Washington State Fishing Report

Lake Season Opener (click image for detail)

Washington’s traditional lake opener April 24 was just the start of a season of great fishing, as well-stocked lakes continue to produce trout limits, spring weather warms to summery temperatures and a host of other fishing opportunities loom in May.

Lingcod hook-and-line season opens May 1 in Puget Sound from Sekiu to Olympia, although the fishery in Hood Canal is under review due to continued disolved-oxygen problems in the 60-mile-long fjord.  Anglers planning to fish in Hood Canal should check the WDFW website or the fishing hotline (360-902-2500) before heading out.

Halibut fishing opens May 2 in the Westport area, followed by other openings on the coast. Halibut fishing in Puget Sound begins May 6 on a Thursday through Monday schedule.

However, on the lower Columbia River, spring chinook fishing will close beginning 12:01 a.m. Saturday (May 1) from the mouth upstream to the I-5 Bridge. Fishing from the bridge upstream to Bonneville Dam was closed earlier. Bonneville Pool, The Dalles and John Day pools are expected to close to fishing on May 6; a final decision is expected May 4.

Meanwhile trout fishing has continued to be productive throughout the state. Eastern Washington waters got off to a great start. In fact, six of the state’s top 10 trout-producing lakes on opening day were east of the Cascades: Fish Lake in Spokane County, Cedar Lake in Stevens County, Jameson Lake in Douglas County, Blue Lake and Vic Meyer lakes in Grant County, and Alta Lake in Okanogan County.

Western Washington trout lakes also produced well, although razor clam digging and Columbia River salmon fishing competed for anglers’ attention. Among the state’s top-10 producers on the opener were Ki Lake in Snohomish County, Heart Lake in Skagit County, Rapjohn Lake in Pierce County and Long Lake in Thurston County.

WDFW staff and volunteers checked 5,170 anglers with 15,801 trout from 99 lakes statewide on the opener. See regional reports below for specifics by water to get an idea of continuing fishing prospects.


North Puget Sound:

Fishing: Catch rates were strong across the region during the opening weekend of the lowland lakes trout-fishing season. “The fishing was great, the weather was nice and the people seemed happy,” said Curt Kraemer, WDFW regional freshwater fish program manager. Opening day reports from selected lakes indicate 119 anglers fishing Snohomish County’s Ki Lake took 560 trout, while Silver Lake in Whatcom County produced better than four fish per angler. Other top producers in the region included Heart Lake in Skagit County, where 60 anglers caught nearly 300 trout and King County’s Lake Wilderness, where 120 anglers took home 340 trout. “There are lots of fish left in all of these lakes, and the fish grow quite fast this time of year,” said Kraemer, noting that trout will add about an inch in length each month until the fall. Most of the hatchery trout will remain near the lake surface for another week or so before moving deeper into the water column in search of food. Try trolling flies or pop gear a few feet below the surface, or still fish with bait below a bobber. Anglers looking for bigger trout might want to try Lake Washington where cutthroat trout in the 16- to 20-inch range have been striking on pop gear and worm combinations. Some anglers have reported success fishing this set-up near the surface, while others have been finding biting rainbow and cutthroat by trolling lures up to 60 feet deep. Kokanee fishing in the lakes will improve once water temperatures warm up a bit. Look for kokanee to congregate on the cool side of the thermocline. Warm weather is also heating up the fishing action for non-trout species, including perch, bass and crappie. Look for bass in the shallows and near cover, such as docks and lily pads. The lower Skagit River is open for trout, Dolly Varden and other game fish, but is closed to steelhead fishing, from the mouth upstream to the Highway 536 bridge at Mount Vernon. The fishery is open under selective gear rules, but it is lawful to fish from a motorized vessel. A few bottomfish seasons are right around the corner. The lingcod hook-and-line season runs May 1-June 15 in marine areas 7, 8-1, 8-2, 9, 10 and 11, while halibut fishing opens May 6 in those same marine areas on a Thursday through Monday schedule each week. The daily limit is one fish per day in each fishery, and lings must be 26 to 40 inches in length to retain. The rockfish season also begins May 1; check the new 2004-05 “Fishing in Washington” sport fishing rules pamphlet for details. Most recreational shrimp-fishing opportunities that opened April 17 have been closed, including fisheries in marine areas 8-1, 8-2 and 9, except the Port Townsend Shrimp District, which is open for non-spot shrimp fishing. Marine Area 10, outside Elliott Bay, closed April 22, while the inner Elliott Bay portion closed April 27. “This year’s recreational shrimp quotas were about the same as the 2003 quotas, as were catch rates, but there were more people participating in the fishery this year than last year,” said WDFW fisheries biologist Mark O’Toole. “This fishery continues to grow in popularity every year.” The good news is that marine areas 8-1, 8-2 and 9 will reopen May 14 for one day of shrimping. In the meantime, Marine Area 7 remains open to shrimp fishing, and O’Toole said the season should run into early June. “Tides and weather conditions can make the San Juans a tricky place to shrimp, and it’s important for recreational shrimpers to be aware of what’s going on with those conditions,” O’Toole said. Be sure to check for emergency rule changes before hitting the water, at https://fortress.wa.gov/dfw/erules/efishrules/index.jsp on the Internet. Fishing rule changes can also be accessed over the phone at (360) 902-2500; shellfish rule changes are available over the phone at (866) 880-5431.
 
