When opening day of trout fishing season comes this weekend there will be plenty of reasons for celebration at Montauk State Park and big crowds of people at all four of the state’s trout fishing parks.
Montauk was devastated by historic flooding in November and remained closed throughout the winter catch-and-release season, but contractors, state staff and volunteers worked throughout the past three months to assure the facility would be ready by opening day.
March 1 carries holiday status for many people who live and love the sport of cold water fishing. When the opener matches up with the weekend on the calendar, the crowds reach their peak in the four places in Missouri where the slender salmonidae are readily available.
“Missouri State Parks team members and volunteers have been working hard to get the park opened and cleaned up, but there ias work to do,” said Justin Adams, Ozarks regional director, for Missouri State Parks.
While Montauk will be open, some of the campsites will not have full-service electricity available. Other areas are still affected with layers of sand throughout the park, covering some grass and woodland areas.
Park staff will be reseeding areas of the campground and other day-use areas in an effort to reestablish grass, and efforts continue to get electrical service restored. Generator use is not permitted during quiet hours in the campground.
In addition to the efforts of the park’s paid personnel, more than 70 volunteers visited on Feb. 1 to lend a hand to the cleanup, said Laura Hendrickson, Missouri State Parks Director.
“Well over half of the volunteers drove more than two hours to help,” she said. “Some of them had never even been to the park before Saturday. It turned out to be a great day.”
Montauk is near Salem, Missouri, and will be ready for fishing on March 1. The same situation awaits anglers at Maramec Springs near St. James, Bennett Springs near Lebanon, and Roaring River in the southwest corner of the state. The Department of Conservation operates trout hatcheries at all of the parks and will stock fish based on the anticipated crowds each day.
With a Saturday start, crowds are usually significantly larger than when March 1 arrives mid-week. As many as 10,000 anglers could try their luck in the four parks this weekend if the weather forecast is favorable.
The state stocks fish in the trout parks daily until Oct. 31. More than 600,000 trout will be released at the four trout parks throughout the during the catch-and-keep season. Most of the fish will be rainbow trout that are 10 to 12 inches long, but larger fish and some brown trout are also included in the stocking plans.
“Despite production challenges due to historic flooding experienced last year, we expect to have a successful trout season with ample fishing opportunities for anglers,” said state Department of Conservation hatcheries manager Clint Hale.
Trout anglers are required to purchase a daily trout tag to fish in the state’s trout parks. The cost of a daily trout tag is $5 for adults and $3 for those 15-years-old and younger. Daily tags can only be purchased at the four trout parks. Resident anglers ages 16-64 and nonresidents 16 and older also need a statewide fishing permit in addition to the daily trout tag.
The daily limit for trout in the parks is four, and each location has restrictions for the types of bait or lures that can be used in certain segments of the streams.
John Winkelman has been writing about outdoors news and issues in Jefferson County for more than 30 years and was the Associate Editor for Outdoor Guide Magazine.
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