Biggest WDFW Trout Derby begins on the statewide lowland lakes opener
Washington anglers have extra incentive to hit the water April 26, when the statewide fishing derby marks its 10th anniversary.
Story originally published in the Northwest Sportsman Magazine June issue
Spring is a joyous time to be on the water, and it’s a signal to make sure the fishing gear is properly working when Washington’s statewide lowland lakes trout opener kicks off on April 26 to 27.
During this much celebrated fishing occasion, thousands of anglers will converge to hundreds of seasonal lakes stocked with more than 14.5 million trout throughout 2025, and many of those will be around to catch for the opener.
To sweeten the deal, this season also marks the 10th anniversary of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (WDFW) Trout Derby, which begins on April 26 and runs through Oct. 31 at more than 100 stocked statewide lakes.
“This is our biggest trout derby yet with over a thousand prizes for those who catch a tagged fish, and we plan to plant most of the same lakes as we have in the past,” said Steve Caromile, WDFW Inland Fish Program manager. “It has been very popular. The generosity of our vendors has made the trout derby a great success, and something that many anglers look forward to.”
More than 100 statewide businesses are offering an estimated 1,091 prizes valued around $54,858 and worth about $50.28 per prize, which is up considerably from previous years dating back to 2016. The success of the trout derby would only be possible through WDFW’s ongoing partnerships with business dealers/vendors throughout the state.
Here’s a year-to-year comparison of WDFW trout derby prizes:
· 2016: 711 total prizes; $19,462 prize value; $27.37 average prize value; 355 prizes caught; and 50% catch percentage.
· 2017: 993; $28,606; $28.81; 426; and 43%.
· 2018: 1,046; $38,809; $37.10; 596; and 57%.
· 2019: 1,119; $39,091; $34.93; 639; and 57%.
· 2020: 1,007; $39,178; $38.90; 571; and 57%.
· 2021: 1,127; $40,160; $35.63; 620; and 55%.
· 2022: 846; $37,107; $43.86; 414; and 49%.
· 2023: 872; $41,565; $47.67; 449; and 51%.
· 2024: 848; $41,744; $49.22; 470; and 53%.
Prizes include gift cards; fishing gear and tackle; annual magazine subscriptions; Seattle Mariners game tickets; hooded jackets; books; rounds of golf at multiple golf courses; admission to a local aquarium; car detailing bucket; and kayak rentals. Higher-value prizes include a kayak; guided lake fishing trip for two; handheld GPS units; lifetime memberships for a streaming app to locate trout streams in Washington; stays at local resorts and campgrounds; backpack; and beverage refrigerator.
This season, each of the prize-winning trout can be identified by an orange tag inserted near the dorsal fin.
Anglers can participate in the WDFW photo contest during the first week of the trout derby on Instagram by using the hashtag #watroutderby.
You can also join WDFW staff for the WDFW Trout Derby Kickoff Party hosted by Filson on April 19 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Filson Seattle Flagship store, 1741 1st Avenue South, in Seattle’s SoDo neighborhood. Get trout derby information, watch a fly-tying demo, learn from local fishing experts and eat some incredible trout served by a local chef.
The derby is open to anyone with a valid 2025–2026 fishing license, though temporary licenses are not valid for game fish species from April 26 through May 3. There is no entry fee or registration required. Children under age 15 fish for free. WDFW’s Washington Trout Derby website will be updated soon so you can see what statewide lakes contain tagged trout and learn more about how the derby works.
Trout plants in statewide lakes
The mild weather and longer days that began midway through last month are a sure sign spring is shifting into full bloom, and that means WDFW hatchery staff will be busy in the weeks ahead shuttling millions of trout to roughly 500 lakes and ponds statewide.
“Opening day is one of our biggest and most important days for anglers that provides fishing opportunities at lakes throughout the state, for people of all ages and backgrounds,” Caromile said. “Our spring weather can be difficult to predict, but the opener still draws plenty of interest and brings families and people together, and it’s always a great day whether it is raining, or the sun is out.”
The standard catchable-size trout is 11 to 13 inches long and averages 2.5 fish per pound compared to eight to 10 inches in previous seasons. Anglers should find about 2.14 million of them swimming in lowland lakes, plus more than 150,000 “jumbo” trout measuring 14 inches or longer. Most of the jumbos will be planted in March and April, while others will be saved for fall planting. Some lucky anglers will even have a chance to catch a bigger “carryover” rainbow trout that survived over the past year.
Ramping it up, almost 1.6 million trout categorized as “put, grow and take” — reared in hatcheries and released at 2.6 to 10 fish per pound in size — that were stocked in 2024 should now be in the eight- to 12-inch range.
On top of that, more than 10 million fingerling and fry trout and kokanee planted two years ago will recruit into 2025 fisheries. The majority of those go into Eastern Washington opening day lakes, which are managed to create decent fry survival.
In the Puget Sound region — Island, King, San Juan, Skagit, Snohomish, and Whatcom Counties — the projected plant is 428,800 catchable-size trout, and they should have anglers reeling in lots of fun during the 2025 season. The additional icing on the cake is 25,000 jumbo-sized trout and 30,000 put, grow and take trout.
