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North Fork River

Type
Freestone river, Missouri (South)
Designation
Blue Ribbon · Red Ribbon
USGS gauges
1 live
Guides
None listed
Shops
None listed

Today on the North Fork River

Reading the gauge…

Regulations & access Guides & shops

The North Fork River is a freestone river in Missouri, listed as Blue Ribbon by Missouri Department of Conservation.

More about the North Fork River

1 USGS gauge on the water reports flow. No guide or shop nearby is listed yet; the nearest destination hub is White River & the Ozarks.

Updated · Sources: Blue Ribbon Trout Areas, USGS Water Data

Representative photograph of similar water; not a photograph of this place.
Representative photograph, not this water.
Where it is

North Fork River is a freestone river in Missouri. Our destination hub White River & the Ozarks is 25 mi away in a straight line (35 by road).

Flow now at the gauge
Reading the gauges…

Check any river's flow

Follow North Fork River for flow alerts

Pick one of its USGS gauges and hear from us when the flow moves into or out of its usual range for the date, or crosses a flow you set. We check the public USGS reading every 2 hours and email only when it crosses, at most once every 6 hours. Flow alone is not a fishing forecast or a safety call.

Follow this water

Signed in: one step. Otherwise we email a confirmation link first. Every alert has one-click links to stop it.

Where to fish

About this

Start from the agency's public access map. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.

Nothing on this page grants or implies access.

Missouri conservation areas and accesses finder

North Fork River on the map

About this

Gauges, shops and guides within 40 miles

Map of North Fork River: gauges, shops and guides

RestroomsAccess map

Map of North Fork River with 1 USGS gauge.

Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors · OpenFreeMap · © OpenMapTiles

Restrooms near North Fork River

Restrooms near North Fork River

Restrooms within 2 miles of North Fork River in a straight line, nearest first, with what anglers found when they went. The map says a restroom is there, not whether it is clean or open today.

Map of the restroom near North Fork River

Skip the map; every place is in the list below

Map of 1 restroom near North Fork River, numbered as in the list, with the water’s point marked.

Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors · OpenFreeMap · © OpenMapTiles

  1. Restroom

    1.8 mi away in a straight line

    Not rated yet — be the first to tell other anglers if it's clean.

    Directions
    We don't know yet: is it clean? · flush or vault? · free? · open to everyone? · step-free? — tell other anglers: show the questions
    • Is it clean?
    • Flush or vault?
    • Free?
    • Open to everyone?
    • Step-free?

    Mapped on OpenStreetMap · see or fix it on the map

Restroom locations and map details: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License, read Oct 24, 2026. Ratings, answers and photos are members' own; who shared them is never shown, and every photo is reviewed before it appears. Visits older than 18 months no longer count. Distances are straight-line miles, not driving. Nothing here grants access to private land. Community guidelines.

More water near North Fork River

  • The Norfork tailwater flowing clear and green below Norfork Dam between wooded banksTailwater trout fishery
    Photo credit

    The North Fork River tailwater downstream of Norfork Dam, Arkansas. Photo: Brandonrush, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

    North Fork River (Norfork Tailwater)

    Arkansas · about 26 mi

    Rainbow & brown trout

  • The White River near Flippin, calm water reflecting green wooded hillsTailwater trout fishery
    Photo credit

    The White River near Flippin, Arkansas. Photo: James Powers (Jpowersok), CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

    White River

    Arkansas · about 28 mi

    Rainbow & brown trout

  • Crooked Creek at Yellville, a calm pool between wooded banks in evening lightAgency-named bass water
    Photo credit

    Crooked Creek at Highway 14 in Yellville, Arkansas. Photo: Brandonrush, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Crooked Creek

    Arkansas · about 37 mi

    Smallmouth bass, largemouth bass & panfish

  • Mist over Bull Shoals Lake at dawn, with forested Ozark hills along the shoreAgency-named bass water
    Photo credit

    Bull Shoals Lake on a misty morning, Taney County, Missouri. Photo: Semipaw, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Bull Shoals Lake

    Arkansas · about 41 mi

    Largemouth bass & panfish

  • The Buffalo River flowing below tall limestone bluffs in the OzarksAgency-named bass water
    Photo credit

    Buffalo National River, Arkansas. Photo: National Park Service, public domain, cropped, via Wikimedia Commons

    Buffalo National River

    Arkansas · about 52 mi

    Smallmouth bass, largemouth bass & panfish

  • Fog lifting off Lake Taneycomo in the early morning, with wooded hills on the far shoreAgency-named bass waterRepresentative photo · not Norfork Lake
    Photo credit

    Fog on Lake Taneycomo, Missouri. Photo: Luke Wisley, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Norfork Lake.

