Jacks Fork Fishing Guides and Conditions, Missouri

About the Jacks Fork

The Jacks Fork is the Current River’s wilder sister, protected along with it in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. It runs east from near Mountain View through Eminence to meet the Current at Two Rivers, and in spring the upper river from Buck Hollow through Blue Spring and Bay Creek is one of the most beautiful floats in the Ozarks: tight bluffs, deep green pools, and almost no development.

It is a smallmouth river first. The upper Jacks Fork above Alley Spring is small and depends on rain; it floats well from March into early June in a normal year and gets too low for anything but wading by midsummer. Alley Spring, which adds more than 80 million gallons a day, stabilizes the lower river from Alley down through Eminence to Two Rivers, and that reach floats all summer. Goggle-eye, largemouth, and a few walleye near the mouth round out the catch, and a stray rainbow shows up now and then below Alley Spring.

The Eminence gauge sits below Alley Spring. Around 150 to 400 cfs at Eminence is a good float on the lower river; the upper river needs the gauge closer to 300 or higher to float cleanly from Buck Hollow. Above 1,000 the Jacks Fork is high and fast in the bluff canyon and the National Park Service will sometimes close it.

Eminence is the hub, with outfitters, cabins, and NPS campgrounds at Alley Spring and Two Rivers. Because the upper river is rain-dependent, the smart move for a spring trip is to book a guide with a flexible date and let the Eminence gauge pick the reach: high water means Buck Hollow, normal water means Bay Creek or Alley, and low water means wading the pools near the spring.

Access

Buck Hollow (Highway 17): NPS access at the top of the spring float, upper river.
Blue Spring and Bay Creek: NPS gravel bar accesses in the canyon reach.
Alley Spring: NPS access, campground, and mill; the top of the reliable summer float.
Eminence (Highway 19): town access and ramp near the gauge.
Two Rivers: NPS access and campground at the confluence with the Current.

Seasons

March through May: the upper river floats and fishes best, wildflowers on the bluffs, cool water.
June: transitional; upper river dropping, lower river still strong from Alley Spring.
July and August: lower river only, warm and busy at Alley and Eminence on weekends, early launches recommended.
September through November: low and clear, wading the pools around Alley Spring, big fall smallmouth.