Blue Springs Creek carries a self-sustaining trout story near Bourbon

Blue Springs Creek gives Crawford County a trout story with a local twist. MDC says the creek flows for four miles through the conservation area to the Meramec River and is fed by four springs that rise on nearby private property.

The old hatchery layer makes it stick. MDC’s fishing prospects page says rainbow trout were once raised at a coldwater hatchery next to Blue Spring, on what is now Camp Mihaska property. Over time, trout established a naturally reproducing population in the stream.

That makes the creek more than another Ozark waterway. It is spring-fed, tied to early hatchery history, and now managed as a public fishing resource south of Bourbon.

For anglers, the rules matter. Use MDC before fishing, especially for boundary details and tackle restrictions. A pretty creek can still have very specific trout rules.