Officials strike deal to stock Jackson lake with trout

The Jackson Board of Aldermen OK'd a deal with the Missouri Department of Conservation Monday night to bring trout to town.

The board agreed to a cooperative venture that will bring rainbow trout to the city park's Rotary Lake, making Jackson one of just four Missouri cities -- St. Louis, Kansas City and Columbia are the others -- to have a winter trout fishing program. Columbia will also begin its trout program this fall.

Beginning Nov. 3, anglers can begin fishing for trout at the park. The winter stock program will make trout fishing much more convenient to area trout enthusiasts, who before had to drive about three hours to one of a handful of trout streams in the lower central section of the state.

Trout can only live in water colder than 68 degrees, meaning Rotary Lake will have to be stocked every year.

The Department of Conservation will release about 1,000 fish into the lake, all of which will either be caught or will die once the water warms in the spring, said Christopher Kennedy, a fisheries management specialist with the Department of Conservation.

He believes almost all of the fish will be caught.

"Not too long ago we started stocking trout during the winter time as part of the Urban Fishing Program," he said. "It's been a huge hit, such a big success. It's not uncommon to see elbow-to-elbow fishing around a three-acre pond."

The program will cost about $2,500 annually. The city and the Department of Conservation have agreed to split the costs evenly. However, the city reeled in a couple of big donations -- $1,000 from Wal-Mart and a $500 from Trout Unlimited -- to get the program started. The local Trout Unlimited chapter, an organization which promotes trout fishing, has agreed to fund the program for the next five years. Wal-Mart has not made a guarantee past this year, manager Rick Boyd said, but "we look forward to supporting it in the future."

About 80 percent of the fish will be in the 10- to 13-inch range. The other 20 percent will be fish in the 18- to 24-inch range.

"Let me tell you, a 24-inch trout is a large fish," said Mike Wells, who organized the local Trout Unlimited group.

The extra $250 or so that the city has left over from its half of the agreement will go toward the purchase of bigger rainbow trout.

Wells said his entire reason for starting the local Trout Unlimited chapter in 2002 was to try to get a winter trout program started somewhere in Southeast Missouri. He had the idea that the chapter would first raise the money, then find a body of water.

City administrator Jim Roach, a trout fisherman, meanwhile, had a body of water available and asked parks and recreation director Shane West Anderson to look into the financial aspects.

"Last winter, I got a call from Shane West Anderson completely out of the blue, and he said something about the city manager being a trout fisherman," Wells said. "He said the conservation department mentioned our group."

From then on, the project hit the ground running, or the water swimming.

Brandon Gemeinhardt, who moved to Jackson in May, was at the city park Monday on a family outing. He said he has never fished Rotary Lake but was excited to hear about the trout program coming to Jackson.

"I usually go up to Montauk State Park every year for trout fishing," he said. "They're fun to catch."

bmiller@semissourian.com

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JACKSON TROUT REGULATIONS

Trout season at Jackson's Rotary Lake will begin in Jackson on Nov. 3. The following is a list of regulations:

From Nov. 3 until Feb. 1, anglers must release their fish back into the water.

Until Feb. 1, anglers can only use artificial bates. This decreases the mortality rate of the fish that tend to swallow live-baited hooks.

After Feb. 1, live bait can be used and anglers can keep their catch.

There is a five-fish limit.

All anglers must have a fishing license and trout permit.