Contributing Writer

Clear Lake in Thurston County (just past Yelm) offers excellent spring trout fishing and good angling for largemouth and smallmouth bass. Some anglers report catching kokanee fishing the deeper water.

Hicks Lake in Lacey has very good spring fishing for rainbow trout and then offers up nice fisheries for bass and panfish through summer and early fall.

Black Lake minutes from Olympia is a top-notch place to limit out on trout. You also can catch good-sized largemouth and smallmouth bass and a variety of panfish.

South Lewis County Park Pond, near Toledo and the Cowlitz River, is an easy to fish spot for catching seasonal trout as well as bass and panfish.

Mineral Lake west of Mount Rainier is a mountain lake renowned for trout fishing and only a little over an hour’s drive from Tacoma.