    Norfork Lake

    Missouri · about 16 mi

Regulations

About this

Seasons, limits, special regulations and closures for each reach are on the agency pages below. Read them before you go.

2 official designations

Each comes from the agency's own published list; where the list names a reach it is quoted. A designation applies to the listed reach, not necessarily the whole water. Listed in the finder under trout.

The water on the map

About this

Measured from the NHDPlus High Resolution (flowlines and waterbodies) (U.S. Geological Survey, read 2026-11-04) for this water’s own mapped feature. Rounded figures; they describe the channel, not today’s conditions.

Length
110.1 mi (73.1 in MO)
Drains
1,830 sq mi
Drop
1,024 ft · 9.3 ft/mi
Flows into
White River
Watershed
North Fork White

Public land along it

About this

Areas the Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), public access (U.S. Geological Survey, Gap Analysis Project, read 2026-11-05) lists as owned or held in easement and open to the public, crossed by the mapped channel. Boundaries are mapped, not surveyed. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.

13.3 of 107.7 mi on public land

  • Mark Twain National ForestForest Service · 9.3 mi
  • Norfork Recreation AreaArmy Corps of Engineers · 3.3 mi
  • Patrick Bridge AccessUnknown · 0.5 mi
  • Blair Bridge AccessUnknown · 0.2 mi

Nothing on this page grants or implies access.

Guides and shops near North Fork River

About this

Listings marked Unclaimed are built from open map records and the business's own website: confirm licensing, rates, dates and hours directly.

Guides

No guide within 40 miles yet.

All Missouri guides

Shops nearby

No shop nearby yet.

All Missouri shops

How these are chosen

Guides whose own website names this water come first, nearest first. Distances are straight-line.

Shops: fly shops first. A distance is shown when the shop’s website gives its location (within 60 miles); otherwise the shop is in one of the towns within 25 miles of the water.

Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories.

Species and hatches

About this

The hatch and season chart for this water's region.

When the bugs come off

White River & the Ozarks

About this

Cotter and Mountain Home sit on the White River below Bull Shoals Dam in the Arkansas Ozarks, with the North Fork tailwater below Norfork Dam and the Buffalo National River to the south-west.

Destination hub · 25 mi away in a straight line, 35 by road

Open the hubPlan a trip here

Gear checklist

About this

What to bring on a guided float fishing trip: rain gear, polarized sunglasses, sun protection, a dry bag and your license. Most guides supply rods and flies. Estimated prices and where to buy.

A woman rows a drift boat while a man stands in the bow and casts

Guided float trip

Usually supplied by the guide; a 9′ 5–6 weight if you bring your own · Trout on most western float rivers

Open the checklist
Videos for this water (5)

Watch: reading a trout stream

About this

Seams, shelves and soft water, shown on real rivers.

Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.

  • How I Learned to Read Water (Fly Fishing)Embedded from YouTube · Mad River Outfitters · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube
  • How To Read The Water with Tom RosenbauerEmbedded from YouTube · The New Fly Fisher · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube
  • Reading the Water to Successfully Locate TroutEmbedded from YouTube · Orvis Guide to Fly Fishing · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube

Not sponsored All videos on reading water

Watch: nymphing basics

About this

Indicator rigs, depth and detecting the take.

Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.

  • 90° Nymph RigEmbedded from YouTube · Huge Fly Fisherman · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube
  • Casting with an Indicator & Better Nymphing TechniquesEmbedded from YouTube · The New Fly Fisher · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube

Not sponsored All videos on nymphing

Fish Tales

About this

Trip stories anglers chose to share publicly and tagged with North Fork River.

No stories from here yet.

Write the first story Share your day

Sources for this page

Not a statement of access, fish presence or conditions.

Something wrong?

All 12 sources and dates

A water page organises discovery. It does not assert public access, legal access, current fish presence, guide availability or fishing conditions.

Flows, gauge statistics and flood stages come from USGS and the National Weather Service when the page is shown. Regulations, stocking, species and season statements link to the agency that publishes them; this page copies only the species names and the quoted sentences. Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories. Position: the USGS gauge North Fork River near Tecumseh, MO. Water type is our own classification.