Catch and Keep Trout Fishing begins

March 1 marks the annual opening of catch-and-keep trout fishing in Missouri at the state’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 800,000 trout annually at the four trout parks and about 1.5 million trout annually statewide.