Yes, there will be trout in the water ready to be caught by excited anglers at Saturday’s March 1 trout opener at Montauk State Park.
That’s something many fishing fans of this well-known state park in Dent County have been worried about since the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) fish hatchery received extensive damage from flooding last November. Though the recovery process is still underway at the hatchery, MDC staff are happy to say there will be trout in Montauk’s waters when fishing starts at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday. They are equally happy to say there will be trout at Montauk throughout the trout park’s summer catch-and-keep season, which runs from March 1 to Oct. 31.
MDC operates trout hatcheries at all four of the state’s “trout parks” – Montauk State Park (Dent County), Roaring River State Park (Barry County), Bennett Spring State Park (Laclede and Dallas counties), Maramec Spring Park (Phelps County). Approximately 20,000 trout will be stocked statewide at these four parks on Saturday’s opening day. MDC will continue to stock these trout parks daily through the summer catch-and-keep season, as well as at other trout-fishing locations around the state. That means that more than 600,000 trout will be stocked at the four trout parks and about one million trout will be stocked statewide this year.
These numbers are good news for trout anglers across the state, but they’re particularly encouraging for people who enjoy fishing at Montauk State Park. For those anglers, it’s good to be talking about fishing prospects instead of flood damage.
“The damage sustained in last November’s flood has definitely made it a challenge to get fish production going again at Montauk,” said Tom Whelan, MDC’s statewide hatchery systems supervisor and the person who oversees operations at MDC’s cold-water hatcheries. “However, due to diligent efforts from the staff at Montauk, other MDC hatcheries, and multiple disciplines within our agency, we are going to have a successful trout season.”
The best way to appreciate the significance of being able to fish for trout at Montauk on March 1 is to understand the damage flooding caused at the hatchery last November. Several DNR and MDC buildings/structures were covered in water and sustained various types of damage. To give an example, the trout raceways near the Old Mill within the park were nearly 15 feet underwater at the height of the flood. Staff have been busy with clean-up and repair work all winter, but work is still underway at Montauk.
“Due to the extent of the damage from flooding, repairing all the damage at Montauk by March 1 is simply not possible,” he said. He explained that repairs of some sort at the hatchery will likely be taking place throughout the summer season. An example of this is the park’s fish-cleaning station, which will be out of service until repairs can be made.
The connectivity of MDC’s cold-water hatchery system has played a key role in Montauk’s recovery. Staff from several hatcheries and other branches of the agency assisted with recovery and clean-up efforts. Several thousand trout were also held for a period at MDC’s warm-water fish hatcheries.
Whelan said the fact that a March 1 trout opener at Montauk is occurring is an example of how MDC is dedicated to providing fishing opportunities to the public.
“The true team effort between our hatcheries is a reliable constant that is part of our state-wide hatchery system each year,” Whelan said. “Our hatchery system in Missouri works together to maintain quality fishing experiences for all Missourians to enjoy.”
