River levels dictate how good or bad the largemouth fishing will be in early summer. "June can be a funny month, because if we have high water that blew out nests earlier, the fish could still be trying to spawn," Reed observed. "If it is a low-water year, the spawn could already be done, and the bass could already be hanging around the big sycamore logs and rootwads."

June can be one of the less-stable months for water levels on the Big River. "You get those flashy rain events," said Reed. "Sometimes fishing can be a little more challenging in June because there is a little higher water then, and there is a lot of forage."

If the river floods and knocks out bass from their spawning sites, the fish will try to nest again when the waters recede. Reed noted that the larger bass usually have expended too much energy to attempt another spawn, so most of the bass trying to repeat the procreation process will be 12- to 13-inchers. "You will see spotted bass and largemouth in the shallows more than you will see smallies," said Reed.

The beds should be visible, because the largemouths will make their nests a couple of feet deep. "In a normal year there is going to be a little higher water in June, so the fish are going to be more spread out," noted Reed. "You might find fish on both sides of the channel when you have higher water like that. There might be an extra 8 to 10 inches of water so those water willows on the inside bed, which are normally in about a foot of water, are then in 18 inches to 2 feet of water. You will have to cast there because bass will be in those weeds."

A dry spring prevented the river from flooding last year, so the stream's base flow was below normal. Reed found bass in their summertime patterns last June and experienced some of the best floats of the summer then.

Show Me State anglers will discover that a noticeable difference exists between locating bass on the Big River and finding them at Missouri's major reservoirs. "I think current is critical, because it is going to determine what type of fish you catch on Big River," suggested Reed. "You are going to catch smallmouth on the upper and lower end of the pools where there is some current.

"If you've got a couple of feet of water and a boulder, you are going to find smallmouth. On the other hand, if you can get into a pool where the water is slow, or the fast water is to one side, go to the other side of the pool where the downed trees and logs are along the undercut bank -- and that is the largemouth water."

Largemouths will also cruise around in eddies and other spots affected by light current.