While fishing the Mineral Fork in Washington County on Saturday, my father remarked repeatedly how beautiful the landscape and clear the creek is.
“Dad, this is why I fish,” I said.
He’s relatively new to Missouri and very new to the creek fishing many of us enjoy in the Ozarks. It has taken me quite some time [...]

I find it amusing that the folks who constantly complain about restrictions on fishing all have the same argument. “It takes the fun out of everything” to quote Ken Elfrink of Robertsville.
I have been fishing for 30 years now and I have never had a day that wasn’t fun. I have been caught in some [...]

In the August 2010 issue of
River Hills Traveler
Remember the favorite outdoor places, businesses and people readers voted for last September and October? The winners in Traveler’s second annual Readers Choice Awards are profiled in this issue. Make this section your guide to outdoor enjoyment in Traveler Country.
Other Page 1 stories:
Cool rivers pull crowds on hot [...]

Here’s a complete summary of articles in the July 2010 print issue of Traveler:
Belly boats — Bill Cooper
The coolest, wettest, most relaxed way to fish in summer
A piece of river history — Rick Mansfield
Vintage jon boat, 24 feet long, 32 inches abeam, has plied the Current for 50 years.
Past shadows reservoir dedication — [...]

By Dan Kreher, Missouri Smallmouth Alliance
I appreciate the amount of attention that River Hills Traveler has given to the management issues surrounding smallmouth bass in Missouri’s streams and the responsible manner in which you have covered this topic.  As you well know, Bob Todd is a very experienced angler with well developed opinions about fisheries [...]

A few issues back, Traveler raised the question in this space of whether the Missouri Department of Conservation is doing enough to improve smallmouth bass fishing in the state. What prompted the question was an MDC White Paper recommending eight new stream stretches totaling 249.3 miles for new [...]

I’m a little disappointed that RHT would publish an article that is extremely misleading and completely off base. Mr. Todd has the right to believe what he wants but to say the Smallmouth Management Areas that we have in this state are having a negative impact on fishing and then try to compare the [...]

By Bob Todd

I was trying to come to terms with the words, “world class smallmouth.” So went to Wilson Dam in Alabama, which advertises itself as the world capital of smallmouth bass.
Indeed, the claim may be well-founded. I photographed a 5-1 and a 4-14 in a 24 hour period. The 4-14 was taken by my [...]

Here’s a summary of stories in the June 2010 Traveler.  It’s our annual Float Trip Issue. A bonus is coverage of the grand reopening of Johnson Shut-Ins State Park and the surrounding Arcadia Valley/Black River area.
• Eleven Point Crazy: Two men vs. elements — Hank Franklin
Smallmouthin’, river runnin’, campfires. What more could a guy want?
[...]

Sam Potter, owner-operator of TightLine Guide Service, is featured speaker for the Missouri Smallmouth Alliance meeting Feb. 17. Potter guides for trout and smallmouth on the Current, Big Piney, Little Piney, Meramec, Mill Creek, and Spring Creek. See Sam’s website for more info: http://www.tightline.biz/
The Missouri Smallmouth Alliance holds its monthly membership meetings at the [...]