Sunday, March 1, marks the opening of catch-and-keep trout fishing at the Show-Me State's four trout parks: Bennett Spring State Park near Lebanon, Montauk State Park near Licking, Roaring River State Park near Cassville, and Maramec Spring Park near St. James.
Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) permit records show weekend trout park openers can draw crowds of more than 10,000 anglers.
MDC operates trout hatcheries at all four parks. To help predict angler turnout on opening day, hatchery staff rely on permit records going back more than 70 years. Montauk, Bennett Spring, and Roaring River hatchery staff expect crowds of about 3,000 anglers at each location and Maramec Spring staff are planning for a crowd of about 2,000.
Based on these predictions, hatchery staff will stock three trout per expected angler on opening day for a total of more than 33,000 fish averaging around a foot in length. The hatcheries will also stock several hundred "lunkers" ranging from 3-10 pounds.
Three of the parks - Bennett Spring, Montauk, and Roaring River - are owned by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Maramec is owned by the James Foundation.
For more information about trout-park fishing, call: Bennett Spring, (417) 532-4418; Maramec, (573) 265-7801; Montauk, (573) 548-2585; Roaring River, (417) 847-2430.
Anglers need a daily trout tag to fish in Missouri's trout parks. Daily trout tags can only be purchased at each of the four trout parks. Missouri residents ages 16-64 need a fishing permit in addition to the daily tag. Non-residents 16 and older also need a fishing permit.
Trout anglers spend more than $100 million each year in the Show-Me-State, which generates more than $180 million in business activity, supports more than 2,300 jobs and creates more than $70 million dollars in wages. About 30 percent of the anglers come from other states, so a substantial portion of expenditures is "new money" for the state's economy.