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Home PageGov. Nixon kicks off Missouri tradition at Montauk State Park
SALEM – Park patriarch Ted Ziske led the countdown, Gov. Jay Nixon fired the starter’s pistol and the siren sounded, signaling the opening of trout season at Montauk State Park at dawn Monday.
And the bald eagles never stirred from their nest in a ridgetop pine overlooking the commotion on the Current River bridge below.
Park naturalist Stephen Bost said the eagles had nested there since 1999, but previously had abandoned the nest because of the opening-day hubbub, returning two weeks later, too late for the eggs.
Bost figured they were gun shy, so he began acclimating them by banging on the bridge in the weeks leading up to trout season. He watched closely as the governor fired five shots with the pistol.
“The eagles didn’t leave,” Bost said. “I think we’ve got it figured out. There are eggs in the nest right now.”
Ziske, 84, a dentist in Salem, was invited to do the honorary countdown because he has been a fixture at the park for much of his life.
“I caught my first fish here 76 years ago,” he said. “The trout tags they pay $3 for were 25 cents back then.”
Although he was a bystander on this day, Ziske said the park’s rainbow trout make for a lively catch. “They’ve got more snap in their garters than some others,” he said.
The park expected to sell more than 2,000 tags, and had stocked some 6,300 rainbow trout, meaning there were three fish for every angler. The Department of Natural Resources operates the park, while the Department of Conservation runs the hatchery.
Ben Havens, assistant hatchery manager, said the stocked fish included 50 lunkers of three pounds or more. “I would expect to see some pretty good fish come out of that,” he said.
He didn’t have to wait long. Moments after the siren sounded at 6:30 a.m., there was another commotion along the bank just upstream from the bridge. Will Eggert II, a seven-year-old who was fishing with his parents, Bill and Connie Eggert of Salem, had caught a monster.
The governor admired the fish and posed for a snapshot with the boy, who had a hard time holding up his prize. “The first thing he said was, ‘Let’s show the governor’,” said Mom.
“You know there’s more out there,” Nixon told young Will. “The harder you work, the more you’ll get. Just like in life.”
The governor autographed Will’s lucky No. 7 trout tag and headed off. “Now, it’s my turn,” he said.
Nixon donned chest-high waders while his wife, Georganne, took a walk around the park with Daniel Boone, the family’s brown-and-white Welsh springer spaniel.
When it comes to trout, Mrs. Nixon made her views clear. “I like to cook them, don’t like to clean them,” said the First Lady.
Nixon headed for the fly-fishing area called the Mill Dam Hole on the main channel of the Current. A half dozen casts and he landed and netted a trout, returning it to the water to grow a little more.
The governor chatted and laughed with Ben Kingston of Lonedell, Mo., and his son Benjamin, 11, who were standing alongside in the water.
“We talked about hunting and raising boys,” Kingston said. “I didn’t talk about politics because I wanted him to enjoy his fishing trip. He knows what he’s doing with that fly rod.”
After about an hour, the action slowed and Nixon adjusted his priorities. “I’m going to get the First Lady some breakfast,” he said.
At the park lodge, there were almost two dozen names on the lunker list. By mid-morning, the top spot was still held by Will Eggert II, with his 6-pound, 9-ounce prize.
