information		Agency / conservation office37.72184, -92.85536Interpretive center on the east bank below the spring. Trail maps, naturalist programs and the park's natural history.
6Low drop at the MO 64A bridge
Unnamed fall in OSM · just above the highway bridge		Dam / hazard37.72328, -92.85608A small drop mapped just upstream of the MO 64A bridge. Wade with care around the structure.
7MO 64A bridge
MO 64A · main park road		Bridge crossing37.72383, -92.85550Highway bridge below the nature center. The hatchery raceways sit just downstream on the east bank.
8Bennett Spring Fish Hatchery
Missouri Department of Conservation		Agency / conservation office37.72530, -92.85518MDC hatchery that raises and stocks the rainbow trout for the branch. Raceways are open to visitors; the hatchery dam marks the bottom of Zone 1.
9Hatchery dam
Concrete dam · BSSP 10 park road crosses on it		Dam / hazard37.72785, -92.85558The dam below the hatchery, with a low-water road crossing on the crest. Zone 1 ends and Zone 2 begins here. Do not wade the face of the dam.
10Zone 2 · hatchery dam to the Whistle Bridge
Middle zone · below the dam		Regulation section limit37.72819, -92.85654Zone 2 runs from the hatchery dam down to the Whistle Bridge, the footbridge below the park store. Marker set just below the dam.
11Bennett Spring State Park Office
Missouri State Parks		Agency / conservation office37.72607, -92.85771Park office in the central park area with the park store (daily tags, tackle) and the dining lodge nearby.
12Campground 3
Missouri State Parks · Bennett Spring State Park		Campsite37.72691, -92.85969
13Campground 2
Missouri State Parks · Bennett Spring State Park		Campsite37.72764, -92.86135
14Campground 4
Missouri State Parks · Bennett Spring State Park		Campsite37.72585, -92.86477
15Campground 5
Missouri State Parks · Bennett Spring State Park		Campsite37.72463, -92.86763Westernmost loop, farthest from the branch.
16Campground 1
Missouri State Parks · Bennett Spring State Park		Campsite37.73143, -92.85993Closest loop to the lower branch and the Niangua.
17Campground 1 road bridge
BSSP 1 park road · near the mouth		Bridge crossing37.73347, -92.86040Last road crossing of the branch before it meets the Niangua.
18Zone 3 · Whistle Bridge to the Niangua River
Lower zone · marker approximate		Regulation section limit37.73292, -92.85948Zone 3 runs from the Whistle Bridge down to the Niangua. The Whistle Bridge is not mapped in OSM, so this marker sits at the Campground 1 road bridge near the mouth; the zone begins upstream of here.
19Bennett Spring State Park Landing
Canoe landing · mouth of the spring branch		Access / boat ramp37.73374, -92.86132Park landing where the branch meets the Niangua River.
20Sand Spring
On the Niangua · just below the branch mouth		Spring37.73623, -92.86101Small spring on the Niangua beside Sand Spring Resort.
21Sand Spring Resort
Cabins, canoe rental · Niangua River		Outfitter / canoe rental37.73690, -92.86092Resort with its own launch on the Niangua at the branch mouth.
22MO 64 bridge over the Niangua
MO 64 · Niangua River		Bridge crossing37.73793, -92.86073Highway bridge on the Niangua just below the branch; the MDC access is under it.
23Hidden Valley Outfitters
Canoe, kayak & raft rental, camping · MO 64		Outfitter / canoe rental37.73937, -92.85916Outfitter on the Niangua beside the MO 64 bridge; its launch is on the river below the bridge.
24Bennett Spring Access
MDC · Niangua River at MO 64		Access / boat ramp37.74100, -92.86062MDC access on the Niangua just below the spring branch — the usual put-in for the Bennett Spring to Barclay float.
25Riverfront Campground & Canoe Rental
Camping, canoe rental · Niangua River		Outfitter / canoe rental37.73474, -92.87300Private campground and canoe rental on the Niangua west of the park.
26Fort Niangua River Resort
Cabins, camping, canoe rental · Niangua River		Outfitter / canoe rental37.73708, -92.89084Resort and outfitter about 1.5 miles down the Niangua from the branch.

