I'm with those who have been in Missouri's trout parks. For those who don't know, the parks stock trout daily based on the number of tags sold the day before.
Trout parks have their own feel and culture, distinct from fishing a wild stream, though there are variances from park to park. I haven't fished Montauk, but it's the most rustic and people report that they can easily get themselves in a situation that feels "wild" and "alone." That isn't the case at Bennett Spring. There will be people within fifty feet of you for sure. That said, I never felt like I wasn't trout fishing, and I like the parks. The people always add to the experience for me.
All of this makes the trout "eccentric." The nightly stocking puts fish in the water so gullible that they'll hit the first thing that falls on the water. Yet, you can detect a very distinct learning curve, and a trout park fish that survives sees heavy pressure and fly after fly and has maybe been caught and released a few times. They can be really challenging. It ends up being a mix of gullible, learning, and very wise fish. Trout park fish are often very fickle and finicky, and it's because they are being constantly educated or have been already.
About the trout park culture: First, these places are beautiful and also historic. There'll be Native American traditions about the scenery, and inevitably the hatchery and lodge buildings were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps or some such. Normally, the stream had a mill or dam built by some settler or there was an actual settlement. Remnants of that (or even the mill, in the case of Montauk) will often be present.
There's also a huge amount of tradition and nostalgia associated with trout parks. There's first of all the culture of the Ozarks. There are traditional flies, techniques, etc. At Bennett, the stream features have names: Bluff Hole, Suzy Hole, State Record Rock, Kingfisher Flat, etc. Some of these names go way, way back. Opening Day is like a carnival, and people anticipate it they way they do opening day of deer season in Minnesota.
A trout park will often have its personalities and characters, too, especially the busier ones. There are retirees that reside or spend summers around them and fish every day. A number of flyshop owners or people running businesses in the area are easily recognized. I've made relationships with several people that stem from camping in the same campground each summer. If you listen closely to people who frequent the parks a lot, they'll refer to the "the gang." (This is very much a part of the opening day, shoulder to shoulder madhouse. It's a tradition).
I should add that parks are very family-oriented, too. A trout park is a great place to take kids on a fishing/camping trip.
....We have something similar in VA.... $50/day and you can fish all day for pen raised lunkers. Not my thing.... But hey..... if it's all you got.