“Our allotment of trout for opening day is pretty much the same as 2024 with some minor adjustments to the number of fish planted in lakes around the Puget Sound region,” said Justin Spinelli, a WDFW Puget Sound regional biologist. “Our fisheries don’t harvest more than half the trout that are stocked in the spring and anglers in the summer and fall should have plenty of fish to catch. We also have more trout derby tags going into our region’s lakes compared to last year.”
You can find the 2025 statewide hatchery trout and kokanee stocking plan by referring to the WDFW fish stocking webpage.
Opening day tips and tactics
You don’t need to spend a lot when it comes to trout fishing gear.
A trout rod and reel combo usually goes for $50 to $90, and an expensive set will set you back around $120 to $200. The fishing pole length should be six to seve feet, and keep it relatively light and limber, in the four- to 10-pound range. Stick with a medium-sized spinning reel that can hold more than 100 yards of 6- to 8-pound-test fishing line.
For plunking bait, on the main line attach one or two size nine egg sinkers with a rubber bumper to a small barrel swivel. The length of your leader is the most important factor — for this particular style of fishing, avoid the store-bought pretied 12-inch leaders, which are way too short. Leaders should be three- to eight-pound test and 18 to 30 inches long. For hooks, think small and use an egg or worm hook in a size eight or 10 or try a size 14 or 16 treble hook.
One thing many anglers tend to overthink is what to put on the end of your hook. While the top old-school baits of choice are worms, maggots, salmon eggs or scented marshmallows, there’s been a switch to the softer dough baits. Dough baits come in all sorts of colors and varieties of shapes, including mimicking a salmon egg, maggot and worm, just to name a few. You can also mold the jarred kind into round balls of various sizes, or squares or triangles or whatever else that comes to mind.
Various fly patterns also work well, and many prefer a black or black-and-olive-colored Woolly Bugger in a size eight or 10 attached to a five- or six-foot leader and trolled weightless close to the surface.
Also from a boat, troll a gang flasher with a worm, maggot or salmon egg laced with a tiny piece of scented dough bait or a small spoon.
Besides plunking, bank anglers often cast out a bobber with their presentation sitting just below the surface in three to six feet of water. Others hang their presentation a few feet off the bottom where the bigger fish tend to lurk.
Keep in mind, most recently stocked trout tend to school near the surface, and many will hang right where the hatchery truck placed them in the lake, usually within yards of the shoreline, boat ramps and docks. Planted fish will remain high in the water column before they acclimate to their new surroundings and eventually spread out and move to deeper areas of the lake.
When heading out to lakes in the coming weeks and months, please be respectful of fellow anglers and other recreationists, obey posted signage at all water access areas and follow parking regulations, and have a backup plan in case your preferred destination is overcrowded.
More information on trout
· Get a jump on season: You can avoid opening day’s madness and head out now to year-round lakes stocked with trout between March and May. Other lakes also receive bonus plants in autumn/winter, and don’t forget that thousands of trout averaging one to 1.5 pounds apiece went into some Puget Sound region lakes for the Black Friday fishing event in late November. For the statewide stocking schedule, refer to the WDFW fishing and stocking reports webpage.
· Decent catch rates: While success varies widely from year to year, on 2024’s opening day WDFW creel checkers surveyed 73 statewide lakes with roughly 147,000 anglers out on the water. While that’s down from 160,000 anglers in 2023, last April saw a higher catch with around 537,000 trout caught and 373,000 kept (444,000 and 305,000 in 2023). The 2024 statewide opening day catch rate was 3.4 per angler and the fish kept rate was 2.1 per angler. In 2023, it was 2.9 and 1.8, respectively.
· Plenty of waterways to fish: There are thousands of lakes, ponds and reservoirs across Washington, and hundreds of WDFW-managed water-access areas, including some with areas accessible for people with disabilities. For details on water-access areas, refer to the WDFW’s website.
· WDFW fishing license information: A 2025–2026 fishing license is required (youth under 15 fish for free) and are available from hundreds of license vendors across the state. The 2024–2025 licenses expired on March 31. For details, refer to the WDFW’s licensing webpage.
· Parking pass information: Anglers parking at WDFW vehicle water-access areas are required to display the WDFW Vehicle Access Pass — provided when you buy eligible annual fishing licenses — or a Discover Pass. Anglers visiting Washington State Parks or Department of Natural Resources lands need a Discover Pass. For details, refer to the WDFW’s parking and access passes webpage.
· Check the regulations: Before heading out, anglers refer to WDFW’s fishing regulations webpage for permanent regulations and WDFW emergency rules webpage for rule updates affecting fisheries.
· Additional information: An excellent fishing resource can be found by going to the WDFW “Places to go fishing” webpage. There are also statewide kids fishing events held throughout the year and you can find more information by going to the WDFW “youth fishing events” webpage.
(Editor’s note: Mark Yuasa is a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife communications manager and longtime local fishing and outdoor writer.)