South Sound/Olympic Peninsula:

Fishing: The last razor clam dig of the season will take place on two coastal beaches May 5-7 if marine toxin tests show the clams there are safe to eat. Provided test results are favorable, WDFW plans to open Twin Harbors and Kalaloch beaches for digging mornings until noon Wednesday through Friday during the first week of May. No digging will be allowed at Long Beach, Copalis and Mocrocks beaches, where the state’s annual razor clam allocation has already been harvested during previous digs. “We would have liked to give people another weekend opening, but that would have put us over our allocation,” said Dan Ayres, WDFW coastal shellfish manager Ayres said. Final word on the proposed dig at Twin Harbors and Kalaloch will come May 3, when WDFW receives the results of the second and final marine toxin test. Miss opening day of the lowland lakes season?  Not to worry. “There’s still plenty of big trout and other fish waiting to be caught in lakes throughout the region,” said Larry Phillips, WDFW fish biologist. Based on their performance during opening day weekend, Rapjohn Lake in Pierce County and Long Lake in Thurston County might be a good place to start. Both made the the list of Top 10 fishing lakes in the state in creel surveys conducted April 24 by WDFW staff. Stocked with nearly 2,500 rainbow trout over 1½ pounds apiece, Rapjohn Lake near Eatonville is also providing good fishing for brown trout, largemouth bass and yellow perch. Farther south, anglers fishing Long Lake on opening day averaged 4.4 rainbows apiece, many up to 20 inches. Phillips also likes Lawrence Lake in Thurston County, where anglers creeled an average of three trout, many of which were released from net pens in mid-March. In Grays Harbor County, trout fishing ran into some heavy competition from a coastal razor clam dig, but most anglers who baited up found it well worthwhile. One youngster won the juvenile fishing derby at Failor Lake with a 6.5-pound rainbow, and another angler pulled a 12.5-pound lunker out of Aberdeen Lake. In Jefferson County, Tarboo Lake had a catch rate of 2.3 fish per angler, while those fishing Anderson Lake took home an average of 1.7 fish on opening day. Mission Lake in Kitsap County gave up 3.50 trout per angler, while anglers fishing Stump Lake in Mason County went home with an average of four fish. In Pacific County, anglers fishing Cases Pond averaged 2.76 fish apiece – most in the 13-14-inch range, although one trout checked on opening day measured a full 24 inches. “The sun was out and the fishing was great on opening day,” Phillips said. “Now that the season is under way, anglers can look forward to more great days of fishing ahead.” For those who prefer to measure their fish in feet rather than inches, the recreational halibut fishery opens May 2 in the Westport area, followed by other openings on the coast and in Puget Sound. The Westport fishery will be open Monday through Thursday each week through July 1, then expand to seven days per week. "This year's catch quotas are the highest ever off the Washington coast," said Phil Anderson, a special assistant to the WDFW director. In Puget Sound, Marine Areas 6-13 will open May 6 five days a week, Thursdays through Mondays. The Neah Bay/La Push fishery then opens May 11 on a Tuesday-through-Saturday schedule, closes when 91,337 pounds are taken, then reopens June 15 for the remainder of the area quota. Speaking of openings and closings, recreational seasons for shrimp – including spot shrimp – will reopen for one day, May 14, in Marine Areas 8-1, 8-2 and 9 (outside of the Port Townsend Shrimp District). For those who don’t want to wait, WDFW shellfish biologist Dave Sterritt recommends Marine Area 6 in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. “The best bet for spot shrimp right now is probably Marine Area 6 outside of the shrimp districts,” said Dave Sterritt, WDFW shellfish biologist. “We haven’t seen many boats out there, but the tests show a lot of shrimp.” It can, however, get rough in the Strait, and Sterritt said those who go need to be mindful of the tides and weather conditions. For those who don’t want to brave the Strait, the Hood Canal shrimp fishery will open May 15 Saturdays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. until the quota has been reached. Final note: Steelhead fishing ends April 30 on the Quillayute River system, the last steelhead fishery to close for the season. “This has been a very good season with an especially strong finish,” said Bill Freymond, WDFW fish biologist. Anglers are reminded that May 1 marks the start of a statewide moratorium on wild steelhead retention. During the two-year moratorium, anglers will be required to release any wild steelhead they catch.

