Fish Black Friday For Big Rainbow Trout

OLYMPIA – The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is offering anglers opportunities for tight lines rather than long lines on the day after Thanksgiving.

The “holiday specials” include thousands of large trout averaging 15 to 16 inches in length and weighing 1-1/4 pounds.

The Department is currently preparing to stock lakes in southwest and western Washington in time for Black Friday, Nov. 27. In eastern Washington, thousands of smaller trout stocked in lakes last year should have grown to catchable size.

“In response to high interest in last year’s Black Friday stocking efforts in southwest Washington, we have expanded the program to include lakes in the Puget Sound region and in eastern Washington,” said Larry Phillips, WDFW inland fish program manager. “This is a great opportunity to skip the malls, avoid the stress, and enjoy a fun day on the water with family and friends.”

The six southwest lakes scheduled to receive fish before Black Friday include:

Battleground Lake and Klineline Pond in Clark County

Kress Lake in Cowlitz County

Rowland Lake in Klickitat County

Fort Borst Park Pond and South Lewis County Park Pond in Lewis County

All those lakes will be closed to fishing Nov. 23-26 to facilitate stocking efforts.

Other lakes stocked in preparation for Black Friday on the west side of the state include Spencer Lake in Mason County; American and Ohop lakes in Pierce County; and Offutt and Long lakes in Thurston County.

On the eastside, WDFW began stocking lakes with fry plants last year, which should mean hefty fish in Williams and Hatch lakes in Stevens County, Fourth of July Lake in Lincoln and Adams counties, and Hog Canyon Lake in Spokane County. Each of these eastside lakes will open Nov. 27 and remain open through March 31, 2016.

The Black Friday fishing opener is one of several fishing opportunities made available this fall thanks to the department’s extensive fish stocking efforts, said Phillips. In total, WDFW has been stocking western Washington lakes with some 125,000 catchable trout during the fall and winter seasons.

For up-to-date stocking information this fall, anglers should follow the department on Twitter or Facebook, accessible from http://wdfw.wa.gov, or see the department's weekly catchable trout stocking report at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/plants/weekly/.

Anglers 15 years and older must have a current Washington freshwater fishing license valid through March 31, 2016, to participate.

Licenses can be purchased online at https://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov; by telephone at 1-866-246-9453; or at hundreds of license vendors across the state. For details on license vendor locations, visit the WDFW website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/licensing/vendors/.