ARCHIVED NEWS RELEASE
This document is provided for archival purposes only. Archived documents
do not reflect current WDFW regulations or policy and may contain factual
inaccuracies.
News release May 3, 2011
OLYMPIA — Washington's lowland lakes fishing season opener last Saturday provided anglers a slightly better-than-average catch rate of trout.
Based on Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) staff and volunteer creel checks of 4,305 anglers with 10,372 trout at 111 lakes statewide, the average catch rate was 2.4 trout per angler, with many more trout caught and released during the day.
In the past five years, similar numbers of opening day anglers checked at similar numbers of lakes averaged closer to 2.2 trout per angler, said Jim Uehara, Inland Fish Program manager for WDFW.
"As usual, spring weather varied across the state and even across counties throughout the day," Uehara said. "Wind or rain may have cut some fishing trips short, but for the most part, weather didn't keep anglers away and didn't keep fish from biting."
It was mostly warm, sunny and calm at Warden Lake, in northcentral Washington's Grant County, where the highest catch-per-angler average - 4.7 - was recorded on opening day. Based on the five-trout daily catch limit, there were lots of limits caught at Warden, said WDFW District Fish Biologist Chad Jackson. Not only was fishing "phenomenal," he said, but so was fish size, with yearling rainbow trout averaging 14 inches and others up to 17 inches.
Long Lake in Thurston County yielded lots of quick and early limits. But the official creel check, from 8 a.m. to noon, showed an average of 3.63 trout per angler. The catch rate measured at Mineral Lake in Lewis County was less than two trout per angler, but many were large fish, including a 26-incher.
Other lakes with the highest catch-per-angler averages were: Riley Lake (4.64) in Snohomish County; Aldrich (4.60) and Maggie (4.37) lakes in Mason County; Fishtrap Lake (4.32) in Lincoln County; Toad Lake (4.27) in Whatcom County; Deep Lake (4.17) in Thurston County; Cottage (4.10) and Walker (3.89) lakes in King County; Wannacut Lake (3.83) in Okanogan County; Blue Lake (3.80) in Grant County; and Starvation Lake (3.78) in Stevens County.
The following is the entire opening day creel report:
| 2011 Lake Fishing Opening Day Creel Data | ||||
| County | Lake | Anglers | Fish kept | Fish/angler |
| Chelan | Wapato | 39 | 92 | 2.36 |
| Douglas | Jameson | 53 | 100 | 1.89 |
| Ferry | Ellen | 29 | 31 | 1.07 |
| Grant | Blue | 17 | 65 | 3.8 |
| Park | 89 | 196 | 2.2 | |
| Deep | 57 | 108 | 1.9 | |
| Perch | 20 | 49 | 2.5 | |
| Warden | 44 | 208 | 4.7 | |
| Grays Harbor | Aberdeen | 88 | 187 | 2.13 |
| Failor | 60 | 127 | 2.12 | |
| Stump | 35 | 37 | 1.06 | |
| Sylvia | 27 | 37 | 1.37 | |
| Vance Cr.Pd.#1 | 33 | 27 | 0.82 | |
| Vance Cr.Pd.#2 | 35 | 53 | 1.51 | |
| Island | Deer | 6 | 10 | 1.67 |
| Jefferson | Anderson | 64 | 103 | 1.61 |
| Horseshoe | 22 | 7 | 0.32 | |
| Ludlow | 32 | 3 | 0.09 | |
| Sandy Shore | 89 | 298 | 3.35 | |
