The Missouri Department of Conservation ranks Big River third in the state in terms of the number of Master Angler smallmouth bass it produces, but plenty of smaller, scrappy bass also haunt its waters. Photo by Billie R. Cooper.

It’s said that Philippe-François de Renault first found Big River in 1720 while he was stumbling around the big woods, which were still under French ownership at the time. He reportedly named the stream “la Grande Rivière,” which English-speakers later simply translated literally. I suspect that ol’ Renault based his moniker for the stream not so much on the size of the flow as on the smallmouth population that already called it home.

Southeast Missouri’s Big River gets its start in Iron County, near what is now state Route 21. From a tiny stream at that point, the outflow of Council Bluffs Lake, it grows and flows 138 miles northeast in a meandering snake of twists and turns, eventually passing through St. Francois and Jefferson counties, ending up as a tributary of the Meramec River west of St. Louis.

But the focus of this angler’s snapshot of Big River is the stream’s legendary smallmouth population. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, the river ranks third in the state for offering up Master Angler smallmouth bass. Smallies once were found in nearly every riffle and bend the entire length of this lesser-known float stream. Despite its storied history, the stream’s evolving habitat has made finding these bronzeback scrappers a more specific art than is often the case.

To get a better picture of Big River, let’s break its many miles down into sections. The two segments fished most for smallmouths fall between Leadwood Access in St. Francois County and Washington State Park in Washington County, and Washington State Park north nearly to Eureka. But there’s a lot of river before that low-water bridge near Leadwood, and serious anglers might want to take advantage of short float trips or wading outings to seek out holes and riffles on oft-ignored stream stretches. We’ll revisit this lesser-known section of river a little later.

FROM LEADWOOD TO ST. FRANCOIS COUNTY
To find the Leadwood Access, take U.S. Route 67 south from Interstate 55 at Festus. Exit the highway at Desloge, and follow the road signs through town to state Route 8 heading west. About four miles later you’ll see a sign for the city of Leadwood. The MDC’s Leadwood Access sits on the right side of the road. There’s a sizable gravel parking lot and river access from a low-water bridge and gravel shoreline.

Mike Reed, who serves as MDC’s fisheries management biologist for the upper stretch of Big River, said that ample opportunities for an angler to connect with a 16- to 18-inch smallie can be met with anywhere from the tailwaters of Council Bluffs Lake all the way to the St. Francois/Jefferson County line. In fact, sampling in late 2007 indicated that about 75 percent of the smallmouths found qualified for that length slot. He reported that the majority of fish found during annual sampling usually are found within a mile of the Leadwood Access either way, or below St. Francois State Park to near Route E. And there’s a good reason for that.

Earlier it was mentioned that Big River hadn’t changed much over time -- at least not from its humble start in Iron County to Leadwood in western St. Francois County. But from Leadwood downstream, the story took a strangely unpredictable turn in the early 1900s. As it turns out, Monsieur Renault was stumbling around what is now known as St. Francois County because, in his capacity as director-general of mining operations for the French’s Royal India Company, he was scouting for lead -- essential in his day for casting musket balls -- and, later, a whole plethora of other helpful stuff.