The Opportunities abound for Missouri Trout Fishermen

Current River at Baptist Camp

I used to go round and round on one of the old Google Groups that was focused on fly fishing about how good Missouri trout fishing was and is.  Some of them acknowledged that you could catch a lot of fish, but because many of them were hatchery fish, or at least not native, they were somehow unworthy.  I do not agree, and continue to be excited by the opportunities that await for myself, but also trout fishermen of all types.

In this post, I am just giving some basic details on the options - at the end of the article, you will find a link to an in depth article written by us on the vast majority of options available to you.

Trout Parks
You almost have to start here, because this is where the majority of Missouri trout fishermen get started and likely do the most fishing.  The parks are spread out west to east, but because the spring fed waters that produce water cool enough for trout is located in the Ozarks, the trout parks are all south of the Missouri River.

These parks offer easy fishing of a wide variety of methods - bait, spin, fly, bank, wading, sitting in a folding chair... They all have stores where you can purchase most of the gear you need as well as receive advice.  A little research on the internet will assist you greatly.

Rivers
The Current, Eleven Point, North Fork of the White, and Meramec are a few of the rivers in Missouri that offer outstanding fishing.  A lot of these waters are blue ribbon (fish must be 18" to keep), but you will not really be fishing them for the numbers of fish.  They are beautiful, and solitude can be yours here.

Small Streams
There are a bunch of small streams like Little Piney, Capps, Crane, Blue Springs, etc., that offer great solitude, unique opportunities for special breeds of fish, but like the rivers, they arenot going to fill your freezer with fish...

Finally, the MDC stocks many waters around Missouri for winter trout fishing in local lakes.  This can be a lot of fun, and since the fish will not survive through the summer anyhow, there is certainly no downside in limiting out any chance you get.

If you'd like to get started, or learn some new places to go, check out Missouri Trout Fishing.