Southwest Washington:

Fishing: With strong spring chinook sport catches and declining dam fish counts, fishing for hatchery spring chinook, steelhead and shad will close May 1 in the lower Columbia River from the I-5 Bridge downstream to Buoy 10, says Joe Hymer, regional fish biologist. The section from the I-5 Bridge upstream to Bonneville Dam is already closed. Fishing in The Dalles, John Day and Bonneville pools is expected to close May 6. Hymer advises anglers to check the fishing hotline at (360) 902-2500 or WDFW’s website at https://fortress.wa.gov/dfw/erules/efishrules/index.jsp for details.  Salmon fishers can find angling opportunities in the lower Columbia tributaries, including the Cowlitz, Kalama and Lewis rivers, which will not be affected by a closure in the mainstem Columbia. Effort and catches are picking up in those tributaries, as well as on Drano Lake and the Wind, White Salmon and Klickitat rivers above Bonneville Dam. Good news for anglers on the lower Cowlitz and Lewis (including North Fork) rivers is that several restrictions imposed in May in recent years will not be put in place there this year. Instead, bag limits will remain at six hatchery salmon (no more than two adults). There will be no restriction for boats on the North Fork Lewis River from Johnson Creek to Colvin Creek. And Colvin Creek to the overhead power lines below Merwin Dam will remain open for fishing for hatchery steelhead and hatchery salmon. Beginning May 1, the upper Wind River opens for chinook and hatchery steelhead from Shipperd Falls to the Carson National Fish Hatchery; check the WDFW fishing regulation pamphlet for details. Meanwhile, the south bank of the Cowlitz River near the barrier dam will be closed May 1-June 15, due to problems in previous years with snagging. Hatchery summer steelhead are beginning to show in the lower Columbia tributaries. Summer-run hatchery steelhead fishing is open on the East Fork Lewis and lower Washougal rivers under selective gear rules.  Sturgeon anglers are finding legal-size catches in the Columbia from Bonneville Dam downstream to the Wauna power lines. Sturgeon may be retained only on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and the minimum-size limit is 42 inches. The area from Beacon Rock upstream to Bonneville Dam closes to all sturgeon fishing May 1 through July 31. The lower Columbia from the Wauna power lines downstream to the river mouth closes for sturgeon retention May 1 through 14, then re-opens seven days a week beginning May 15 for retention of sturgeon at least 45 inches long. Walleye fishing remains strong at The Dalles and John Day pools; during the week of April 19 boat anglers averaged one walleye per rod, including released fish, although that success rate is likely to decline when the fish begin spawning. Boat anglers in Bonneville, The Dalles and John Day pools were averaging up to six bass per rod during the third week of April. Meanwhile, trout fishers who didn’t make it out for the gloriously sunny official opening day of lake season can still find lots of fish in the water—check WDFW’s website for spring fish plant information. A scattering of opening day checks showed 92 anglers with 205 fish at Klineline Pond in Clark County; 34 fishers with 73 trout in Klickitat County’s Spearfish Lake; 37 anglers with 96 fish at Carlisle Lake in Lewis County, 15 anglers with 52 fish at Rowland Lake and 32 fishers with 82 trout at Kidney Lake, both in Skamania County.


