Best Fishing Hole

Hugged on three sides by the 6,987-acre August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area, Francis Howell High School has the coolest backyard in the state. About 30 minutes outside Our Fair City, Busch Wildlife isn't much of a haul, nor does it require a long stay to make it worth your while. The welcome center is adjacent to a bait shop stocked with the necessities (plastic-wrapped honey buns, worms, cigarettes, etc.), not to mention clean-as-a-whistle restrooms. The virtually litter-free land is a testament to those who play there and those who work there. Birds don't even seem to poo on the directive wooden signs. Five bucks puts you behind the oars of a shiny aluminum fishing boat -- all day. (You've got to have the requisite $12 fishing license, of course, but you can take care of that at the bait shop.) Why Lake 35? Go find out for yourself. Fishing is open to the public on designated waters daily from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.