Fishing

A bluebird sky drapes over a crystal-clear Missouri stream. A hand-tied fly settles to the surface of a ripple and floats downstream. A wild Rainbow Trout lunges to take the bait. It’s moments like these that lure people to fish in Missouri.

The Show-Me State has everything an angler could want. More than 200 species of fish offer different challenges for everyone from a child fishing for the first time to professional bass fishermen. Just pick a favorite … and we’ll provide both the location and the action.

Challenging big water provides spectacular fishing for walleye, bass, crappie, northern pike, even paddlefish. From the dark depths and rugged bluffs of Table Rock Lake and the liquid blue dragon-shaped Lake of the Ozarks to sparkling, sprawling Mark Twain Lake, there are 12 bodies of water in Missouri that are larger than 1,000 acres.

Roughly 700 urban and suburban lakes are chock full of everything from sunfish and catfish to bass and carp. The Missouri Department of Conservation stocks 32 urban lakes around the state for winter trout fishing.

Our two great rivers – the Missouri and the Mississippi – offer big adventure in pursuit of equally big fish like blue catfish, carp and drum.

Four state-managed trout parks present opportunities to explore the habitat trout love - from deep, cold springs to peaceful pools. And our cold crystal-clear streams in the Ozarks prove to anglers from around the world that wild trout breed here, and test anglers with the native wiliness of wild rainbow and brown trout.

The quality of Missouri fisheries is just one of the things that sets us apart from other states when it comes to fishing. The other is that this serene lifestyle is largely free of charge (other than the cost of a fishing license and/or trout tag). How can this be possible? It’s because more than four decades ago, Missourians self-imposed taxes for soil, water, fish and wildlife conservation and state parks and we all get to benefit from it. Missouri has truly amazing fishing – because Missourians wouldn’t have it any other way.