Today's Game Plan
Checking the weather at Busch…
Sky
Wind
Temperature
Time of day
Can't Decide? Same.
One tap, one answer: we score every lake by what's hot right now in the conditions above and tell you where to drive.
The Lay of the Land
The whole conservation area, with every numbered lake pinned. Tap a pin to see what's in that lake — gray pins (1, 2, 15) are the closed education lakes.
Lake outlines & numbers load live from OpenStreetMap. Want the paper version? Official MDC area page & map ›
I'm at lake…
Tap your lake number to see what's in it and what to tie on.
Total Newbie? Start Here
The can't-fail setup: a light spinning rod, 6 lb line, a small hook, a bobber, and a container of nightcrawlers from the on-site bait shop. Cast near any brush or weeds and you will catch bluegill. Everything else on this page is a bonus.
Species Guide
Rules to Remember
Closed lakes: 1, 2, and 15 — education program only.
Kids' lake: Lake 12 is managed for family fishing.
15" bass rule: on lakes 3, 5, 9, 10, 16, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 27, 30, 31, 34, 35, 37 (and Fire Lake at Weldon Spring), any bass under 15 inches goes back in the water. Doesn't matter for you if you're releasing everything anyway.
Winter trout (Nov–Jan): Lakes 7 & 21 are catch-and-release with artificial lures only, then open to keeping fish Feb 1. Lakes 3, 22, 23 allow keeping trout as soon as they're stocked.
Hybrid stripers: if keeping, limit is 4 per day, each at least 20 inches.