Bnorm

I wanted to copy and paste my info but it won't let me. Here is the full document laying the whole program for trout statewide dated 2003. There is some really good reading in there about how trout fishing is supposed to be managed state wide. The tag info is on page 2
https://huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/sites/default/files/downloads/6254_4142.pdf
The park concessions do get 5% of the revenue generated by license sales however.
 

I wanted to copy and paste my info but it won't let me. Here is the full document laying the whole program for trout statewide dated 2003. There is some really good reading in there about how trout fishing is supposed to be managed state wide. The tag info is on page 2
https://huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/sites/default/files/downloads/6254_4142.pdf
The park concessions do get 5% of the revenue generated by license sales however.
 

I am not affiliated with the park at all but fish down there quite a bit and want to give my $.02 as to how I see it.
The Conservation Dept. gets every penny of money brought in by trout tag sales. Nothing is given to the concessionaire or the park department so every $ put in for tag sales goes right back into conservation. That is part of the reason they have to make a decision on where the money will come from to fix the wooden bridge, they get their annual budget for maintenance and have to make the best decisions they can. I haven't been to the pool there for decades but it looks like it will take a chunk of change to fix that up and seems to be contributing to the water situations they have been having in the campground for the past 2 years. I think it would be nice if they were able to fix everything but the reality is there is only a certain amount of money to go around and I hear that the price tag on that bridge is somewhere around $750,000.
As far as the hatchery goes, it is pretty empty right now and full of smaller fish which does make sense. The fish just spawned so they still have the eggs and young fry inside. The stocker size raceways are low because they have been stocking them all year obviously. Those narrow pens are filled with what will be next years stockers and they will grade them out into the bigger pools over the wintertime. If you go in the springtime all of the runways are full as they have a full years worth of stocker trout to supply the stream for the year. They had three events in October which they stocked large fish for, Ladies Day, Holland Derby, and the Redington showcase. I know they released a lot of lunkers and oversized stockers for those events and Ladies Day and the Derby might as well be called Fish Harvesting Festivals as the fish are overstocked and most of the participants at least keep all of the large ones they catch. They will also stock some of the worn out brood stock and other stockers into the urban program in a couple weeks so I am sure they are specifically reserving some for that.
I just fished there for the past week and can confirm that there are lots of small fish in the stream and not a lot of what experienced fishermen would considered to be keeper size. Keep in mind that out of the 200,000 tags they sell at Bennett for the year they will stock about 500,000 fish. At least 75,000 of these tags will be kids and novice fishermen that will keep any trout they catch making sure they get their limit to bring home. If they all get their limits that is 300,000 fish just to those tags with the other fishermen taking out only the nice bigger ones over the last 7 months. Remember those smaller ones in the stream right now will holdover and naturally grow to a really nice size by March 1. 

I am not affiliated with the park at all but fish down there quite a bit and want to give my $.02 as to how I see it.
The Conservation Dept. gets every penny of money brought in by trout tag sales. Nothing is given to the concessionaire or the park department so every $ put in for tag sales goes right back into conservation. That is part of the reason they have to make a decision on where the money will come from to fix the wooden bridge, they get their annual budget for maintenance and have to make the best decisions they can. I haven't been to the pool there for decades but it looks like it will take a chunk of change to fix that up and seems to be contributing to the water situations they have been having in the campground for the past 2 years. I think it would be nice if they were able to fix everything but the reality is there is only a certain amount of money to go around and I hear that the price tag on that bridge is somewhere around $750,000.
As far as the hatchery goes, it is pretty empty right now and full of smaller fish which does make sense. The fish just spawned so they still have the eggs and young fry inside. The stocker size raceways are low because they have been stocking them all year obviously. Those narrow pens are filled with what will be next years stockers and they will grade them out into the bigger pools over the wintertime. If you go in the springtime all of the runways are full as they have a full years worth of stocker trout to supply the stream for the year. They had three events in October which they stocked large fish for, Ladies Day, Holland Derby, and the Redington showcase. I know they released a lot of lunkers and oversized stockers for those events and Ladies Day and the Derby might as well be called Fish Harvesting Festivals as the fish are overstocked and most of the participants at least keep all of the large ones they catch. They will also stock some of the worn out brood stock and other stockers into the urban program in a couple weeks so I am sure they are specifically reserving some for that.
I just fished there for the past week and can confirm that there are lots of small fish in the stream and not a lot of what experienced fishermen would considered to be keeper size. Keep in mind that out of the 200,000 tags they sell at Bennett for the year they will stock about 500,000 fish. At least 75,000 of these tags will be kids and novice fishermen that will keep any trout they catch making sure they get their limit to bring home. If they all get their limits that is 300,000 fish just to those tags with the other fishermen taking out only the nice bigger ones over the last 7 months. Remember those smaller ones in the stream right now will holdover and naturally grow to a really nice size by March 1. 

Go on eBay and buy Frog hair flourocarbon tippet in 100 meter spools.  You'll save a ton of cash.  Those small spools for 18 bucks will make you go broke quick if you fish a lot. 