Eastern Washington:
Fishing:  WDFW regional fish program manager John Whalen reported that participation in the lowland trout lakes fishing season opener on April 24 in this region was higher this year. Was it the beautiful spring weather? Or was it the enticement of well-stocked lakes, including some whopper rainbow trout triploids? Whatever the draw, Whalen says catch rates recorded on the opener should hold up at many waters, at least until warmer water temperatures slow down fish activity. Here’s what was caught at the outset of the season by county: Spokane County: Badger Lake – 4.2 fish per angler, rainbows and cutthroats 11.5 - 24 inches; Clear Lake – 2.9 fish per angler, rainbows 9.5 - 15 inches; Fish Lake – 5 fish per angler, eastern brooks 9 – 17 inches, browns to 17 inches, tiger trout 12-15 inches; Liberty Lake – 1 fish per angler, rainbow broodstock; West Medical Lake – 4.2 fish per angler, rainbows 12-19 inches; Williams Lake – 2.4 fish per angler, rainbows 8-19 inches.  Stevens County – Cedar Lake – 4.9 fish per angler, rainbows 11-17 inches; Loon Lake – 0.9 fish per angler, rainbows 8-22 inches; Mudgett lake – 1.2 fish per angler, rainbows 14.5 – 19 inches; Starvation Lake – 3.4 fish per angler, rainbows 12-18 inches; Waitts Lake – 2.8 fish per angler, rainbows 12-22 inches, browns 13-18 inches.  Lincoln County: Fishtrap Lake – 1.8 fish per angler, rainbows 9-16 inches. Pend Oreille County: Marshall Lake – 2.1 fish per angler, cutthroats 8-14 inches. The state's northern pike record has been broken after standing for almost nine years. The old record of 32.20 pounds was caught by Fred Ruetsch on April 15, 1995. Bryan McMannis of Newman Lake broke it April 9 of this year with a 34.06-pound pike from Long Lake in Spokane County (also the location of the previous record catch). Bryan's big pike fell for a Lucky Craft Pointer lure. Although no creel checks have been conducted yet, Snake River hatchery spring chinook salmon fishing opened April 24 on the Washington/Idaho boundary waters area (from Southway Bridge crossing the Snake River at Lewiston / Clarkston upstream to the Heller Bar concrete boat ramp below the confluence of the Grande Ronde River). Based on a predicted return of spring chinook to the Snake above the 10-year average, there should be plenty of hatchery fish for the catching. The season is set to run through May 31, but it could close earlier, depending on catch rates and potential impacts to wild fish. Daily catch limit is two hatchery (adipose clipped) chinook, minimum size 12 inches. All chinook with the adipose fin intact, and all steelhead, must be immediately released unharmed. Barbless hooks no larger than 5/8 inch (point of hook to shank) are required when fishing for all species in these areas of the Snake River during the salmon fishery. Spring chinook salmon fishing under the same rules has also been open since April 16 on two other areas of the Snake River – from the Texas Rapids boat launch upstream to the Corps of Engineers boat launch, about a mile upstream of Little Goose Dam on the south bank of the river, and from the mouth of Wawawai Creek (about three miles upstream of Lower Granite Dam) to Red Wolf Bridge in Clarkston. The Little Goose fishery has been averaging about eight hours per fish, with the last creel check covering 100 shore anglers with 65 kept hatchery fish, 18 wild released fish, and a total of 673 hours of fishing effort. The Lower Granite fishery has been very slow.
 
