Winter trout fishing nears at KC metro lakes

Kansas City Mo -- The Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) annual winter trout fishing program for selected Kansas-City-area lakes is almost here, with some new opportunities for anglers.

Liberty is providing an additional Northland location to fish for rainbow trout. The two largest lakes at the city’s Fountain Bluff Sports Complex, 2200 E. Old 210 Highway, will be stocked with trout. The complex is one-half-mile east of Missouri 291.

Those lakes will be stocked four times between mid-November and mid-March. Anglers will have access to Fountain Bluff daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The land surrounding the lakes is open and will provide good access and room for casting whether anglers are flyfishing or using spinning lures or natural bait, said Jake Allman, an MDC fisheries biologist. Anglers are asked to park vehicles in designated parking lots and not along park roadways.

Chaumiere Lake in the Kansas City park system is a traditional Northland winter trout fishing lake and will be stocked again. The lake is near Northeast 43rd Street and North Indiana Avenue, and that neighborhood can be reached via Interstate 35 and North Chouteau Trafficway.

Two lakes are stocked with trout annually at the James A. Reed Memorial Wildlife Area near Lee’s Summit in southeast Jackson County. Coot and Plover lakes are scheduled to be stocked with trout at the MDC area this winter.

One change is that the Alex George Lake at a park in south Kansas City is being removed from the winter trout program. The lake has become too shallow to provide good conditions for fish survival, Allman said. There were two substantial fish kills at the lake in the past year due to shallow water. In order to provide the best conditions for fish and opportunities for anglers, the lake has been removed from the program.

Exact dates for the first trout stocking and those to follow through the winter are not available. But a telephone hotline is available for updates. Anglers can call 816-655-6254, ext. 401, any time day or night for the latest stocking information.

All anglers wishing to keep the trout they catch must have a $7 Missouri trout fishing permit. Trout permits are half-price for anglers less than 16 years of age. All anglers 16 to 65 years of age must also have a valid fishing license. The daily limit for trout is 4 fish. Once an angler has harvested their fourth trout, they may continue fishing as long as all other trout are released. No culling of trout is allowed and there are no length limits on trout.