Fish Black Friday for big rainbow trout

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is offering anglers opportunities for tight lines rather than long lines on the day after Thanksgiving.

The "holiday specials" include thousands of large trout averaging 15 to 16 inches in length and weighing up to three pounds.

The department is currently preparing to stock lakes in time for Black Friday, Nov. 25. In eastern Washington, hundreds of thousands of smaller trout stocked in lakes last spring should have grown to catchable size.

Some of the lakes scheduled to receive fish before Black Friday include:

Battle Ground Lake and Klineline Pond in Clark County, Kress Lake in Cowlitz County, Frank's Pond, Beebe Springs Wildlife Area, Chelan County – anglers under 15 only, Anderson Lake in Jefferson County – limited parking, walk-in access only, Fort Borst Park Pond and South Lewis County Park Pond in Lewis County, American and Tanwax lakes in Pierce County, Rowland Lake in Klickitat County, Black, Long, and Offutt lakes in Thurston County and Elton Pond North in Yakima County.

Many of those lakes will be closed to fishing the Monday before Thanksgiving Day until Thanksgiving Day to facilitate stocking efforts as noted in the fishing regulations: http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/.

On the eastside, WDFW began stocking lakes with fry plants earlier this year, which should mean hefty fish in Williams and Hatch lakes in Stevens County; Fourth of July Lake in Lincoln and Adams counties; Lake Roosevelt in Lincoln, Stevens and Ferry counties; and Hog Canyon Lake in Spokane County.

Many of these eastside lakes will open Nov. 25 and remain open through March 31, 2017 as noted in the fishing regulations: http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/.

The Black Friday fishing opener is one of several fishing opportunities made available thanks to the department's extensive fish stocking efforts, said Phillips.

In total, WDFW has been stocking Washington lakes with some 915,000 trout in preparation for the fall and winter seasons.

For up-to-date stocking information this fall, anglers should follow the department on Twitter or Facebook, accessible from http://wdfw.wa.gov, or see the department's weekly catchable trout stocking report at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/plants/weekly/.

Anglers 15 years and older must have a current Washington freshwater fishing license valid through March 31, 2017, to participate.

Licenses can be purchased by telephone at 1-866-246-9453; or at hundreds of license vendors across the state. For details on license vendor locations, visit the WDFW website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/licensing/vendors/.