Fishing report for May 17

SALT WATER

Razor clams: The final coastal razor clam dig of the season starts Friday at Copalis and Mocrocks. Digging will be permitted before noon through Saturday at Copalis and through Sunday at Mocrocks. Low tides are 6:37 a.m. Friday, 7:12 a.m. Saturday and 7:47 a.m. Sunday.

“This summer, we’ll conduct our annual assessment of razor clam stocks and will hope to open beaches again sometime in October,” state coastal shellfish manager Dan Ayres said in a prepared statement.

South Sound: The staff at the Point Defiance Boathouse reports lingcod fishing is slow and pressure is light. Puget Sound is closed to salmon fishing.

Westport: A report posted Sunday by the Westport Charterboat Association said “rockfish and lingcod continue to be awesome.” All-depth recreational halibut fishing closed last week when quotas were met. The nearshore area will remain open.

LAKES

American: David Anderson of Bill’s Boathouse says this recently stocked lake is being generous with anglers. People are catching rainbow trout from the dock and from the boats. Still fishing is best from boats. Trolling has not worked so well, Anderson said.

Black: A good bet for landing fish considering it has been stocked with more than 34,000 rainbow trout, more than any other Thurston County lake this spring.

Bradley: Stocked last week with 1,000 rainbow trout.

Clear (Pierce): An angler posted on northwestfishingreports.com that action was excellent on this recently stocked lake.

Hicks: Stocked last week with 3,325 trout.

Panther: This Kitsap County Lake was stocked last week with 1,300 rainbows.

Rapjohn: The state added 2,000 rainbow trout to this lake last week.

Scanewa: Tacoma Power released 879 spring chinook, 207 spring chinook jacks and one winter-run steelhead above Cowlitz Falls Dam.

Tanwax: Anglers have been doing well catching rainbows.

Toledo: Last week, Tacoma Power released 4,000 rainbow trout into ponds in South Lewis County Parks.

Chelan area: Anton Jones of Darrell & Dad’s Guide Service says, “What’s hot is fishing for 11- to 16-inch rainbow trout on Wapato Lake.” On Lake Chelan, anglers are trolling for trout in Manson Bay and along Colyar Ledge. Kokanee are biting between the Blue Roof Condos and the Narrows, Jones said.

RIVERS

Cowlitz: Last week, Tacoma Power recovered 1,914 spring chinook adults, 374 spring chinook jacks, 290 winter-run steelhead and 32 summer-run steelhead at the hatchery separator. In Packwood, 358 spring Chinook adults and 55 jacks were released at the Franklin Bridge.

Lewis: Steelhead fishing has been slow.

Tilton: Last week Tacoma Power released 10 winter-run steelhead adults at Morton’s Gust Backstrom Park.

This story was originally published May 17, 2016 at 12:17 PM with the headline "Fishing report for May 17."