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Home › Waters › Missouri › East Fork Black River below Taum Sauk Reservoir
Tailwater · Reynolds County, the East Fork Black River below the lower Taum Sauk reservoir in the St. Francois Mountains of the Missouri Ozarks · Missouri

East Fork Black River below Taum Sauk Reservoir Fishing Guides

The East Fork below the lower Taum Sauk reservoir, running over the pink granite shut-ins with the fullest instrument package on any Ozark tailwater.

A small boat on flat water at first light against a wooded shore
Gauge location. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Guides on the East Fork Black River below Taum Sauk Reservoir

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About the East Fork Black River below Taum Sauk Reservoir

The East Fork of the Black River runs below the lower Taum Sauk reservoir in Reynolds County, through the St. Francois Mountains, the oldest exposed rock in the Ozarks. This is the country of the shut-ins, where the river has cut narrow channels and potholes through hard pink rhyolite and granite rather than the limestone that characterises most of the region, and the result is a river that looks and behaves quite unlike its neighbours: clear, rocky, fast through the constrictions and pooled between them.

The reach below the lower reservoir is a tailwater shaped by the Taum Sauk pumped-storage operation, which moves water up to an upper reservoir on the mountain and releases it back down to generate at peak demand. The gauge reports an unusually full picture, carrying temperature, discharge, stage, specific conductance, dissolved oxygen and pH. That instrumentation is a legacy of the close monitoring that followed the failure of the upper reservoir in 2005, which scoured the valley and reshaped a stretch of the river. Checking discharge before wading here is not optional, because a generation release changes the river quickly.

Smallmouth bass are the principal fish and they suit the water perfectly, holding in the pockets behind boulders, at the heads and tails of the pools and along the granite ledges. They are not large on average but they are numerous and strong in fast clear water. Rock bass, Ozark bass and the closely related shadow bass are abundant and willing. Longear sunfish in spawning colour are among the most striking fish in the Ozarks. A cold-water trout component exists in parts of the system where releases keep temperatures down. Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park provides the best public access and is a destination in its own right, though it is busy in summer.

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Posting to East Fork Black River below Taum Sauk Reservoir.

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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 East Fork Black River below Taum Sauk Reservoir cfs

Now: 6.8 cfs, read 5:00 pm CDT, Sun Oct 18, 2026 (USGS 07061290, E. Fk. Black R. bl Lower Taum Sauk Reservoir).

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

Access

Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park - the main public access on the river, with camping, trails and the shut-ins themselves.
Lesterville - the nearest town downstream, with fuel, food, lodging and outfitters.
Black River - the main stem below the confluence, offering float fishing for smallmouth.
Taum Sauk Mountain State Park - the high country above, with trails and the state's highest point.
Elephant Rocks State Park - north near Graniteville, a short and worthwhile side trip.
Ironton - northwest, with groceries, fuel and further services.
Clearwater Lake - south, a substantial reservoir offering a different fishery nearby.

Seasons

Spring: high and cold with runoff and releases, fishing well between events as the water warms and settles.
Summer: the main season for smallmouth, clear and wadeable between generation releases, though the park is busy.
Fall: the best of the year, with settled flows, clearing water, hard-feeding smallmouth and the crowds gone.
Winter: cold and quiet, with fish deep in the pools and only the milder settled days worth the effort.

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Questions

What is the current flow on the East Fork Black River below Taum Sauk Reservoir?

As of Oct 18, 5:00 pm, the USGS gauge E. Fk. Black R. bl Lower Taum Sauk Reservoir reads 7 cfs, with water temperature 70 F. Conditions update every 15 minutes.

What species can you catch on the East Fork Black River below Taum Sauk Reservoir?

Anglers target Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Creek Chub, Largemouth Bass, Longear Sunfish, Ozark Bass, Rainbow Trout, Rock Bass, Shadow Bass, Smallmouth Bass, White Sucker on the East Fork Black River below Taum Sauk Reservoir in Missouri.

Where can you access the East Fork Black River below Taum Sauk Reservoir?

Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park - the main public access on the river, with camping, trails and the shut-ins themselves. Lesterville - the nearest town downstream, with fuel, food, lodging and outfitters. Black River - the main stem below the confluence, offering float fishing for smallmouth. Taum Sauk Mountain State Park - the high country above, with trails and the state's highest point. Elephant Rocks State Park - north near Graniteville, a short and worthwhile side trip. Ironton - northwest, with groceries, fuel and further services. Clearwater Lake - south, a substantial reservoir offering...

When is the best time to fish the East Fork Black River below Taum Sauk Reservoir?

Spring: high and cold with runoff and releases, fishing well between events as the water warms and settles. Summer: the main season for smallmouth, clear and wadeable between generation releases, though the park is busy. Fall: the best of the year, with settled flows, clearing water, hard-feeding smallmouth and the crowds gone. Winter: cold and quiet, with fish deep in the pools and only the milder settled days worth the effort.

Where are the fishing regulations for the East Fork Black River below Taum Sauk Reservoir?

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