According to Reed, the lack of cobble boulder or gravelly habitat for smallmouths has resulted in fish involved in the annual spawning migration in the stream congregating in the same select holes year after year. “I would almost swear that I’ve seen some of the same fish year after year during annual sampling,” he added.

Largemouths and spotted bass are more “generalists,” requiring less-specialized habitat for spawning and passing the days. This requires the smallmouth angler to explore the river each year after spring rains in order to find areas in which riffles meet gravel-bottomed holes and bends. It’s there, Reed noted, that you’ll find some of the nicest smallmouths that the state has to offer.

Aside from Leadwood Access, the St. Francois County stretch of the Big has several other places to access the shallow, slow-moving waters. Just downstream from Leadwood is Bone Hole. A favorite with swimmers in past years, the popular river access has as a result of the rise in the region of both the swimming pool and the commercial water park been left to the waders and short-float anglers.

From there the river snakes northeast and makes a wide two-and-a-half-mile loop past the 2,735-acre St. Francois State Park. The area inside the park offers several chances to access the river for smallmouth fishing and other recreation. Parking is plentiful, and there’s enough river -- and unrelated activities for other visitors -- to allow for peaceful enjoyment of exploring a few holes and rootwads for that keeper smallmouth of the day. As you leave the park, the river loops south for only a short distance before heading back west under Route 67 for a long, leisurely float downstream to Washington State Park. (An interesting sidenote: Famed Civil War fighter Sam Hildebrand, whose antics on and around Big River are strewn throughout Missouri’s history books, once lived in a cabin nestled on the hillside overlooking this stretch of stream.)

As the river heads out of St. Francois County, it also goes out of range of the watchful eye of the MDC’s Reed. The biologist said that the future’s bright for the upper St. Francois stretch. In recent years the EPA has overseen cleanup and stabilization of the leftover mine tailings along the river’s edge. Now talks are being held between federal, state and regional groups, involving engineers, hydrologists and biologists and others about how best to bring the river back to its pre-mining glory. Discussions have been had about “flushing” the river -- attempting to clean the river channel of remaining tailings while not disturbing the natural gravel and upsetting the feel and life of the river even more.

“There’s not a fast fix,” Reed offered. But with active discussion and proper education, he’s sure, the watershed can only get better -- and that betterment can only help the smallmouth population.

FROM ST. FRANCOIS COUNTY TO EUREKA
Since 1987, the tail end, or northern stretch, of Big River has been overseen by Kevin Meneau, another MDC fisheries management biologist. His stretch of river differs considerably from Reed’s in that the second half of the Big is, in fact, big -- or, at least, bigger than its headwaters in Iron and Washington counties. The latter reaches of Big River are floatable with ease for the most part. Fishing for smallmouths can be an enjoyable ride on the river with occasional stops to further thresh out “fishy” holes and stretches.