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Best smallmouth bass lakes in Missouri

15 Missouri waters hold smallmouth bass, 3 mapped with real state-agency depth surveys. Ranked below by size and depth-data quality — open any water to see exactly where to fish it: depth contours, scored spots with plain-English reasons, seasonal windows and bait picks. Current- and rock-loving fighter. Lives around gravel, boulders and hard-bottom structure.

1. Table Rock Lake — 218 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass
2. Norfork Lake — 176 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Crappie
3. Bull Shoals Lake — 210 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass
4. Gasconade River — 12 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Channel Catfish
5. Stockton Lake — 100 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Crappie
6. Current River — 10 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Rainbow Trout, Longnose Gar
7. Meramec River — 12 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Channel Catfish, Rainbow Trout
8. Eleven Point River — 10 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout
9. Big River — 8 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Channel Catfish, Longnose Gar
10. Fellows Lake — 81 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Crappie
11. Big Piney River — 8 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Channel Catfish
12. James River — 9 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Channel Catfish, Longnose Gar
13. Jacks Fork — 8 ft max · Smallmouth Bass
14. North Fork of the White — 9 ft max · Smallmouth Bass, Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout
15. Niangua River — 9 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Rainbow Trout, Longnose Gar

When to fish smallmouth bass in Missouri

• Spring 3–12 ft — Gravel and rock flats near deep water; spawning happens on hard bottom.
• Summer 10–30 ft — Offshore rock humps and deep points; smallmouth suspend near bait.
• Fall 8–25 ft — Feeding hard for winter — long tapering points and rocky drops.
• Winter 20–45 ft — Deep, vertical presentations near rocky wintering holes.

Also in Missouri: best largemouth bass lakes · best walleye lakes · best white bass lakes · best crappie lakes · best bluegill lakes · best channel catfish lakes · best rainbow trout lakes · best white bass & hybrids lakes · best flathead catfish lakes · best blue catfish lakes · best freshwater drum lakes · best common carp lakes · best longnose gar lakes · best brown trout lakes

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