Northwest Reel Life April 2024 Volume 3 Issue 7 - Flipbook - Page 18
fishing
Rainbow Trout
Josh DeBruler
Spanning through the
past 130 years or so,
Washington’s lakes have
been stocked with a
variety of fish species. The
types of fish typically fall
under two categories, the
first being game fish like
rainbow trout, Kokanee,
steelhead, and cutthroat.
These are all planted for
the specific purpose of
increasing public angling
opportunities. The second
category would be an
aquatic vegetation control
fish like the common
carp, that was planted
primarily by private
landowners intending
to mitigate overgrowth
of vegetation in lakes
and ponds. Regardless
of the purpose of fish
stocking, the practice has
generated various stages of
controversy throughout
the years, and rightfully
so as the early versions of
fish stocking had been
practiced without much
consideration of ecological
impacts on native fauna.
Thankfully, the days
of reckless and illegal
stocking of ecologically
sensitive lakes by private
citizens are, for the most
part, a thing of the past
in Washington state.
Nowadays, The Washington
State Department of Fish
and Wildlife and local
tribes operate stocking
programs that involve strict
management guidelines
and make use of both
surveying and long-term
field studies to effectively
provide anglers with fishing
opportunities while not
disturbing vulnerable
ecosystems.
Rainbow trout are by in
large the most widely
stocked fish in Washington
lakes, thus, they are the
most common trout
targeted by Washington
State anglers. And though
a stocked rainbow trout
from a local lake might not
be quite as alluring as say,
a wild rainbow trout from
some remote stream in the
high-country wilderness,
comparing these two is a
bit like comparing apples
and oranges. One can
consider these stocked
fisheries to be the staple
of a lifestyle that places
high value on familyfriendly outdoor recreation,
whereas the wild fish
pursuit is an activity that
often takes a bit more
work and travel, and isn’t
always quite as easy to
get the family involved in.
