One extraordinary angling experience has capped off 52 years of fishing at Bennett Spring for retired Army veteran and state worker Milt Barr.
Instead of beginning the trout season perched near his favorite fishing hole during the early hours of March 1, Barr sounded the siren to officially begin trout season in Missouri, alongside Gov. Jay Nixon.
With the first issued tag in hand, which Nixon eventually signed for him, Barr began yet another year in nearly a lifetime of fishing.
Barr's daughter Kate Morrow submitted a letter of recommendation in 2011 nominating him to sound the siren, though he forgot about the letter until receiving a call earlier this year, he said.
"I almost hit the ceiling. It was such an honor. I was proud and honored to represent 2,000 to 3,000 fishermen," he said.
Following his sounding the siren to begin the season, Barr began pondering the possibility of purchasing the final tag of the season, in addition to already having the first one, he said.
After discussing the purchase with a conservation agent, Barr arrived at Bennett Springs, spent the final day of the season fishing and purchased the last tag of the 2014 season, No. 113,867.
"It's neat to have the first and last tags," he said.
Barr usually purchases around 20 tags over the course of the season, which is one for each day he fishes at Bennett Springs.
Barr eventually received the signature of Nixon on his last tag, as well as his first one.
In addition to the novelty of owning both the first and last tags of the season, Barr also feels pride seeing the numerous amount of fishermen who fish at Bennett Spring during the trout season.
"It shows the interest and that people love that place," Barr said.
Barr described Bennett Spring as "one of the state's finest trout parks" and enjoys observing the local wildlife while relishing the "beautiful environment" surrounding the cerulean spring-fed stream, including the occasional apprearances of bald eagles.
Barr typically begins by arriving to the park before the official start of the day's fishing and chats with other fishermen waiting alongside the stream for the sound of the siren.
"It's pleasant to visit about experiences with other fishermen around," he said.
Over the course of the day, Barr slowly treks upstream, sometimes earning an "I Released a Lunker Award" from the Missouri Department of Conservation for catching a large fish.
What began as a series of casual fishing trips with his father at age 10 blossomed into a hobby that has continued for many years, even during deployments overseas during his tenure in the Army.
A native of Marshall, Barr graduated from now University of Central Missouri with a degree in business agriculture and served for 30 years in the army, eventually retiring as a lieutenant colonel.
Barr later earned an MBA and a degree in public affairs from Williams Woods and the University of Missouri, respectively.
Though Barr resided stateside for much of his service, he also lived in Honduras, Korea, Belgium and Germany, during which he continued to fish at Bennett Spring during his time away from duty.
Now retired, Barr ventures to Lebanon, where Bennett Spring is located, one or two times per week with his wife, Cherie.
Barr belongs to several fishing organizations including Trout Unlimited and Capital City Fly Fishers Club, both of which have "opened up social activities" for Barr, he said.
"It's a neat experience to share with other folks like seeing a fish grab your lure. These are thrills that possibly only fishermen get something out of," Barr said.
Though Barr plans on many years of fishing ahead of him, after this season, he told his daughter he "might as well retire from fishing," he said.
"I won't be able to top this season. It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience. For having such an honor for something I love to do is the epitome of honor," he said.