Number of stocked fish in WA lowland lakes

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dmcauley

Just Hatched
I started fly fishing some Western Washington Lakes a few years ago because they're so accessible for me. Out of curiosity I created a spreadsheet of lakes that were stocked calculating an estimate of fish per acre (using this years plants). Out of about 20 lakes I calculated, the density ranges from 26 fish/acre (Lacamas) to 3400/acre (Ice House Lake) and 2800/acre at Tim's Pond. The higher density lakes are very small, and a lot host kid's derbies, but how can these small lakes support that many fish? Do WDFW expect them all to be harvested? I don't usually keep stocked trout, and the fish I do catch don't seem stunted but I was just curious if anyone knows what percent of the planted fish are expected to survive until next year vs being harvested.
 
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For us weirdo’s who catch and release, the trick is taking advantage of those kinda crazy stocking numbers by figuring out the lakes that support a strong population of holdovers and fishing after the catch-and-keep crowds leave. Or before it’s stocked. @Tim L wrote up a good piece about doing just that.
 
troutpocket said:
For us weirdo’s who catch and release, the trick is taking advantage of those kinda crazy stocking numbers by figuring out the lakes that support a strong population of holdovers and fishing after the catch-and-keep crowds leave. Or before it’s stocked. @Tim L wrote up a good piece about doing just that.
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Forgot about that, I had to google it. I pulled it down a while back given the circumstances at the time. If I can find it I'll post it up.

Rod, hope all is good, it's been way too long.
 
In Southern California the put and take lakes are pathetic. Powerbait right next to the stocking truck pathetic. However, most of these lakes also hold Large Mouth Bass that can eat those stocked trout when they get to be about 6 pounds. They call those trout "vitamin T" because the 6lb Bass can quickly become huge. You can often see a Bass fisherman lobbing out a huge (expensive) "swimbait" that closely resembles the stocked trout, especially when the stocking truck backs up. One lake (Cuyamaca) stocks quarter pounder trout. Those bass get big fast. It is illegal to release a bass at this lake and you will be kicked off the lake for doing so. A 12 pound Largemouth Bass looks pretty cool in a cooler, but who would eat it?
 
troutpocket said:
For us weirdo’s who catch and release, the trick is taking advantage of those kinda crazy stocking numbers by figuring out the lakes that support a strong population of holdovers and fishing after the catch-and-keep crowds leave. Or before it’s stocked. @Tim L wrote up a good piece about doing just that.
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I've noticed that put and take lakes crowds in the early morning thin out before lunch and the rest of the day is much less busy. I like that and like that I can sleep in and have a little more solitude on the water.
 
Many of the smaller stocked lakes in EWA may have a public fishing dock, really shitty boat launches, and often cannot be easily fished because of excellent (basically impenetrable brush and bog) shoreline trout habitat without some sort of watercraft....which means you seldom see more than a couple of people out on the main body of the lake.

Personally I wish stocking reports were not released....or only provided no more info than species stocked.

I certainly don't resent people taking a limit...they're basically 'paying the freight' for the hatchery program....but I always wonder if the fish are actually going to be eaten, or is the whole point to be able to brag they've 'limited out'.

When I ask departing non-flyfishers how the fishing went it's generally "not so good" or a beaming "limited out".

When I'm asked the question by the same folk they're utterly astounded by the response that no fish were kept...or even aghast that they weren't offered to them instead of being foolishly released....

As a youngster I remember 'limiting out' being the sole criterion required for any successful fishing or hunting trip. Anything less was considered total failure by most of the adults I knew. I think the attitude is still quite prevalent.

I find it somewhat unfathomable that so many people relish the taste of hatchery trout enough to harvest large quantities. I suspect a great many end up residing in a freezer until they eventually get thrown out.
 
