Where have all the steelhead gone?
You might be wondering what I’m doing writing about some tiny lake a stones throw from I5 in Centralia.
First of all, I’m starting to grab some of the information on lakes to make it easier for trip planners to research what’s available and I realized WDFW has already done a pretty good job of that (which was surprising given how other information is organized!).
However, I was dismayed that they still make it hard to find the permanent regulations for a specific body of water. Leaving this topic aside for a minute to address the real reason you are here: Steelhead.
You know how we haven’t been able to fish those Chehalis steelhead in 2023 that I wrote about? Well, according to the trout stocking report, some of these steelhead that recently showed up at the Skookumchuck hatchery got dumped into Fort Borst Park Lake (Pond?)
Here’s the trout stocking relevant info:
| Lake Name | Stock Date | Species | Number of Fish | Avg size per Fish | Hatchery | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FORT BORST PRK LAKE -LEWIS CO. | Feb 08, 2023 | Steelhead | 50 | 10.0 lbs | SKOOKUMCHUCK HATCHERY | Winter-Late |
| FORT BORST PRK LAKE -LEWIS CO. | Jan 10, 2023 | Rainbow | 2000 | 0.4 lbs | GOLDENDALE HATCHERY | |
| FORT BORST PRK LAKE -LEWIS CO. | Nov 21, 2022 | Rainbow | 2000 | 1.0 lbs | MOSSYROCK HATCHERY |
Recent catchable (>.4 lbs) fish stocked per acre of lake size: 10.20 fish per acre
That’s right, of the 90 fish that returned the week of 2/8/2023, 50 of them were dropped in this lake averaging 10 lbs per fish.
Here’s the place https://pnwbestlife.com/washington-stocked-lakes-best-opportunities/to see all recently stocked lakes in Washington ranked by catchable fish per acre.
Fishing Regulations for Fort Borst Park Lake / Pond
Now about those pesky regulations…If you search for this lake in the westside lakes special rules section, you won’t be able to find it.
That’s because the way WDFW trains us to look up regulations by virtue of the fact that so many lakes and rivers have special rules is…the special rules sections.
The more correct way you are meant to read through the WDFW regulations is the following:
Statewide Freshwater Regulations – Read this first for all of the default rules that apply across the board for Washington State freshwater
You should come across this text:
Lakes, ponds, and reservoirs are open to fishing for game fish (except Dolly Varden/bull trout and grass carp) year-round.
Statewide Freshwater Species Rules – Read these after the freshwater regulations to see species specific rules.
You should find this text concerning steelhead:
STEELHEAD
Release all wild steelhead.
Min. size 20″. Daily limit 2. Open during salmon or game fish seasons unless as otherwise listed.
So with no corresponding entry in the westside lakes special rules, we can conclude that this area is indeed open to to retain steelhead year around…
More information on Fort Borst Park Lake in Lewis County
If you want more information on Fort Borst Park Lake WDFW maintains a nice page on many lowland lakes and there is more information on Fort Borst Park Lake in Lewis County here