Fishing report for Nov. 17

LAKES

Six lakes will be closed Monday-Nov. 26 as they are stocked with 2,000 large rainbow trout (averaging 15-16 inches). The lakes reopen on Black Friday (Nov. 27). The lakes are Fort Borst Park and South Lewis County Park ponds in Lewis County, Kress Lake in Cowlitz County, Battleground Lake and Klineline Pond in Clark County and North Rowland Lake in Klickitat County.

AMERICAN: Super slow here. Only one angler Monday, and he didn’t stay long said David Anderson of Bill’s Boathouse. Tuesday was windy. “It would be difficult just to stand upright,” Anderson said.

HARTS: Last week this lake was stocked with 350 rainbows. Dock anglers are also catching catfish.

MERWIN: Not many anglers on the water of late, according to a recent statement prepared by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. However, some of those on the water are catching limits.

NAHWATZEL: Stocked in October, it’s remains a good spot for trout.

SCANEWA: Tacoma Power released 48 coho jacks and one cutthroat trout here last week.

ST. CLAIR: Over the last month, the WDFW has infused this lake with more than 19,000 rainbow trout.

WASHINGTON: Anglers still having luck landing cutthroat.

RIVERS

COLUMBIA: According to a WDFW report, “steelhead fishing is fair to good in the John Day Arm.” At the John Day Pool, a weekly check showed anglers in 29 boats kept nine steelhead and released 24.White sturgeon fishing is catch-and-release only upstream of Buoy 10 to the state border above McNary Dam. This year’s salmonid creel program is closed on the lower river. In the Hanford Reach area, fishing has been spotty with some days with great action.

COWLITZ: The state reports that anglers are catching chinook and coho at the barrier dam and summer-run steelhead near the hatchery. Most of the fall chinook were wild and had to be released. The majority of the coho were hatchery jacks that were voluntarily released. Last week, Tacoma Power employees recovered 626 coho adults, 583 jacks, 126 fall chinook adults, 11 jacks, 90 summer-run steelhead and eight cutthroat. At Franklin Bridge in Packwood, they released 30 fall chinook adults, four fall chinook jacks, one coho adult and 192 jacks.

GREEN: Mixed reports when it comes to chum salmon fishing, according to northwestfishingreports.com.

KALAMA: Anglers are catching coho and hatchery steelhead.

LEWIS: On the North Fork, action has picked up for chinook and hatchery coho, according to the state. Steelhead and hatchery coho also are biting for bank anglers. On the East Fork, anglers are releasing wild steelhead.

TILTON: Last week at Gust Backstrom Park in Morton, Tacoma Power released 144 coho adults, 251 jacks, 85 fall chinook adults, and seven jacks.

TOUTLE: Fishing for hatchery steelhead and salmon closes Nov. 30 on the North Fork and the main stem from the mouth to the forks. On the South Fork, hatchery salmon fishing closes upstream from 4100 Bridge but remains open below the bridge with selective gear rules.

SALT WATER

SOUTH SOUND: The staff at the Point Defiance Boathouse Marina reports some blackmouth are coming in. Crabbing is open, and squidding remains some of the best local anglers can recall. The boathouse staff is planning a squid-jigging class for Dec. 5. To sign up call 253-591-5325.

NORTH SOUND: Squidding is good up north, too, with anglers doing well fishing from the docks as far north as Edmonds.

This story was originally published November 17, 2015 at 2:57 AM with the headline "Fishing report for Nov. 17."