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Skip the shopping and fish this Black Friday

Choose tight lines over long lines or online on the day after Thanksgiving and create a new family fishing tradition. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is stocking dozens of lakes statewide with nearly 65,000 jumbo rainbow trout!

The “holiday specials” being stocked just in time for Nov. 28 include thousands of large trout measuring up to 17 inches in length and weighing up to three pounds.

The lakes to the right will be stocked for #BlackFridayFishing.

These lakes join others around the state already stocked with trout in October. A number of other lakes stocked earlier this year are also open for fishing on Black Friday. Many other lakes still boast excellent trout fishing as a result of stocking earlier in the year.

“WDFW has offered Black Friday fishing for more than a decade, and it’s a great way to get outdoors over the holiday weekend,” said Steve Caromile, WDFW inland fish program manager. “We stock jumbo trout in lakes near communities, making it easy to spend a few hours on the water with friends and family.”

Black Friday fishing lakes

• Adams, Lincoln counties: Fourth of July
• Chelan County: Roses
• Clark County: Battleground and Klineline
• Cowlitz County: Kress
• Island County: Cranberry Lake
• Jefferson County: Leland
• King County: Alice, Beaver, Green
• Klickitat County: Rowland
• Lewis County: Fort Borst Park Pond, South Lewis County Park Pond
• Pacific County: Cases Pond
• Pierce County: American, Tanwax
• Snohomish County: Ballinger, Blackmans, Gissburg Ponds, Silver, Tye
• Spokane County: Hog Canyon
• Stevens County: Hatch, Williams
• Thurston County: Black, Long, Offutt
• Yakima County: I-82 Pond #4 

Stocking details 

There are four Eastern Washington lakes opening on Black Friday that were stocked with trout fry this past spring that should be averaging 8 to 10 inches as well as trout averaging a quarter-pound to 1 pound apiece:

• Stevens County: Hatch Lake, 15,000 fry stocked in May and 600 trout averaging 1 pound each stocked in October; and Williams Lake, 12,000 fry stocked in May and 1,500 trout averaging a quarter pound each stocked in mid-April.
• Adams/Lincoln counties: Fourth of July Lake, 60,000 fry stocked in May and 18,000 trout averaging a quarter pound each stocked in mid-April.
• Spokane County: Hog Canyon Lake, 20,000 fry stocked in May, 10,000 trout averaging a quarter pound each stocked in mid-April, and 1,600 trout averaging 1 pound each stocked in October.

NOTE: If you are fishing in the Yakima area, please be aware that WDFW is not stocking North Elton Pond this year. Instead, WDFW will be stocking I-82 Pond #4 for Black Friday fishing. 

For up-to-date stocking information, anglers should follow the department's weekly catchable trout stocking report, where they can find reports on stocking that has taken place within the last 30 days and throughout the year.

How-to help

For more information on Black Friday fishing, including help getting started, you can read our latest blog on the topic. 

You can also check out our lowland lakes webpage and our blog on shore fishing for rainbow trout for more helpful tips on tactics and gear for this family friendly fishery.

License and regulation

Anglers age 16 and older must have either a current Washington freshwater fishing license or an annual combination license, valid through March 31, 2026, to participate.

Fishing licenses can be purchased online at www.mywdfw.org, by telephone at 360-902-2464, or at hundreds of license dealers across the state. Visit wdfw.wa.gov/licenses/dealers to find a license dealer near you.

For all the details on these fishing opportunities and others near you, see the WDFW sport fishing regulations.

Tight lines to you and yours on the holiday weekend!