A Missouri rainbow

The rainbow trout was first introduced into Missouri in the 1880s. The cold water of spring-fed south central Missouri streams was believed to be a perfect place to try to establish this fish that thrives in cold, clear water.

In the years after 2000, Missouri developed two of its own strains of the rainbow trout, the Missouri Strain and Missouri Arlee Strain. These Missouri rainbows can survive in impoundments where the water is less than clear as long as the summer water temperatures is never more than 75 degrees.

By November 2021 the Missouri Department of Conservation had released rainbow trout into three Southeast Missouri lakes. One of these was the Jackson Rotary Lake, where about 1,900 rainbows were stocked and a new kind of Missouri trout season was initiated. I took this photo without the aid of a flash at Bass Pro Shops in Springfield, Missouri.