Spring 2003 Hatchery Trout Stocking Plan for Washington Lakes and Streams

This publication is organized into three sections. The first section is the lowland lakes catchable trout stocking plan table, followed by the stream stocking table, and lastly, the lowland lakes and ponds stocked during the spring and fall of 2002 with trout fry. The first two sections lists the waters by county, shows the trout species and the numbers to be stocked by size, and approximate time to be stocked. The locations, dates, and times presented are based on current information, so unavoidable changes may occur. The last table lists the county, water, trout fry species, and numbers stocked last spring and fall.

Catchable Trout Plants
About 2.6 million catchable trout (7 inches or larger) are scheduled to be stocked this spring in Washington’s lowland lakes. About 60,000 are planned for stocking in selected streams, to provide mitigation for lost opportunity to harvest wild fish, or to provide recreational opportunity in areas where habitat does not support wild trout.

Triploid Trout
There are 78 lakes or ponds throughout the state that will be stocked with 1½ pound average trout. These trout, purchased by the Department are sterile rainbows that are voracious feeders. If abundant feed is available, these fish have the potential to grow to trophy size if not harvested the first season after stocking. The triploid rainbow trout are identified as TRB under the Species in the catchable trout stocking table. Some triploid trout fry are stocked in areas where natural reproduction of hatchery trout could adversely affect native species.

Trout Fry Plants
Many lakes are stocked with 2- to 5-inch long trout fry. Over 19 million fry were stocked in 2002. Trout fry are stocked in the spring and fall, where they feed on natural food and grow until the following spring when they are large enough to be harvested. The survival of fry plants varies depending on the lake. Some eastern Washington lakes are managed in such a way that fry survival is good enough to be the primary source of new trout available for harvest in the spring. Western Washington lakes are primarily dependant on catchable size trout plants because of lower fry survival and where fry are stocked, the ones that survive supplement the catchable trout plants.

Some Tips for Catching Trout
As you read through the stocking tables, please note that many lakes are open year-around or open on March 1, and are stocked as early as January. While it may be too late this year to take advantage of this knowledge, stocking schedules are fairly consistent from year-to-year, so you can get in some good early season fishing next year.

Research has shown that trout tend to stay in the top three to five feet of water for the first weeks after stocking. This makes them easy prey for cormorants and other avian predators, which can take a significant bite out of our stocking efforts. Your best chance for success may come in the first couple of weeks after trout are stocked. Lots of anglers on the water tend to disrupt feeding birds and thus may improve fishing later in the season.

Because trout tend to remain shallow for a while after stocking, fishing on the bottom may not be as productive in the early season as it will be later. Troll shallow with small lures, flies, or spinner-and-bait combinations early in the season. When fishing from shore, use a float to keep your bait up in the feeding zone.

As the season progresses, trout will cue in on natural forage and be found where the food is and this tends to be deeper. At this time, try fishing on or just off the bottom, using floating paste type baits or other buoyant baits. Also, natural baits such as worms, fish eggs, or flies and lures that imitate natural trout forage may work better. This will also be the case in lakes managed primarily with fry plants where the fish have been feeding on natural forage since last spring or fall.