Anglers can head to coastal and southwest Washington lakes for hatchery steelhead fishing

WDFW staff stock Fort Borst Lake in Centralia with surplus adult hatchery steelhead. Photo by WDFW.

With coastal steelhead rivers closing this month, anglers have additional opportunities to catch these prized game fish in several lakes throughout coastal and southwestern Washington.

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) staff have been busy stocking hundreds of surplus adult hatchery steelhead, weighing an average of 8 to 10 pounds each. This provides anglers with another opportunity to harvest steelhead without affecting wild fish populations.

Staff are releasing hatchery steelhead into the following lakes, which are open year-round for fishing:

· Battle Ground Lake, Lewisville

· Fort Borst Lake, Centralia

· Horseshoe Lake, Burley

· Kress Lake, Kalama

· Lake Inez (Vance Creek), Elma

Anglers have had success using power bait, spinners, shrimp, and black leech flies.

Learn more about fishing opportunities on these and other lowland lakes on the WDFW website. Visit our catchable trout plant reports page for weekly release numbers and dates by each lake location listed above.

Some planted fish have a yellow tag along their dorsal fin with a WDFW phone number. If you catch a tagged hatchery steelhead, you can help staff track the program’s success by calling the number and answering a few questions. Please note that these fish are not part of WDFW’s annual Trout Derby; derby fish will have orange tags.

An example of the yellow tag attached to the dorsal fin of some planted hatchery steelhead. Photo by WDFW.

Surplus hatchery fish are adult or jack hatchery-origin fish that return to hatcheries in greater numbers than needed for broodstock or other purposes. Refer to our webpage for more information.

For freshwater fishing rules, including daily catch limits in lakes and ponds, refer to the 2024–25 Washington Sport Fishing Rules pamphlet, available online and at hundreds of license dealers around the state. Anglers do not have to record steelhead caught in lakes and ponds on their catch record cards.

Willapa Bay tributaries remain open through March 31. In Southwest Washington, late-arriving winter-runs in the Cowlitz and Kalama rivers should provide quality opportunities for hatchery fish in March and April. Steelhead fishing in the Skagit and Sauk rivers is open daily through April 15. Regulations may be modified in-season. Before heading out, anglers should check the emergency rule changes or Fish Washington® mobile app.

Refer to WDFW’s steelhead fishery management page for more information.

WDFW scientific technicians Taylor King, left, and Kevin Kitchell tag a hatchery steelhead for release into coastal and southwestern Washington lakes. Photo by WDFW.