OPENING DAY 2020

Roaring River

OPENING DAY

Roaring River State Park has drawn crowds of nature lovers for over 100 years.

Prior to the 6:30 a.m. gunshot to begin trout season, anglers lined the banks of Roaring River like dim shadows, waiting anxiously to begin the fishing ritual.

Photos by Kyle Troutman State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick shoots off the Opening Day gun in 2020 during festivities at Roaring River State Park. The firing of the gun by “Oneshot Scott” signified the open of catch-and-keep trout season. State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick, left, who received the No. 1 tag, and State Rep. Scott Cupps, right, who received the No. 2 tag, talked with Roaring River State Park Manager Joel Topham at the start of catch-andkeep trout season in 2020.

Former Cassville resident Richard Beeler, right middle, purchased his fishing tags at 6 a.m. in 2020 at the head of a line that stretched all the way to the front door of the Roaring River Park store. Zane LeCompte, right, and Jillian Hoover, middle, from Cassville, enjoyed coffee and fellowship with the Cassville Area Chamber of Commerce volunteers.

The scene along the banks of Roaring River, facing the lights by the hatchery, minutes after the opening of trout season. (right) Anglers worked hard to take advantage of the first lines tosses in the first five minutes of fishing.

Mike DePriest, formerly of Monett, now of Chicago, warmed by one of the bonfire barrels set beside Roaring River to help comfort anglers waiting for the fishing to begin in 2020

Josh Tracy, of Springfield, worked to free his hook from a fish pulled in three minutes after the gunshot of the morning in 2020.

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Roaring River State Park Private Group

Jeff Greer, of Grove, Okla., shows off the 9.1-pound trout he caught in the first half hour of fishing in 2020, good for this year’s lunker award. Green was competing against a cousin, as his brother, always in the running, had gone to a bass fishing tournament this year. Matt Meiers, of St. Louis, showed off the trout he snagged in the first 10 minutes of fishing in 2020 at Roaring River.

Photo by Kyle Troutman

Using a head lamp to help him see, Ron Whitesel, of Kansas City, pulled his 3-pound trout out of his net as one of the catches in the first 10 minutes of fishing in 2020. Andrew Tyson, of Purdy, extracted the hook from a fish landed by son Waylon in the first half hour of fishing in 2020. Waylon wore child’s tag No. 2, purchased on Saturday.

Peyton Rayburn, 16, of Exeter, pulls in a rainbow trout during Opening Day festivities.

Fishing together in 2020 were Brylenn Boykin, of Aurora, with parents Toni and Trenton Boykin, enjoying fish and fellowship at Roaring River. Fishing is a family affair for the Gold family, who live in the Aurora/Cape Fair area. From left are Caden Dawson, Rodney and Kristi Gold, Blaine Byron and Talan Gold.

Bill and Gerry Dillon, of Monett, spent a relaxing morning in 2020 in their portable chairs with fishing rods in the water at Roaring River State Park.

Even bystanders had fun watching the spectacle of fishing at Roaring River in 2020. Shelby Myers and daughter Sadie, of Washburn, took in the sights while Sadie’s dad, Levi Myers, worked the banks with his fishing pole.

Longtime Opening Day fishing buddies, from right, Roy Hudson, of Cassville; Melvin Hayes, of Pierce City; John Rosenbaum, of Monett; and son Joe Rosenbaum, of Monett, enjoyed their time together in the morning of 2020. The falls at Roaring River State Park were running strong on Opening Day.

Did you know?

The Ozark Chinquapin Nature Center, which is located adjacent to campground No. 3 is known as the “best kept secret” in Roaring River State Park. Glade and open woodland restoration is the major focus of natural resource management at Roaring River State Park.

Justin Hilburn, of Cassville, reels in one of his many catches on Opening Day. A veteran of the event, Hilburn said on Opening Day in 2015, he caught 175 trout.

A group of anglers search for a lunker hiding in the deep at a hole near the hatchery.

More than 2500 anglers took to the waters of Roaring River in 2020 looking for a big catch. (left) Chris Adamson, right, of Verona, nets a trout by the falls as his mother, Connie Adamson, of Monett, looks on.

EXPLORE MORE

Check out more details of Roaring River State Park by visiting their page of the Missouri State Parks website:

mostateparks.com/park/roaring-river-state-park