Fall Floating on the Niangua

 I look forward to our annual fall trip to Bennett Spring. The Ozarks feel special in October. Cool autumn mornings give way to warm afternoon breezes that carry the smell of burning oak and hickory. Surprisingly, the park is always busy this time of year. Families squeeze in one last camping trip before winter, while anglers try to catch one last limit before the season closes on October 31.

Our trip began on a Friday. We booked our campsites late, so our usual spot in Campground 2 was full. Campground 5 had one site left, and luckily, Campground 4 had a site available for Austin’s pop-up camper. After a successful fishing trip in September, we set out to float the Niangua River in search of hungry smallmouth.

Typically, we float the stretch from Bennett Spring to Barclay. It’s a popular route for floaters, and crowds can make fishing a bit difficult. This trip, we decided to put in at Barclay and take the shorter, less-traveled route to Prosperine Access.

Saturday morning found us up early and ready for a day on the water. The air was cool but bearable, and we knew things would warm up once the sun broke over the Ozark hills.

Before we could fish, we had to drop off a shuttle vehicle at Prosperine. We headed out from Bennett Spring, winding our way through a maze of gravel roads that seemed to go on forever. The Missouri countryside was beautiful, with the fall colors and rolling hills making the drive almost as enjoyable as the destination.

Our final turn led us to a cool little place called Laclede Cowboy Church. After several miles and a few low-water crossings, we finally found the small river access. It was the kind of place you could easily drive right past if you weren’t paying attention.

We arrived to find the Barclay parking lot empty. From the launch, we watched the Niangua’s cool, gentle current move from right to left. In summer, this is a popular takeout for floaters, but on this October morning, we had it to ourselves. Looking out toward the distant bend, I couldn’t help but wonder what lay ahead and what the river had in store for us.

We unloaded the kayaks and fishing gear, eager to get on the water. The thought of an aggressive smallmouth bite made every step feel slower than it should. Before long, we pushed off and made our first casts, throwing Whopper Ploppers toward shallow blowdowns where the current swept past the tangled timber. It was time to see if the smallmouth were as hungry as we hoped.

The topwater bite was slow. After several casts without much action, I switched tactics and tied on a Ned rig, a popular choice for targeting smallmouth. A month earlier, I’d found success by slowing down my presentation. Pitching a Bitsy Bug into heavy cover had produced several fish, so I figured a more subtle approach might be the ticket again. Surely, the Ned rig would deliver similar results.

I positioned myself in the calm water behind a small blowdown. With a gentle flip of the rod, I dropped my craw-tipped Ned rig next to the submerged log. After a few subtle twitches, I felt the familiar thump I’d been waiting for. I set the hook, and the first fish of the day was on—a beautiful spotted bass, also known as a Kentucky bass.

It wasn’t a giant, but that didn’t matter. The skunk was out of the boat, and the day had officially begun.

We caught several fish throughout the day. One thing I love about fishing the Niangua is the variety of species you’re likely to encounter. We caught spotted bass, smallmouth, sunfish, and goggle-eye, keeping things interesting from one stretch of river to the next.

The topwater bite never developed the way I’d hoped, but the Ned rig more than made up for it. We experimented with three different soft plastics on a 1/8-ounce jig head. First was a simple black powder Berkley Lil' Trooper Craw, followed by a Z-Man TRD. Finally, I tied on a Berkley Flatworm in green pumpkin/watermelon.

The Flatworm quickly proved to be the winner, producing the fastest and most consistent action of the three. Hopping it along the bottom of the deeper holes was dynamite on the smallmouth!

My approach was simple. I positioned the kayak in the slack water just beyond a bend in the river and cast toward the middle of the current. After letting the Ned rig drift down and settle on the bottom, I bounced it across the rocks as I worked it back toward the kayak.

Many of the bites came on the fall. With a few exceptions, the strikes were subtle and easy to miss if you weren’t paying attention. Feeling for those faint ticks and thumps was key to detecting a bite and setting the hook.

When it came to size, the Berkley Flatworm was the clear winner. It produced the most consistent action and accounted for the day's larger fish.

We took our time and fished our way to the Prosperine takeout. For the most part, we had the river to ourselves. The scenery was beautiful, and the water was clear and cool. The river was a little low in spots, but still plenty floatable.

Somewhere along the way, I realized just how much more confident I’ve become in my river fishing. It’s taken time, but I’m learning that success doesn’t always come from changing lures or trying something new. Sometimes, simple is better. And when all else fails, slow down, enjoy the process, and let the day unfold.

The fish are a bonus. The time on the water is what matters most.

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