By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
The Missouri Department of Conservation is encouraging anglers to not take the winter off from fishing.
The Department of Conservation has stocked the Everyday Pond on the Missouri Western Campus, as well as the Krug Park Lagoon, with rainbow trout.
Department Spokesman Bill Graham says the rainbow trout is a cold-water fish that can be caught year-round, but some of the common warm water fish can also be caught in these colder temperatures.
"Trout like cold water year-round, so catching them is about the same year-round, they'll take bait off the bottom or lures, flies, and fly rods," Graham tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. "But the other warm water fish, bass, crappie, and catfish, they can be caught in the winter too, they're just not as active."
Graham says there is no such thing as too cold for the rainbow trout, adding the only way the fish would not be active is if the lake was frozen from top to bottom.
"The only thing that can stop trout is the lack of oxygen or the whole pond is solid ice from top to bottom, they'll happily swim beneath the ice no problem," Graham says. "And actually, native fisth too, while not as active, can be caught through the ice."
Graham says while ice fishing in the winter is not as popular in Missouri as it is in the northern states, there are still a number of Missourians who will be out on the ice when there are good conditions fishing.
Graham says some of the more dedicated anglers in the winter will not only go out on the lakes fishing for the cold-water rainbow trout, but some other types of fish as well.
"A lot of people in the winter time, not a lot of people, but really dedicated anglers enjoy crappie fishing in the winter, from boats out in the lakes if the water is open," Graham says. "And they usually use really light lines so fish can't see the lines as easy in the winter clear water, and they fish lures a little slower."
Graham says normally those fish that are more active in the summertime will be slower and easier to catch in the cold water, but it's a different story for the cole water rainbow trout.
Missouri's catch and keep trout season opened at the beginning of this month. Anglers can keep up to four trout with the proper permits.