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St. Joseph, Mo. – Rainbow trout are fun to catch and anglers in the St. Joseph area now have two places to fish for them. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) recently stocked trout in Krug Park Lagoon and Everyday Pond. The trout are stocked for catch-and-release fishing until Feb. 1. After that, anglers with proper permits can keep up to four trout per day.
Everyday Pond is on the west campus of Missouri Western State University. Krug Park Lagoon is in the north St. Joseph, just off St. Joseph Avenue. The trout were raised at MDC’s Bennett Spring and Chesapeake fish hatcheries and stocked in partnership with the university and with St. Joseph Parks, Recreation, and Civic Facilities Department.
Trout are not native to Missouri. But during winter the water temperatures are cool enough and dissolved oxygen levels high enough in lakes for trout to survive. MDC stocks them in the St. Joseph lakes to provide anglers a winter fishing opportunity that is close to home. Anglers generally use flyrods, spinning rods, or spin casting rods and reels to fish for trout. Light line is recommended. Lures such as flies, spinners, and jigs will attract the hard-fighting cold-water fish.
During the Nov. 1 to Jan. 31 catch-and-release portion of winter trout fishing, only flies and unscented artificial lures may be used by anglers. Natural baits such as worms, scent baits, corn, hot dogs, shrimp, and chicken livers may not be used during the catch-and-release season on these specified waters. Scented soft plastic lures are also prohibited.
Starting Feb. 1, anglers with valid fishing permits and a Missouri trout permit may keep up to four trout at these lakes. All Missouri residents over age 15 and under 65 must have a valid fishing permit, and all non-residents over age 15 must have a fishing permit.
For information about winter trout fishing at Krug Park Lagoon and Everyday Pond, call MDC’s Northwest Regional Office in St. Joseph at 816-271-3100.
For more information on trout fishing throughout Missouri, visit http://mdc.mo.gov.
