Meramec Basin Stream Black Bass Special Management Areas
Black bass special management sign
Black Bass Special Management Areas have been established on streams in the Meramec River Basin. Find out why, where, and what these areas are all about.
Spotted Bass
All Meramec River Basin Streams, including the Meramec, Big, and Bourbeuse rivers, and Huzzah, Courtois, and Mineral Fork creeks and their tributaries have liberal harvest regulations on spotted (Kentucky) bass. The length limit has been removed and anglers can keep up to 12 per day. So, anglers can harvest up to 12 spotted bass, regardless of their size.
In the Meramec basin, spotted bass are slow-growing, non-natives that may compete with native largemouth and smallmouth bass for food and space. Removing the spotted bass length limit and doubling the daily limit allows anglers more opportunity to keep spotted bass of any size. this may be the best method of limiting or reducing spotted bass populations in the Meramec River basin, while conserving smallmouth and largemouth bass populations.
Smallmouth Bass
Sections of the Meramec River, Big River, and Mineral Fork have special harvest regulations on smallmouth bass. The smallmouth bass length limit has been increased to 15 inches and the daily harvest limit is one. These changes have taken place in the following locations:
| Meramec River | Crawford County, from Scott's Ford to the railroad crossing bridge at Bird's Nest (15 miles) |
| Big River | Jefferson, Washington, and St. Francois counties, from Leadwood Access to the Meramec River confluence (102 miles) |
| Mineral Fork | Washington County, from Hwy. F to the Big River Confluence (14 miles) |
Increasing the smallmouth bass minimum length limit and reducing the daily harvest limit in these Special Management Areas will allow more smallmouth bass to live longer and grow larger in areas where fishing pressure is limiting the population. The result is better smallmouth bass fishing.
