FISHING was planted with 1,200 on Nov. 21. The Southwest Washington lakes that got good doses of trout – 2,000 apiece – for Black Friday include Clark County’s Battleground and Klineline, Cowlitz County’s Kress, Klickitat County’s Rowland, and Lewis County’s Fort Borst and South Lewis County Park.
EASTERN WASHINGTON LAKES add to the winter trout fishing festival. Roses in Chelan County was planted last month with a whopping 18,000 rainbows, and North Elton Pond in Yakima County got 2,000. “Fourth of July and Hatch Lakes each got good fry plants in 2016, and those should be ready to go for winter fisheries,” Thiesfeld adds. While the Inland Empire can be a very chilly winter-time proposition, Fourth of July, which is near Sprague, is a top producer and has a decent carryover ratio of trout bigger than 20
Big broodstock rainbows, like this one caught by the author’s son Tegan (left), liven things up at some waters, while 13- to 15-inch catchables provide most of the action. Klickitat County’s Rowland Lake is one of the waters where now-retired state fisheries biologist John Weinheimer (left, at right) kicked off the Fish Friday campaign in November 2011, while fall releases at the Issaquah-area’s Beaver Lake stretch back to at least 2003. Weinheimer and Wade Ramsey caught these trout trolling 2.5 and 3.0 Mag Lip plugs and crawl-retrieving 3-inch PowerBait Trout Worms. (MARK YUASA, BUZZ RAMSEY)
inches. Fly fishing can be fun here, but it doesn’t take much for the lake to form a nice, thick layer of ice. Note that nearby Hog Canyon is closed this winter for a rehabilitation project to rid the lake
of unwanted species. At Hatch Lake, southeast of Colville, look for trout in the 10to 12-inch range, along with some carryovers pushing 20 inches. Highlighting the Eastside’s trout
3rd annual
Friday Harbor Salmon Classic February 9th-10th, 2018 A NOT-FOR-PROFIT EVENT
More info and entry form available at:
fridayharborsalmonclassic.com 86 Northwest Sportsman
DECEMBER 2017 | nwsportsmanmag.com