Score a holiday deal by heading to a lake for Black Friday trout fishing fun
WDFW hatchery trucks will be busy stocking thousands of rainbow trout in time for Black Friday fishing opportunities across many statewide lakes.
Contributed by Mark Yuasa, WDFW
Story originally published in The Reel News December issue
While spending quality time with family and friends is key during Thanksgiving, why not share the love by getting out the day after to enjoy some fishing time on the water!
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) hatchery staff will be busy leading up to Black Friday by stocking more than 65,000 jumbo rainbow trout, weighing up to three pounds apiece and measuring longer than 14 inches, in lakes covering an area from the Puget Sound region to southwest Washington as well as a few eastern Washington lakes and ponds.
“If you’re looking for something to do, we’ll be stocking lakes with thousands of trout in time for Black Friday fishing opportunities,” said Steve Caromile, WDFW Inland Fish Program manager. “It’s a perfect occasion for those that want to avoid the malls and get outdoors. The holidays are the time to spend time together with family and friends and appreciating what we have.”
The Black Friday program created more than a decade ago by WDFW looked at ways to raise thousands of rainbow trout for a late season fishery in select year-round lakes. This post-Thanksgiving fishery has been a hit among anglers looking for options to go fishing at time when choices are skinny.
During October, WDFW hatchery trucks were also busy shuttling and stocking many other year-round lakes around Washington to boost fall/winter fishing opportunities and allow anglers a jump start to fish right now in advance of Black Friday. For information, go to the WDFW trout stocking webpage.
Black Friday trout plants
· Chelan County — Roses, 25,000.
· Clark County — Battle Ground, 2,000; and Klineline Pond, 2,000.
· Cowlitz County — Kress, 2,000.
· Island County — Cranberry, 4,000.
· King County — Beaver, 2,500; and Green, 4,500.
· Klickitat County — Rowland, 2,000.
· Lewis County — Fort Borst Park Pond, 2,000; and South Lewis County Park Pond, 2,000.
· Pacific County— Cases Pond, 900.
· Pierce County — American, 2,000; and Tanwax, 1,000.
· Snohomish County — Ballinger, 2,500; Gissburg Ponds, 1,500; Silver, 2,500; and Tye, 2,000.
· Thurston County — Black, 3,000; Long, 1,000; and Offutt, 1,000.
· Yakima County — Elton Pond North, 2,000.
There are also three Eastern Washington lakes opening on Black Friday that were stocked with trout fry this past spring that should be averaging eight to 10 inches. They include Hatch in Steven County (12,000 fry were stocked), Fourth of July Lake in Adams/Lincoln County (80,000 fry were stocked), Hog Canyon in Spokane County (20,000 fry plus 1,000 trout averaging one pound apiece were stocked).
Other westside lakes scheduled to be planted with trout in November include Bonney, 350, and Harts, 550 in Pierce County; Munn, 650; St. Clair, 450; and Ward, 300.
How to gear up
You don’t have to break the bank when it comes to fishing gear for trout.
A trout rod and reel will usually set you back $40 to $80, and a more expensive combo is still a palatable $100 to $200. A trout fishing rod should be light and limber in the six- to seven-foot range with a four- to 10-pound line weight range. A medium-sized spinning reel get the job done with a capacity to hold more than 100 yards of six- to eight-pound test fishing line.
Attach to the mainline one or two number eight or nine egg sinkers with a rubber bumper just above a small barrel swivel. For a leader, avoid store-bought pre-tied 12-inch leaders, which are way too short. Don’t skimp on your leaders and hooks by tying your own or shucking out a few extra dollars on pre-tied versions in three- to eight-pound test measuring 18 to 30 inches long. A smaller size eight or 10 egg or worm hook is preferred.
Most anglers casting from the shoreline or in a boat opt to use moldable dough baits, which come in a variety of colors, and some are shaped like a salmon egg, marshmallow, maggot, and worm or simply get the kind you shape yourself.
Others like to stick to “old school” traditional baits such as salmon eggs, worms, maggots, and scented marshmallows although many prefer soft dough baits.
Boat anglers can troll a gang-flasher with a worm, maggot or salmon egg laced to a tiny piece of scented dough bait or small spoon, spinner or a weightless marabou fly.
Bank anglers usually cast out a bobber with their presentation sitting just below the surface in three to eight feet of water. Others prefer to go deeper where it hangs just a few feet off the bottom. Casting and slowly retrieving a small spoon or rooster tail from the bank also finds its share of trout.
Recently planted trout usually stay near or just under the surface anywhere from depths of three to 10 feet. Once they acclimate they’ll eventually spread out and move into deeper areas of the lake. Anglers often look for schools of trout right around where the hatchery truck placed them in the lake usually near the shore, boat ramp or dock.
Trout like to rise to the top of the water column to gobble up insects on the water’s surface. This is where artificial flies come into play like a Woolly Bugger in black, dark green or black-olive in a size eight or 10 with a five- or six-foot leader. They can be cast from shore or trolled weightless close to the surface behind a boat or floating device.
A fishing license is required (youth under age 15 fish for free) and for details, refer to the WDFW licensing fishing webpage. A Discover Pass is required to park a vehicle at many state lands, including the state park system, WDFW lands, and the Department of Natural Resources lands. Check the WDFW website for additional tips and videos on how to catch trout.
The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission Boating Program would also like to remind angler to take a boater safety education course, if you haven’t already, to be prepared for spring and summer. In Washington, boaters who operate a vessel with a 15-horsepower engine or greater must carry a Boater Education Card to prove they passed an accredited boating safety education course.
Lastly, keep in mind that wearing a properly fitting flotation device saves lives.
All vessels must carry at least one properly fitted U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket “a Personal Flotation Device” for each person on board a vessel. Children 12 years old and younger must wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket at all times when underway in a vessel less than 19 feet in length, unless in a fully enclosed area.
(Mark Yuasa is a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Communications Manager and was the fishing and hunting reporter at The Seattle Times for 28 years.)
