Bourbeuse River: A Fishing Treasure in the St. Louis Region

The Bourbeuse River offers many species to fish, as well as being a pleasant floating stream. It is an ideal stream for novice canoeists to gain some experience. Another nice aspect of floating the Bourbeuse is that, due to its extremely crooked course, the inlets and outlets can be a couple of driving miles apart, while the distance in river miles is greater than 10.

The Bourbeuse River is ideal for floating and fishing excursions. It is a slow enough river that the canoe needs little attention, allowing for more fishing time.

The Bourbeuse River has good fishing for a variety of species. It has been well known for some time as a good smallmouth creek. Unfortunately, smallmouth bass numbers have been somewhat diminished by non-native spotted bass. While Spotted Bass is a good game fish, it tends to outperform Smallmouth Bass, at least in this particular ecosystem.

In addition to spotted and smallmouth bass, there are decent amounts of largemouth and rock bass, channel catfish, and panfish. There are some walleye that are sometimes caught as well.

The Bourbeuse River runs through Union, Missouri, in Franklin County, Missouri. Many of the river approaches are within 10 to 15 miles of this area, one of them being right on Union. One of the nicer floats is between the Reikers Ford approach and the Mayers Landing approach. This section of the river has few signs of civilization along its 11 river miles, and the two approaches are only about three miles apart. The fishing is quite good for bass (smallmouth, largemouth and spotted) as well as channel catfish. As in most sections of the river, the slope is low, so you will have a fairly calm float. During times of low water, there are a few places where you may need to get out and tow your canoe.

If you are looking for a relaxed atmosphere and decent fishing, the Bourbeuse River is definitely a good option. This creek in the far north of the Ozarks is well worth a visit.