Missouri Trout Hunter

Blog for sharing thoughts, beliefs and opinions on issues affecting the world of trout fishing in the Ozarks.

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Can We Fix the Trout Park Crowding Problem?

I'm hoping for some serious discussion on this topic, because crowding issues at the trout parks appears to be getting worse. Not only does this make the parks more difficult to fish, but crowded park fishermen then spill out onto the trout waters downstream, making the Meramec River, the Current River, the Niangua River, and Roaring River more crowded as well. I am hoping that your posts will be solutions-based rather than simple griping. We all already know the horror stories of how people misbehave in crowded situations, and fishermen are no different. But what can we do to fix the problem?

Should the Missouri Department of Conservation change the daily limit (again), set a minimum length limit, change the tag prices, change the season, set a cap on how many daily tags can be sold, set up more catch & release areas, or do you have another idea that has merit? There are likely pro's and con's to every option, so let's get a conversation going.