04-30-2011, 11:10 AM
This is the time of year when new fishing opportunities start popping open like daffodils in the afternoon sun. On various dates in May, shrimp and lingcod fisheries open in Puget Sound and halibut seasons will get under way there and off the coast.
But none of those fisheries draw bigger crowds than the lowland lakes trout-fishing season, which opens April 30 statewide. With 300,000 anglers predicted to turn out that day alone, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has been busy stocking 20 million trout in lakes and ponds from the Olympic Peninsula to the Palouse.
Millions more trout, ranging from eight-inch "catchables" to five-pound jumbos, will be planted during the season, which runs through October, said Jim Uehara, WDFW inland fish manager.
"We stock lakes with trout for the whole season, not just opening day," Uehara said. "Trout fishing should be most productive in lowland lakes through June, and then again in September. Fishing should be good in the higher-elevation lakes, and those stocked with kokanee, right through the summer."
For most anglers, a valid 2011-12 fishing license is required to participate in any of these fisheries, now that 2010-11 licenses have expired. The exception is young people under age 15, who fish for free in Washington state.
Licenses and permits are avaiIable online, by phone (1-866-246-9453) and from sporting goods stores and other retail license dealers around the state. A list of license vendors is available online and from local WDFW offices.
Key dates for fisheries opening in May include:
May 1 - Halibut fishing opens in Marine Area 2 off the south coast (Westport and Ocean Shores) and Puget Sound opens for lingcod.
May 5 - Halibut fishing opens in Marine Areas 6-10 in Puget Sound, and in Marine Area 1 off the south coast (Ilwaco).<br />
May 7 - Shrimp fishing opens in areas of Puget Sound.<br />
May 12 - Halibut fishing opens in marine areas 3 and 4 off the north coast (La Push/Neah Bay).<br />
May 16 - Fishing opens for hatchery steelhead, sockeye salmon and shad on a section of the lower Columbia River.
But none of those fisheries draw bigger crowds than the lowland lakes trout-fishing season, which opens April 30 statewide. With 300,000 anglers predicted to turn out that day alone, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has been busy stocking 20 million trout in lakes and ponds from the Olympic Peninsula to the Palouse.
Millions more trout, ranging from eight-inch "catchables" to five-pound jumbos, will be planted during the season, which runs through October, said Jim Uehara, WDFW inland fish manager.
"We stock lakes with trout for the whole season, not just opening day," Uehara said. "Trout fishing should be most productive in lowland lakes through June, and then again in September. Fishing should be good in the higher-elevation lakes, and those stocked with kokanee, right through the summer."
For most anglers, a valid 2011-12 fishing license is required to participate in any of these fisheries, now that 2010-11 licenses have expired. The exception is young people under age 15, who fish for free in Washington state.
Licenses and permits are avaiIable online, by phone (1-866-246-9453) and from sporting goods stores and other retail license dealers around the state. A list of license vendors is available online and from local WDFW offices.
Key dates for fisheries opening in May include:
May 1 - Halibut fishing opens in Marine Area 2 off the south coast (Westport and Ocean Shores) and Puget Sound opens for lingcod.
May 5 - Halibut fishing opens in Marine Areas 6-10 in Puget Sound, and in Marine Area 1 off the south coast (Ilwaco).<br />
May 7 - Shrimp fishing opens in areas of Puget Sound.<br />
May 12 - Halibut fishing opens in marine areas 3 and 4 off the north coast (La Push/Neah Bay).<br />
May 16 - Fishing opens for hatchery steelhead, sockeye salmon and shad on a section of the lower Columbia River.