Guides on the Bennett Spring

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About the Bennett Spring

Bennett Spring is one of the four Missouri trout parks and the busiest of them. The spring itself discharges on the order of a hundred million gallons a day into a mile-long spring branch that runs to the Niangua River in Dallas and Laclede counties. The branch holds a constant temperature in the high fifties year-round, which is what makes trout possible this far south, and the Missouri Department of Conservation hatchery at the park stocks it daily through the tagged season. It is not a wilderness fishery and does not pretend to be — it is a managed, social, generational one, and opening day on the first of March draws thousands of people shoulder to shoulder along the branch.

The fish are almost entirely rainbow trout, with a smaller number of brown trout that hold over and grow large in the deeper holes. The park is divided into zones: Zone 1 is flies only, Zone 2 allows flies and artificial lures, and Zone 3 permits bait, which shapes where different anglers concentrate. Scud, sowbug and midge imitations do most of the work for fly anglers, and small jigs and spinners cover the lure water. The winter catch-and-release season, running from the second Friday in November into the second Monday in February, is a completely different experience: flies and artificial lures only, no tags required, few people, and the best chance at the holdover browns.

Everything here is wading and bank fishing along a short, intensively managed run. Access is excellent, with parking, paths and improved banks the length of the branch, plus a campground, lodge and store in the state park. It is one of the easiest waters in the state to bring a beginner or a family to, and the crowding is the price of that.

The USGS gauge on the spring reports discharge from the spring itself. Because output is remarkably stable, the useful reading is whether recent rain has pushed the branch up and coloured it.

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By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

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Reader photo license v1.0 — the short version:

  • You grant Guided Floats, LLC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish, resize and crop your photo on guidedfloats.com and in GuidedFloats’ own social posts and apps. You keep the copyright and can use the photo anywhere else.
  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
  • Credit is printed beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, using the credit name you give us. Leave it blank and we use your name; write “Anonymous” for no name. Your email address is never published.
  • Withdrawing is one email to hello@guidedfloats.com naming the photo. It comes off the site within 7 days.
Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Flow alert

Tell me when the Bennett Spring cfs

Now: 95.6 cfs, read 6:00 am CST, Mon Nov 2, 2026 (USGS 06923500, Bennett Spring at Bennett Springs, MO).

We never use this address for anything else and never share it. See the privacy policy.

Access

Bennett Spring State Park main lot — parking at the spring head and the top of Zone 1.
Zone 1 flies-only reach — improved bank access from the spring down to the first bridge.
Zone 2 flies-and-lures reach — mid-branch access with parking along the park road.
Zone 3 bait-permitted reach — lower branch access nearest the Niangua confluence.
Park campground loops — walk-in bank access along the branch.
Niangua River confluence — access to the river below the branch for smallmouth in summer.
Bennett Spring hatchery area — viewing and access adjacent to the stocking operation.

Seasons

Spring: opening day is March 1 and the branch is crowded and heavily stocked through the spring.
Summer: daily tag fishing continues; fish early to beat both the heat and the crowds.
Fall: the tagged season runs through October 31 with the most comfortable weather of the year.
Winter: catch-and-release, flies and artificial lures only, from the second Friday in November — quiet water and the best shot at browns.

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Questions

What is the current flow on the Bennett Spring?

As of Nov 2, 6:00 am, the USGS gauge Bennett Spring at Bennett Springs, MO reads 96 cfs. Conditions update every 15 minutes.

What species can you catch on the Bennett Spring?

Anglers target Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout on the Bennett Spring in Missouri.

Where can you access the Bennett Spring?

Bennett Spring State Park main lot — parking at the spring head and the top of Zone 1. Zone 1 flies-only reach — improved bank access from the spring down to the first bridge. Zone 2 flies-and-lures reach — mid-branch access with parking along the park road. Zone 3 bait-permitted reach — lower branch access nearest the Niangua confluence. Park campground loops — walk-in bank access along the branch. Niangua River confluence — access to the river below the branch for smallmouth in summer. Bennett Spring hatchery area — viewing and access adjacent to the stocking operation.

When is the best time to fish the Bennett Spring?

Spring: opening day is March 1 and the branch is crowded and heavily stocked through the spring. Summer: daily tag fishing continues; fish early to beat both the heat and the crowds. Fall: the tagged season runs through October 31 with the most comfortable weather of the year. Winter: catch-and-release, flies and artificial lures only, from the second Friday in November — quiet water and the best shot at browns.

Where are the fishing regulations for the Bennett Spring?

Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Missouri agency site: https://mdc.mo.gov/fishing/regulations