Trout planted in several lakes
for fishing during spring break

OLYMPIA - Rainbow trout are being planted in lakes in Grays Harbor, Thurston, Pierce, Mason and Kitsap counties to offer spring-break fishing opportunities, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced today.

Stocking the lakes this month with "catchable" size trout gives students and others an opportunity to hook some nice-size fish during local schools’ spring vacations, said Ron Warren, regional fish program manager for WDFW.

"We are stocking these lakes with thousands of fish, so fishing should be pretty good over the next several weeks," Warren said.

Lakes planted with trout include:

• Grays Harbor County: Lake Sylvia, Duck Lake, and Vance Creek (Elma) Pond #1 will each receive 1,000 catchable-size rainbows. Each of the lakes also will be planted with several hundred larger trout - averaging 3 to 4 pounds each - that were reared under a cooperative project with the Chehalis Basin Task Force.
  Duck Lake and Lake Sylvia are open to all anglers year-round, while Vance Creek Pond #1 will be open from March 31 to April 8 for anglers under 15 years old, seniors 70 years of age and older, and anglers with a disability who have a WDFW reduced-fee license or a designated harvester card. Vance Creek (Elma) Pond #1 will re-open April 28, the opening day of lowland lake fishing.
  
• Thurston and Pierce counties: Long’s Pond in Thurston County will receive 4,000 rainbows measuring 10 to 11 inches in length and 100 larger trout measuring 14 to 16 inches. Bradley Lake in Pierce County will receive 2,500 rainbow trout measuring 10 to 11 inches in length. Wapato Lake in Pierce County will receive 4,000 rainbow trout measuring 10 to 11 inches.
  Only juvenile anglers under 15 years of age can fish at Long’s Pond and Wapato Lake, both of which are open year-round. Bradley Lake is also open year-round, but from May 15 through June 10 the lake is only open to anglers under 15 years of age.
  
• Mason and Kitsap counties: A number of lakes in Mason and Kitsap counties will begin receiving spring jumbos provided in partnership with Tacoma Power. Nahwatzel Lake will receive 5,360 jumbo rainbows and Kokanee Lake will receive 4,000 jumbo rainbows measuring 11 to 13 inches in length. Spencer Lake will receive 5,000 rainbows measuring 10 to 11 inches and 500 cutthroat trout weighing about one pound each. Kitsap Lake in Kitsap County will receive 4,760 rainbows measuring 11 to 13 inches to extend the quality winter rainbow trout fishery into early spring. These lakes are open year-round to all anglers.

For fishing regulations at each lake, check the Fishing in Washington rules pamphlet on WDFW’s website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/ . Information on when and where fish are stocked in area lakes is available at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/plants/weekly/ .

All anglers 15 years of age and older are required to have a valid fishing license. Anglers are reminded that fishing licenses are valid from April 1 through March 31 each year. Licenses can be purchased on the Internet ( https://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov/ ), by telephone (1-866-246-9453), or at hundreds of license dealers across the state (listed on the WDFW’s website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/licensing/vendors/ ).