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On my local Westside lakes, shore access is almost zero. Between posted access and blackberry thickets you'll not find a place to toss your worm. This makes for decent fishing when conditions are right, out of a watercraft. Most the guys that keep them are trolling. Too bad these glacial basin lakes don't have inlets to allow spawning as they stock some healthy looking trout. 18,000 of them in one of them this Spring. If not for stocking they'd all be panfish lakes by now...
 
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dmcauley said:
I started fly fishing some Western Washington Lakes a few years ago because they're so accessible for me. Out of curiosity I created a spreadsheet of lakes that were stocked calculating an estimate of fish per acre (using this years plants). Out of about 20 lakes I calculated, the density ranges from 26 fish/acre (Lacamas) to 3400/acre (Ice House Lake) and 2800/acre at Tim's Pond. The higher density lakes are very small, and a lot host kid's derbies, but how can these small lakes support that many fish? Do WDFW expect them all to be harvested? I don't usually keep stocked trout, and the fish I do catch don't seem stunted but I was just curious if anyone knows what percent of the planted fish are expected to survive until next year vs being harvested.
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I used to take my now adult kids to Icehouse when they were little. I doubt any uncaught planters survive the summer. That lake is so small and shallow it's nothing more than a warm, weedy pond by the end of summer.
 
I've learned a lot about lake fly fishing by fishing these stocked lakes. Since I know there are a lot of fish and fairly easy to catch, I do a lot of experimenting with different flies and presentations. I bought about 10 different size/styles of San Juan worms a couple of years ago and only caught one fish on a San Juan worm in a river (a deep-ish pool on the South Fork Snoqualmie). Recently, I was fishing the Easton Ponds after a heavy stocking for a kid's derby and tried out some things I don't normally do. I did a really sloooow retrieve with a woolly bugger and was catching a fish on almost every other retrieve so I put on one of those old San Juans that was gathering dust and finally caught some fish using them with that really slow retrieve. The San Juans I had were much more fragile than I realized since they were tied in the middle and had long worm like appendages. After one or two fish they were ripped up and unfishable but I was just so happy that they finally worked. So I guess I learned two things, 1) a retrieve can't be too slow and 2) even those flies you've never had success with have their time and place. Oh and #3) if you're catching a lot of fish with something you have confidence in...mix it up and try something else. By the way, Easton Ponds was stocked with 300 jumbo trout on June 3rd but I didn't catch one of them. Maybe it was one of the ones that got away. Now my experiment will be to find the 1+ pound fish that are in these lakes.
 
The reservoir by me gets about 15,000 fish, or 300 per acre, and provides good fishing for a few months, then it gets hot. Many will die during the summer. The lake is also drawn down in winter. I do not believe they expect any of the fish to survive a full year. Few do. In the lakes east of me, a good number of fish will provide fishing into the winter and next season, but there is not enough food for them to appreciably size up, just get a nice color and some feistiness.
Put and take is what it is, fake but fun. We need these harvestable fish for those that want to keep, especially since I'd like to see moving water go special regs, c&r, for trout and char.
 
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In Whatcom County I have been impressed at how SMALL the fish are that WDFW has been planting.

Does anyone actually keep 6 inch trout? Haha. These dinks barely bend a rod. Average "Fish per pound" for Whatcom County was 2.2 Fish or .4#'s per fish. 4/10's of a pound per fish sure seems like a generous estimate based on what I have seen caught.

Just another example of WDFW doing poor work.
 
I agree….southern King county the stocked fish average seems around 2.7 The fish are getting smaller but our license fees haven’t…..but it’s still fishing.
 
Looked at the accessible stocking reports for Whatcom County and year over year shows a decline in both the number of fish stocked and the average size.

I wish I could see number of License Sales by year and county to add to my graphs. I doubt that there has been a decrease in sales.

I really dont care to much about stocked trout, but I do care about fishing opportunity and its interesting how WDFW seems to be more incentivized to do less/allow less.

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Seems like the majority of yearly stocking is in eastern Washington…..but I’ll bet waaay more fishing licenses are sold in King county/wet side…..and we need to have a lesser cost C&R fishing license!
 
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