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Kansas City, Mo. – A new winter trout fishing lake is available in the Kansas City area. The city of Belton is partnering with the Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) Community Assistance Program for fishing at Cleveland Lake Regional Park. MDC stocked the lake with rainbow trout. The lake opened for trout fishing on Nov. 1. Other Kansas City lakes in the urban winter trout program will be stocked and opened at a later date.
The 7.6-acre Cleveland Lake is at one of Belton’s newest parks. Access is via South Cleveland Avenue. Besides rainbow trout in winter, the lake is scheduled to receive fall stockings of channel catfish. MDC partners with cities and counties to stock urban lakes to give anglers a close-to-home fishing opportunity.
“This lake has awesome bank access for anglers,” said Jake Colehour, MDC fisheries management biologist.
Banks are fairly clear for flyrod anglers back casting before whipping fly line and lure out onto the water, Colehour said. Many anglers also use spinning and spincasting gear to cast spinners, jigs, and scented baits. All Missouri residents over the age of 15 and under 65 must have a fishing permit. Non-residents must have out-of-state fishing permits. Anyone wishing to keep the trout they catch must have a Missouri trout fishing permit. The daily limit is four.
Cleveland Lake has a boat ramp for use by watercraft. Only electric motors may be used. A $10 city permit is required. Anglers with the boating permit will be able to fish for trout at the lake.
MDC will be stocking trout later in November at other Kansas City area lakes. Some of the lakes will be stocked again in later winter months. The most up-to-date information on MDC’s winter trout stockings in the KC Metro Area is available by calling the urban lake hotline at 816-525-0300, press 2 at the recorded prompt.
Other lakes scheduled to receive trout will include:
Trout are not a native Missouri fish. They have been introduced to the cold, spring-fed streams of southern Missouri. However, when winter drops water temperatures cold enough to support trout, MDC stocks them in selected urban lakes and ponds.
MDC encourages all anglers to practice precautions against the COVID-19 virus, including physical distancing, when fishing at urban lakes.
Tips for catching winter trout in urban lakes are found in an online Missouri Conservationist magazine story, https://short.mdc.mo.gov/Zpq. For more information on urban winter trout fishing throughout Missouri, visit https://short.mdc.mo.gov.
