St. Louis Urban Fishing Program

The Urban Fishing Program encompasses 27 park lakes in St. Louis City, St. Louis County, Ferguson and Ballwin and provides quality, close-to-home fishing opportunities for St. Louis anglers. Find an Urban Fishing Program lake near your St. Louis neighborhood.

Call the Fish Stocking Hotline Before You Travel: 636-300-9651

All UFP park lakes receive regular stockings of channel catfish (March through September), while eight UFP lakes are stocked with trout during winter. Though stocking dates are not announced ahead of time, anglers can get the latest stocking information by calling the 24-hour, Fish Stocking Hotline.

Catfish

Tens of thousands of 15-inch channel catfish are stocked into UFP lakes from April through September. Though stockings are not announced ahead of time, they are reported to the Fish Stocking Hotline at 636-300-9651. Since 1969, MDC has stocked over 2.3 million pounds of fish, valued at $1.4 million into UFP lakes.

Crappie

Crappie (primarily white crappie) are available at most UFP lakes. But, springtime fishing is best in Blackjack Lake, Boathouse Lake (Carondelet Park), Fountain Lake, Jefferson Lake (Forest Park), North Riverfront Park Lake, O’Fallon Park Lake, and South Lake (Willmore Park).

Largemouth bass

Most UFP lakes host largemouth bass populations, but the best populations exist at Blackjack Lake, Carondelet Park lakes (Boathouse and Horseshoe), Fountain Lake, Jefferson Lake (Forest Park), January-Wabash Park Lake, New Ballwin Park Lake, O’Fallon Park Lake, South Lake (Willmore Park) and Tilles Park Lake. Bass approaching the 18-inch minimum length limit are common, with fish up to 23” being possible. Since these big bass see plenty of lures during the year, try fishing early in the year (March-May) along dam rock and sunken brush piles for best results.

Sunfish

All UFP lakes offer some bluegill and redear sunfish fishing. However, some of the better fishing takes place at Boathouse and Horseshoe lakes in Carondelet Park, Jefferson Lake (Forest Park) and South Lake in Willmore Park. Fish near shorelines, Christmas-tree or brush piles and aquatic vegetation for best results.

Trout

Since 1989, the UFP has hosted the very popular winter trout fishing program by stocking over 22,000 trout each winter. Though some trout are much larger, the majority stocked average 11 inches. Stocking dates are not announced ahead of time, but are reported to the Fish Stocking Hotline when fish have been stocked: 636-300-9651.

Boathouse Lake (Carondelet Park), January-Wabash Park Lake, O’Fallon Park Lake, Vlasis Park Lake and lakes at Suson Park allow harvest after November through February stockings. Jefferson Lake (Forest Park) and Tilles Park Lake offer catch-and-release fishing (November 1-January 31) followed by trout harvest regulations the remainder of the year.

Kids Fishing Lakes

Though family fishing opportunities abound at all St. Louis Urban Fishing lakes, seven lakes are managed specifically for kids. Lakes at Bellefontaine Conservation Area, Forest Park and Suson Park are set aside for kids and other groups to reserve for catch-and-release fishing. These lakes are very popular with school and scout groups. Disabled angler facilities are available at each location. Fish species available include bluegill, channel catfish, largemouth bass and redear sunfish. In addition, hybrid sunfish are heavily stocked to help insure kids catch fish.