Lowland lakes open for fishing April 25

SPRAGUE — Ahead of this weekend’s lowland lakes fishing season opener, Fishtrap Lake has received thousands of stocked rainbow trout.

Fishing season opens Saturday, April 25.

But the state Department of Fish and Wildlife has already planted Fishtrap Lake

On March 6, the state put 500, one-third-pound rainbow trout in the lake. On March 11, it added 8,015 fish, averaging 2.5 pound.

Nearby, the agency also planted 500 rainbow in West Medical Lake on March 4 and an additional 6,171 on March 12.

The fish were raised by the Spokane Hatchery.

Medical Lake is ready for an influx of fishermen, with firefighters scheduled to serve the annual Medical Lake Fishermen’s Breakfast from 6 a.m. until noon at the Spokane County Fire District No. 3’s Station 311, 124 S. LeFevre St. The fare includes pancakes, sausage and scramble eggs along with coffee and juice.

In addition, the state has partnered with the city to have a fishing tank for youngsters to try to catch fish at the breakfast.

And a 50/50 raffle, with proceeds benefitting the Spokane County Fire District No. 3 Member Association, will take place.

Big day for fishing

“Opening day is one of our biggest days for anglers to get out on the water,” agency Inland Fish Program Manager Steve Caromile said. “Spring weather can be hard to predict, but we’ve had a mild winter and hopefully that will lead to plenty of success for weeks to come.”

In 2025, nearly 200,000 anglers participated in opening day fishing statewide, he said.

Statewide, the day promises to reward anglers with nice-sized catches.

In preparation for opening day, WDFW staff are stocking 2.1 million catchable-size trout, measuring 11-13 inches in lakes statewide. Staff have also stocked more than 157,000 jumbo trout averaging more than 14 inches in the last two months.

In addition to the catchable and jumbo trout, an estimated 13.1 million fingerling, fry, and put-grow-and-take trout and kokanee planted one or two years ago will be in the catchable-size range during the 2026 season.

The annual Fish and Wildlife Trout Derby also kicks off April 25 and runs through Oct. 31.

For the derby, the agency has tagged the dorsal fins of trout in more than 100 lakes statewide. Anglers who catch a tagged trout win a prize donated from a nearby business.

Now in its 11th year, the Derby features more than 900 prizes valued at nearly $45,000.

Businesses have donated a wide variety of prizes including gift cards, fishing gear and tackle, Seattle Mariners tickets, rounds of golf, local aquarium admission, a kayak, a guided lake fishing trip for two, handheld GPS units and more.