| Tarboo | 38 | 83 | 2.18 | |
| King | Cottage | 41 | 168 | 4.1 |
| Geneva | 9 | 32 | 3.56 | |
| Langlois | 37 | 107 | 2.89 | |
| Margaret | 39 | 103 | 2.64 | |
| North | 33 | 62 | 1.88 | |
| Pine | 82 | 213 | 2.6 | |
| Steel | 27 | 88 | 3.26 | |
| Walker | 19 | 74 | 3.89 | |
| Wilderness | 26 | 60 | 2.31 | |
| Kitsap | Buck | 20 | 43 | 2.15 |
| Horseshoe | 39 | 111 | 2.85 | |
| Mission | 43 | 152 | 3.53 | |
| Panther | 31 | 111 | 3.58 | |
| Wildcat | 78 | 210 | 2.69 | |
| Wye | 37 | 127 | 3.43 | |
| Klickitat | Horsethief | 35 | 48 | 1.37 |
| Rowland | 79 | 162 | 2.05 | |
| Spearfish | 9 | 12 | 1.33 | |
| Lewis | Carlisle | 63 | 102 | 1.62 |
| Ft.Borst Pk.Pd. | 71 | 86 | 1.21 | |
| Mineral | 54 | 98 | 1.81 | |
| Plummer | 21 | 76 | 3.62 | |
| Lincoln | Fishtrap | 38 | 164 | 4.32 |
| Mason | Aldrich | 5 | 23 | 4.6 |
| Benson | 49 | 112 | 2.29 | |
| Clara (Don) | 13 | 36 | 2.77 | |
| Devereaux | 45 | 109 | 2.42 | |
| Haven | 26 | 93 | 3.58 | |
| Jiggs | 4 | 5 | 1.25 | |
| Maggie | 19 | 83 | 4.37 | |
| Phillips | 53 | 166 | 3.13 | |
| Robbins | 15 | 45 | 3 | |
| Tiger | 82 | 269 | 3.28 | |
| Wood | 10 | 14 | 1.4 | |
| Wooten | 58 | 143 | 2.47 | |
| Okanogan | Alta | 131 | 266 | 2.03 |
| Fish | 45 | 156 | 3.47 | |
| Pearrygin | 43 | 76 | 1.77 | |
| Wannacut | 12 | 46 | 3.83 | |
| Pacific | Black | 42 | 0 | 0 |
| Pend Oreille | Diamond | 25 | 20 | 0.8 |
| Big Meadow | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Pierce | Carney | 16 | 37 | 2.31 |
| Clear | 99 | 194 | 1.96 | |
| Crescent | 30 | 71 | 2.37 | |
| Ohop | 48 | 72 | 1.5 | |
| Rapjohn | 88 | 140 | 1.59 | |
| Silver | 55 | 94 | 1.71 | |
| Jackson | 6 | 4 | 0.67 | |
| Tanwax | 62 | 151 | 2.44 | |
| San Juan | Egg | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Hummel | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Skagit | Erie | 58 | 198 | 3.41 |
| Heart | 22 | 75 | 3.41 | |
| McMurray | 44 | 70 | 1.59 | |
| Sixteen | 50 | 55 | 1.1 | |
| Skamania | Kidney | 9 | 23 | 2.56 |
| Northwestern | 38 | 21 | 0.55 | |
| Swift | 42 | 149 | 3.55 | |
| Snohomish | Armstrong | 56 | 20 | 0.36 |
| Bosworth | 24 | 72 | 3 | |
| Crabapple | 3 | 5 | 1.67 | |
| Howard | 38 | 82 | 2.16 | |
| Ki | 57 | 179 | 3.14 | |
| Martha | 42 | 107 | 2.55 | |
| Riley | 11 | 51 | 4.64 | |
| Serene | 19 | 3 | 0.16 | |
| Stickney | 14 | 2 | 0.14 | |
| Storm | 32 | 96 | 3 | |
| Spokane | Badger | 40 | 100 | 2.5 |
| Clear | 28 | 42 | 1.5 | |
| Fish | 40 | 88 | 2.2 | |
| West Medical | 80 | 176 | 2.2 | |
| Williams | 56 | 196 | 3.5 | |
| Stevens | Cedar | 21 | 76 | 3.62 |
| Deep | 3 | 7 | 2.33 | |
| Starvation | 46 | 174 | 3.78 | |
| Rocky | 11 | 40 | 3.64 | |
| Waitts | 44 | 123 | 2.8 | |
| Thurston | Clear | 62 | 197 | 3.18 |
| Deep | 36 | 150 | 4.17 | |
| Hicks | 42 | 143 | 3.4 | |
| Long | 38 | 138 | 3.63 | |
| McIntosh | 77 | 236 | 3.06 | |
| Pattison | 48 | 40 | 0.83 | |
| Summit | 64 | 214 | 3.34 | |
| Ward | 62 | 99 | 1.6 | |
| Whatcom | Cain | 32 | 88 | 2.75 |
| Padden | 40 | 124 | 3.1 | |
| Silver | 161 | 462 | 2.87 | |
| Toad | 52 | 222 | 4.27 | |