St. Louis Area

[tfoster]

Hi Folks,

New to this site today and have a question.

I have 3 grandkids, a girl & boy that are five, and one boy that is 2.

They have found in my garage a little fishing pole tht their mom used 25 years ago. The Mickey Mouse type rods for youngsters.

Now they use it "fishing" in the tub, of the porch, in their wading pool,ect.

They are asking PaPa to take them fishing, and they have never fished before.

I fish alot for cats, but don't want to take them catfishing because of the sometimes long waits betwen strikes, and I'm afraid that they will get bored really easily just waiting. After 2-3 times being bored I don't want them to get turned off to fishing. Know what I mean?

I need to find a pond/lake that has a good reputation for pan fish, blue gill, perch, crappie, ect. so as to keep them interested in fishing.

I'm in Fenton, in the St. Louis area,

Wife and I went to Bush wildlife area but caught nothing that day...maybe bad day, or wrong lake.

What lakes in bush is highly recomended for panfish?

Any other recomended lakes/ponds in St Louis area?

Oh ya, mom says no boats yet so all fishing from bank.

Anyone have maybe a farm pond they let us use? LOL

Any input is truly appriciated.

[jpb2187]

The only issue with Saint Louis area lakes/ponds is the pressure. The fish are there, they are just a little gun shy. The two lakes in Fabick Park in Fenton (Preslar and ???) might be a decent place to take them. I've caught a decent amount of fish out of there. All pretty small, but fish none the less. You could also try Forest Park. I typically go there everyday on my lunch break. Again, gets a lot of pressure, but you could see all the panfish on the beds right now so you could probably get a couple to bite for the kids. I'm typically bass fishing so I can't say I have much expertise. They do think they can fit their mouth around my bass lures though!

http://mdc4.mdc.mo.gov/applications/moatlas/AreaSummaryPage.aspx?txtAreaID=4901

This has MDC recommendations for which lakes to fish at Bush.

http://www.anglerweb.com/fishing_spots/august-a-busch-conservation-areas Here's a little more in depth lake breakdown.

[BredMan]

Bush has a lake for kids 15 and under. Adults can only assist but not fish. I believe it is #11. Use crickets. May be worthy but Busch is heavily fished so don't expect fish to be plentiful. I fish the catch and release lakes often but right now they are getting moss and duck weed filled. Hard to fish from the banks and even with a boat its tough. Being close its a great way to waste some time and clear the head! One thing you also should know, stay out of the high grass. Loaded with chiggars and ticks.

[gramps50]

Busch Memorial Conservation Area Lakes 3, 4, 5, 7, and 23 Reported on:
6/19/13
Fish Reported: Catfish: Good Bluegill: Good Black Bass: Good
Crappie: Fair
Temperature: 78º
Water Level: high
Water Type: dingy
Channel catfish good on doughbait and livers; black bass good on plastic
worms; crappie fair on minnows and jigs; bluegill good on worms. Please
remove your trash.

Was fishing Presler Lake in Fenton but the last week or so it has really dropped off. A month ago you could go catch 8-10 nice bluegill in an evening. Now you have to work to catch one or two. Might be different with live bait. Bud Wiel lake (pond) behind the firehouse off 141 has a ton of small sun fish over by the deck that will bite at anything. They are little but might keep the kids entertained. Might also try Westside park too.

[boxj24]

Beetree park in South County is excellent for blue gill. All you need is night crawlers. Throw it in with a bobber. No need to cast more than 5 or 6 feet and you'll have a bite within 10 seconds. That's where I learned, I fish for mostly bass now but have a 9 month old to start teaching soon.

[moguy1973]

If you want to fish for some bluegill that are super easy to catch but nothing really big go to Des Peres Park at the corner of Ballas and Manchester. It's a catch and release only lake and there are a ton of small bluegill in it. They are spawning right now too and are right near the banks. The water is pretty clear too so you can see where the fish are. The lake has a good population of small bass in it too, as well as quite a few 4-5lb catfish. It's a great lake to get kids interested in fishing because the bluegill are pretty eager to bite.

[Geoff]

I will second the Des Peres lake. Its a good lake for kids. For lakes out at Busch, go to lake 22. I was out there last weekend caught tons of nice quality bluegiil and redear sunfish. Even had a 4lb bass on for a while that decided to eat one of my gills i caught.

[stlfisher]

The kids fishing lake at Busch is lake # 12 although 11 is a good lake as well. Suson Park off of Tesson Ferry is another place to try...several lakes to fish...just head down 141 to 21 it is close to Fenton. Plenty of stuff for them to do if the fish are not biting.