A great opportunity to take kids fishing and one of Washington’s most popular outdoor events each year, lowland lakes across Western Washington open for trout fishing on Saturday, April 23. Anglers may encounter both freshly-planted “stockers” or larger “holdover” rainbow trout, with brown trout, cutthroat trout, bass, perch, catfish and other species also residing in certain lakes. Visit our Catchable trout plant reports or lowland lakes webpages for information on where to go fishing.

Trolling small spoons or spinners behind a boat, casting worms under a bobber or floating Power Bait with a small weight from a dock, or fly casting and slowly stripping streamer or nymph flies can all work well for spring trout. More tips and gear information is available on our rainbow trout webpage.