65,000 rainbow trout added to 24 WA lakes ahead of Black Friday fishing

Right as Thanksgiving arrives, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is dropping thousands of rainbow trout into area lakes in time for Black Friday fishing.

WDFW is stocking 24 lakes with more than 65,000 rainbow trout just in time for Black Friday fishing. The state agency has held “Black Friday Fishing” for more than a decade, according to The Columbia Basin Herald, and it’s as popular as ever.

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“WDFW has offered Black Friday fishing for more than a decade and it’s been a big hit for anglers statewide,” WDFW Inland Trout Manager Steve Caromile said in a release. “If you’ve never participated before, this is a great year to start a new tradition, spending time outside with friends and family the day after Thanksgiving.”

In addition to the approximate 65,000 rainbow trout, WDFW is tossing in a few thousand “jumbo trout” to “sweeten the deal.” A fishing license is still required.

The average rainbow trout is 16-17 inches in size and weighs 3 pounds.

The local lakes filled with rainbow trout are listed below:

• Adams and Lincoln counties – Fourth of July Lake
• Chelan County – Roses Lake
• Clark County – Battle Ground Lake and Klineline Pond
• Cowlitz County – Kress Lake
• Island County – Cranberry Lake
• King County – Beaver Lake and Green Lake
• Klickitat County – Rowland Lake
• Lewis County – Fort Borst Park Pond and South Lewis County Park Pond
• Pacific County – Cases Pond
• Pierce County – American Lake and Tanwax Lake
• Snohomish County – Ballinger Lake, Gissburg Ponds, Silver Lake and Lake Tye
• Spokane County – Hog Canyon Lake
• Stevens County – Hatch Lake
• Thurston County – Black Lake, Long Lake and Offutt Lake
• Yakima County – Elton Pond North

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Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here and you can email him here.