What type of fishing are you planning on doing? When at Bennett, if you are bait fishing in Zone 3 You don't need waders at all, there are plenty of places to fish that are shore based to fish from. Zone 2 has some pretty good bank access by the Dam and further down by the Whistle Bridge. The Fly water in Zone 1 is a little more limited in terms of bank fishing but it is possible.
The spots in Zone 2 also for the most part aren't very deep in the wading areas so thigh deep at the worst is all you would be in.
Zone 1 is much trickier wading is is considerably deeper in most stretches of when moving around the stream.
I am not too familiar with the River access so I don't want to spread any wrong information about that but you can post in the Niangua section and I am sure OneShot or someone will help you out.

What type of fishing are you planning on doing? When at Bennett, if you are bait fishing in Zone 3 You don't need waders at all, there are plenty of places to fish that are shore based to fish from. Zone 2 has some pretty good bank access by the Dam and further down by the Whistle Bridge. The Fly water in Zone 1 is a little more limited in terms of bank fishing but it is possible.
The spots in Zone 2 also for the most part aren't very deep in the wading areas so thigh deep at the worst is all you would be in.
Zone 1 is much trickier wading is is considerably deeper in most stretches of when moving around the stream.
I am not too familiar with the River access so I don't want to spread any wrong information about that but you can post in the Niangua section and I am sure OneShot or someone will help you out.

I was down there over the weekend but didn't fish at all. The water was still very high and off color. For perspective, it was still at the top of the whistle bridge. There were a few fisherman down there but hardly any fish being caught on Saturday at least. I walked the entire length of the stream round trip and saw one fisherman hooked up down in zone 3.
Most of the flyfisherman were trying to fish the backwater areas above the Holland and Big Dam and the most fish I saw on a individual stringer was 2.
From looking at the gauges it seems that the flow should be getting much closer to normal by the weekend time but with more rain in the forecast who knows what will be the case.
The park seems to be ok though. the large campground by the river was open and there wasn't noticeable damage outside of a large tree down on the bank in Zone 1. It looks like a ton of effort was made to clean up the hatchery first as that was clean as a whistle. Kudos to Ben and his staff down there.
 
 

Pray that the snow season in Colorado ends early so that you miss any potential pitfalls with runoff, but i think you should be fine.
The fishing around Gunnison is incredible and having lived in CO for 19 years maybe my favorite in the state. Chances are any guided trip you are on they will float the Gunnison River which is really good fishing, if you have a chance try to take a trip into the Black Canyon. The Gunnison is a big river with pretty fast flows and is fished best by boat or raft, wading is doable but i wouldn't recommend it.
If you don't want to float or go on a guided trip the 2 main Tributaries of the Gunnison offer great fishing as well.
First is the Taylor River- classic mountain freestone stream with pocket water everywhere. Lots of private water around, but the area right downstream from the Taylor River reservoir holds some MONSTER trout but they can be tricky to catch (Mysis Shrimp Patterns rule but I have also had success with wooly buggers, if you don't have any mysis, use a white mini jig  ). It is easy access right next to the road into the water and therefore can be crowded at times especially on weekends. Google "Hog Trough Taylor River" for some pictures of the lunkers that it holds. There are other areas closer to Almont to fish but like i said a lot of it is private so access is tough.
Second is the East River- Winding freestone river on much flatter ground. I suggest parking at the Roaring Judy hatchery and then taking one of the paths from there down to the river. Easily wadeable and a nice amount of fish. Almost all of the water in that location is public. There are a lot more runs and riffles and less pocket water than the Taylor. Also if you have kids with you, Roaring Judy has 4 stocked trout ponds. 2 of the ponds have smaller fish and they are pretty easy to catch and bait is allowed. The other 2 ponds are larger and harder to access but hold some nice browns.
 
Enjoy your trip, there is so much to see and do around the areas you are headed. If you want a good spot to setup camp by the East and Taylor look to stay in Almont which is about halfway between Gunnison and Crested Butte.
Crested Butte has a great old mountain town feel and a cool little 4th of July celebration with fireworks and a parade and the restaurants and bars aren't too overpriced for the area.
 
 
 

I just moved back to the St. Louis area after spending the past 19 years in Colorado. I did fish rather regularly at Bennett Springs however during that time as my family has had a place at Weaver's for the past 35 years. I regularly flyfish and have been successful in trying out some of the St. Louis trout hotspots as well. 
Been lurking around here for a month or so but wanted to drop a line and introduce myself and thank you all for the wealth of information that you have provided on so many fisheries around the region.

I just moved back to the St. Louis area after spending the past 19 years in Colorado. I did fish rather regularly at Bennett Springs however during that time as my family has had a place at Weaver's for the past 35 years. I regularly flyfish and have been successful in trying out some of the St. Louis trout hotspots as well. 
Been lurking around here for a month or so but wanted to drop a line and introduce myself and thank you all for the wealth of information that you have provided on so many fisheries around the region.