Conservation Department prepares for opening day of trout season

March 1 marks the annual opening of catch-and-keep trout fishing at Missouri’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. The catch-and-keep season at the trout parks runs through Oct. 31. The daily limit is four trout, and the possession limit is eight for all four parks. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) operates trout hatcheries at all four parks and will stock about 20,000 trout among the four parks for opening day. MDC will continue to stock the trout parks daily during the catch-and-keep season, totaling more than 600,000 trout annually at the four trout parks and about 1 million trout annually statewide. Due to ongoing construction, Bennett Spring State Park will be stocked three times per week. “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 MDC Hatcheries Systems Manager Clint Hale. Trout anglers need a daily trout tag to fish in Missouri’s trout parks during the catch-and-keep season. The cost of a daily trout tag is $5 for adults and $3 for those 15-years-old and younger. Daily trout tags can only be purchased at each of the four trout parks. MDC encourages trout anglers to have the correct amount of cash for daily tags, if possible. Missouri residents ages 16-64 and nonresidents ages 16 and older also need a fishing permit in addition to the daily trout tag. A daily fishing permit is $9. MDC encourages trout anglers to buy fishing permits ahead of time from numerous vendors around the state, online at mdc.mo.gov/buypermits, or through MDC’s free MO Fishing app, available for download on the App Store or Google Play. For more on this story, see Saturday's LCR.