Fishing in February? You Bet!

Every Christmas for I don't know how long I go online and purchase new fishing licenses for my wife and myself for the next year. I always put the license in an envelope and put it into her Christmas stocking. This year I may use it earlier than usual.

Usually it's sometime in late April/early May when I get my first taste of fishing when crappie are starting to spawn and my wife and I head to Truman Lake. But this year I may hit the water with rod in hand in early February.

Starting Monday, February 1, fishing for rainbow trout will be an option in Sedalia. The location is Liberty Park Pond as anglers will be able to fish and keep up to four fish a day.

Last fall the Missouri Department of Conservation stocked the pond, and then it was catch and release. So come February 1 anyone with the proper licenses will able to fish the pond for those rainbow trout and the ability to keep them.

According to the Missouri Department of Conservation:

Trout are not native to Missouri, although MDC has stocked them in some spring-fed streams in the Ozarks. But the pond water cools enough in winter to support them. MDC’s winter trout program gives anglers a chance to catch trout a short drive from home.

You can use scented lures and natural baits although fly fishing and spin fishing remain options.

All Missouri residents over age 15 and under 65 must have a valid fishing permit, and all non-residents over age 15 must have a Missouri fishing permit. Anglers keeping fish must have a Missouri Trout Permit.