1997 TROUT SEASON IS FAST APPROACHING

JEFFERSON CITY -- One of the most popular fishing events in Missouri is only a couple of weeks away. March 1 is opening day for the regular fishing season at the state's four trout parks.

Hatchery personnel with the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) are busily stocking fish in anticipation of the thousands of anglers expected to inundate the waters of Bennett Spring, Montauk and Roaring River State Parks and Maramec Spring Park for the trout season opener.

The number of trout stocked at trout parks each day depends on expected angler attendance, which in turn depends largely on the day of the week and on weather conditions. With a Saturday opener, the MDC hatchery at Bennett Spring State Park west of Lebanon will stock more than 10,000 rainbow trout if the weather forecast for March 1 is reasonably good. Fish stocked for opening day will include about 100 "lunkers" -- fish weighing three to five pounds.

Montauk State Park southeast of Licking expects to stock approximately 11,700 fish, with 70 lunkers among them. A stocking of 9,000 and 10,000 fish is expected at Maramec Spring Park southeast of St. James, with 25 to 50 lunkers. About 118 lunkers will be among the 10,500 or so trout that MDC hatchery workers expect to stock at Roaring River State Park for opening day.

Everyone who fishes at a trout park needs a daily trout tag ($2). To fish for trout inside trout parks, Missourians age 16 to 65 also need a fishing permit. The daily trout tags are sold only at trout parks and are only good there.

Outside trout parks, you need a fishing permit and an annual Missouri Trout Permit. Missouri residents under 16 and over 65 don't need fishing permits. Non-residents over age 16 need fishing permits to fish inside or outside trout parks. Non-residents under age 16 need only the $2 daily trout tag to fish inside trout parks. Outside the parks they need only the annual trout permits.

Anglers who arrive Feb. 28 can buy their daily tags the night before the season opens. Al Brand, assistant chief of MDC's fiscal services division, suggests anglers also buy fishing permits ahead of time. He says purchasing permits before the season opener could help you avoid long waits in line. Daily trout tags are sold only at the parks and are only good there.

"If you attempt to buy a permit a week or so early and there are lines you can always go back to the vendor later," Brand says. "If you wait until opening day you'll have no choice but to stand in line for however long it takes."

With good weather conditions a record number of anglers could be standing stream side when sirens announce the start of the 1997 trout fishing season. In past years the combination of warm weather and the season starting on a weekend has encouraged large numbers of anglers to fish opening day. The best attended trout park opener occurred on a Sunday in 1992 when temperatures climbed into the middle 70s across much of the state. That year 14,947 anglers attended the trout season opener.