Northwest Reel Life April 2023 Volume 2 Issue 8 - Flipbook - Page 30
The Washington lowland lakes opener is in
the history books, but that doesn’t mean
you can’t still catch fish from them. Here’s a
report on some favorites and how the angler
did:
Steve Caromile, the Inland Fish Program
Manager for the Washington Department
of Fish and Wildlife said, “The lowland lake
trout season, Washington’s single biggest
fishing season, opened April 22nd with
decent weather and catch rates. It is still one
of the best bargains in local family recreation.
The 22nd was also the first day of our annual
trout derby, and we are already seeing
catches of tagged trout!”
Caromile continued saying, “With typical
springtime weather, angler catch and effort
at our lakes was comparable to prior seasons,
with catch averaging just about three fish
per angler. The air temperatures weren’t bad,
but water temperatures are still on the cool
side. But with better weather in the forecast,
the catch will be heating up as well.”
If you are wondering how Central and
Eastern Washington lakes fished on opening
day, here are reports from WDFW staff who
visited various waters in the region:
KLICKITAT COUNTY:
Horsethief Lake was fishing pretty slow on
the opener. Individuals averaged two trout
each. However, things were very different
at Rowland Lake. 29 anglers were checked,
and although there were not many people
fishing, creel checkers noted they harvested
lot of fish.
30 | NWFISHING.net
Eight trout were caught per angler, and on
average they kept 3.24 fish. The largest trout
seen? A 21-incher!
CHELAN COUNTY:
Clear Lake was frozen over and Beehive
Reservoir was not accessible to vehicular
traffic due to snow at this lake located
near the Mission Ridge Ski Area, south of
Wenatchee. However, Wapato Lake, near
Manson, was open for fishing, and anglers
caught and kept around 3.5 trout apiece.
DOUGLAS COUNTY:
The crowds were out at Jameson Lake on
opening morning. Creel checkers counted
234 anglers fishing for trout at 8 AM. Just
under 3 trout per angler were caught here,
the average fish measuring 11-inches long.
The largest fish seen by WDFW staff was a
16-inch rainbow.
GRANT COUNTY:
The crowds were also out for the opener
at Blue Lake, with nearly 300 individuals
counted, and a lot of these anglers were kids.
The average catch was only 1.5 trout each,
but the size of the trout was a healthy 14
inches. Park Lake, south of Coulee City, was
also crowded, and the catching was about
the same as Blue Lake. There was far better
fishing at nearby Deep Lake, in Sun Lakes
State Park. Anglers there were catching
five fish limits of rainbow trout averaging 13
inches.
OKANOGAN COUNTY:
Okanogan County is a popular destination
for the lowland lakes opener and for good
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