Northcentral Washington:
Fishing: Fishing is excellent throughout the region, from the Columbia Basin to the Okanogan. April 24 season opener creel checks are a good indicator of more action to come. County by county, here’s how anglers fared then:  Chelan County: Beehive Reservoir – 3.3 fish per angler average, rainbows 16-19 inches and 2-4 pounds; Clear Lake – 2.9 fish per angler; Lilly Lake – 2.4 fish per angler; Wapato Lake – 3.5 fish per angler, rainbows 16.5-19 inches and 2-4 pounds.  Douglas County: Jameson Lake – 4.7 fish per angler, 13-inch average.  Grant County: Blue Lake – 4.5 fish per angler, rainbows 12-20 inches; Deep Lake – 4.4 fish per angler, 11.5-inch average; Park Lake – 4.1 fish per angler, 11-inch yearling rainbows, 18-20-inch carryover rainbows (5 percent of catch); Perch Lake – 3.9 fish per angler, 10.5-inch yearling rainbows, 13.6-inch carryover rainbows (30 percent of catch); Vic Meyers Lake – 4.5 fish per angler, 11.4-inch yearling rainbows, tiger trout to 14 inches (18 percent of catch); Warden lake – 3.8 fish per angler, 11.9-inch yearling rainbows, 16.8-inch carryover rainbows (8 percent of catch).  Okanogan County:  Alta Lake – 4.4 fish per angler, rainbows13-15 inches; Big Twin Lake – 1.7 fish per angler (catch rate down due to winter kill); Conconully Reservoir – 4 fish per angler, rainbows to 22 inches; Fish Lake – 0.2 fish per angler, rainbows to 20 inches; Leader Lake – 2.7 fish per angler, rainbows to 21 inches;  Pearrygin Lake – 4 fish per angler, 9-inch average; Round Lake – 3.7 fish per angler, rainbows 13 to 25 inches; Spectacle Lake – 2.6 fish per angler, 14-inch average rainbows; Wannacut Lake – 2.8 fish per angler, 10-inch average rainbows.

Southcentral Washington:
Fishing: “The springers are running up the Yakima.” That’s the word from WDFW fish biologist Eric Anderson. “I don’t have catch numbers yet,” Anderson said, “but the spring chinook salmon are now in the middle stretch of the Yakima River above Prosser, which opened April 16 and runs through June 15. These fish are in great shape and are good eating now, as they won’t spawn until August or September. And flows are good now for fishing. If water gets high and turbid, fishing will decline.” The open stretch of the Yakima River runs from the Highway 223 bridge at Granger upstream to 3,500 feet downstream of Roza Dam at the "closed water" boundary markers. The daily catch limit is six hatchery chinook, no more than two adults, minimum size 12 inches. Hatchery salmon are identified by a missing adipose fin and a healed scar in the location of the missing fin. Wild salmon (adipose fin intact) and all steelhead must be immediately released unharmed and cannot be removed from the water prior to release. Only one, single point, barbless hook with a hook gap from point to shank of 3/4 inch or less is permitted for all fishing in this stretch. Fishing is closed at night. Anyone fishing from the Yakama Nation Reservation riverbank (south or west bank), extending from the mouth of Ahtanum Creek (near the I-82 bridges at Union Gap) downstream to the Granger Bridge, must purchase a Yakama tribal fishing permit in addition to a 2004 WDFW freshwater fishing license. The April 24 lake fishing season opener is celebrated a different way in this region, where most lakes are open year-round – anglers looking for less crowded spots hit local waters where catchable-size rainbow trout are heavily stocked. The following lakes also continue to receive triploid rainbows (sterile one-and-half pounders) this month: in Yakima County, Dog Leech, Mud and Myron lakes; in Kittitas County, Fio Rito North, Lost and Matoon lakes; in Franklin County, Railroad Pond; and in Benton County, Columbia Park Pond.