More Than 125,000 Trout Destined For Area Lakes, Autumn Anglers' Tables

OLYMPIA – With some 125,000 trout scheduled for stocking in western Washington lakes, area anglers should have an excellent chance at phenomenal fishing this fall and through the holiday season.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) will stock 44 western Washington lakes with catchable-size trout this fall.

“Fishing at lakes throughout the region should be great over the next few months,” said Larry Phillips, WDFW’s inland fish program manager. “Most of the trout are 11 to 13 inches long, with a few larger ones in the mix,” he said.

Some of the lakes recently stocked include Grandy in Skagit County, Beaver in King County, Campbell in Skagit County, Gibbs, Leland and Teal in Jefferson County, and Isabella, Island, Lost, Spenser and Nahwatzel lakes in Mason County. Additional stocking efforts will take place in western Washington through October and November.

A list of lakes to be stocked, and the department's recently updated stocking plan are available for viewing at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/fall-into-fishing/.

The fall fish plants are in response to anglers’ requests to increase fall and winter trout fishing opportunities in western Washington, said Phillips.

That effort also includes stocking lakes in southwest Washington for the Nov. 27 Black Friday opener, which offers anglers the opportunity to skip the shopping malls, get outside and enjoy fishing on the day after Thanksgiving.

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 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/.