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Shoal Creek is a public river in Newton County and Barry County, Missouri, managed by State of Missouri (public / navigable water). You can fish it on a Missouri fishing permit; bank access is at road crossings, parks, MDC river accesses, the Mark Twain National Forest and the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, and riparian owners control the bank on non-navigable reaches. A trout permit is required to fish for or keep trout at the trout parks, Lake Taneycomo and the Ribbon areas. Public access confirmed via public-trust river.
An Ozark smallmouth stream (the upper Gasconade, Big Piney, the Meramec headwaters, Big Sugar and Elk River, the upper Osage Fork, Bryant Creek) — clear, gravel-and-bluff water with wild smallmouth bass ('brown bass'), spotted and largemouth bass, rock bass ('goggle-eye'), and longear sunfish. Missouri has designated Smallmouth Bass Special Management Areas on many.
It runs roughly 53 miles through the Southwest region. Anglers here mostly fish for smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, spotted bass, rock bass; longear sunfish, green sunfish, channel catfish, flathead catfish are also on record. Live flow and gauge height come from the Shoal Creek above Joplin, MO USGS station shown below. The nearest other mapped waters on PiscaMaps are Shoal Creek and Dry Branch.
Species from PiscaMaps water-type profiles, MDC trout designations and hand research.
Night fishing: No statewide night-fishing closure in Missouri. The trout parks are day-only (30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset in season); many MDC-area lakes gate at night or post hours, and some conservation areas are day-use only. Trotlines, throwlines, limb lines, bank lines and jug lines are legal on most waters (not trout water, not the trout parks) with the gear tagged, and gigging and snagging have their own seasons.
Boats: The Ozark float streams (Current, Jacks Fork, Eleven Point, Meramec, Niangua, Gasconade, Big Piney) are canoe, kayak and jon-boat water; the Missouri and Mississippi take full-size boats. Lake Taneycomo and the trout parks are wade and drift-boat fishing — watch the Table Rock generation schedule on Taneycomo.
Bank & bivvy camping: You may fish and float any navigable Missouri river on a fishing permit. Bank access is at MDC river accesses, state parks, the Mark Twain National Forest, the Ozark National Scenic Riverways (Current and Jacks Fork gravel bars) and bridge crossings; riparian owners control the bank on non-navigable reaches. A trout permit is required to fish for or keep trout at the trout parks, Lake Taneycomo and the Ribbon areas.
Tackle: Statewide black-bass daily limit is 6 (12-inch minimum on most impoundments; 15-inch on Table Rock, Bull Shoals, Norfork and many Ozark streams; a protected slot on the Smallmouth Bass Special Management Areas). Crappie 15-30 depending on the lake; walleye 4 (15-inch); white bass 15; catfish limits vary; paddlefish snagging is 2 per day with a 34-inch body-length minimum on most waters. Trout limits and tackle rules depend on the area (trout park, Blue/Red/White Ribbon, Lake Taneycomo zone). Check the current MDC regulations for this water.
Boat ramps: 8 mapped — Allen Bridge Access, Smack Out Access, Joplin Shoal Creek, Lime Kilm Access, Wildcat Access, Lime Kilm Access and others nearby.
Source: OpenStreetMap contributors.
Loading live flow & gauge height…
Live from USGS gauge 07187000 — Shoal Creek above Joplin, MO. Full gauge data →
Anyone 16-64 needs a Missouri Department of Conservation fishing permit — the resident annual is about $13, the non-resident annual about $52, and 1-day and 3-day permits are sold (a 1-day permit needs no trout permit to fish trout parks that day). A trout permit (about $10 resident / $12 non-resident) is required to fish for or possess trout anywhere in the state EXCEPT with a daily 1-day fishing permit; the trout parks also charge a separate daily trout tag. Missouri residents 65 and older, and anyone 15 or under, do not need a permit (the trout permit and daily tag still apply). A single permit covers the Corps and MDC reservoirs. Buy from MDC at mdc.mo.gov. A Missouri fishing permit covers navigable rivers. The Mississippi River is fished on a Missouri, Illinois, Iowa or Kentucky permit in the border reaches. A trout permit is required on the trout parks, Lake Taneycomo and the Blue/White/Red Ribbon trout areas.
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