Missouri Department of Conservation Blue Ribbon Trout Areas are spring-fed Ozark streams that hold wild, naturally reproducing trout. Nine named waters carry the designation: Barren Fork Creek, Blue Springs Creek, Crane Creek, the Current River from Montauk State Park to Cedar Grove Bridge, the Eleven Point from Greer Spring Branch to Turner Mill, Little Piney Creek, Mill Creek, the North Fork of the White River from Rainbow Spring to Patrick Bridge, and Spring Creek.
Blue Ribbon water is artificial flies and lures only, one trout 18 inches or longer, and the rest released.
These are not the four trout parks. Parks are put-and-take. Blue Ribbon water is artificial flies and lures only, one trout 18 inches or longer, and the rest released. Current and North Fork of the White get brown trout; Eleven Point gets rainbows. The smaller creeks, including Crane Creek and its McCloud-strain rainbows, fish as wild spring water.
Most public access is at Conservation Areas, state parks, and named river accesses. Private land is common between those points. Check the current MDC Wildlife Code before you go.