Every year, as the last Saturday in April approaches, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife issues a press release to announce opening day.

Washington is full of trout-fishing opportunities, from redbands in the east to sea-run cutthroats in Puget Sound. Photo courtesy of David Paul Williams.

The release contains information on how many anglers typically hit the water for the opener, the number of trout the WDFW will be planting and when they will be released.

The newspapers and television stations that get the releases usually put in a small notice on the week of the opener. Also, they usually send a reporter to the nearest popular lake and print a feature article about opening day -- which usually includes a photo of a family with smiling children holding up a big rainbow trout.

That's the way it is on opening weekend in the Evergreen State, and it's been that way for a long time. Opening day of trout season is one of the year's most popular sporting events. Thousands of happy anglers return home with trout that are pan-sized or better, and enjoy succulent Saturday fish dinners.

To that end, the WDFW releases trout in 374 lakes, planting 3.5 million "catchable" rainbows, most around 8 inches, as well as many 1 1/2- to 2-pound jumbo trout.

The agency also releases approximately 20 million trout fry, primarily into nutrient-rich lakes east of the Cascades. In recent years, the state has also planted triploid trout in dozens of lakes. Triploids are modified so they put all their energies into growing rather than spawning.

REGIONAL TROUT ACTION
What kind of trout fishing can anglers expect this season?

Here's a look at specific regions in Washington.

Puget Sound
The dichotomy between naturally occurring trout fisheries and put-and-take hatchery operations is nowhere more obvious than in Puget Sound.

Each March, wild sea-run cutthroat drop down to the tidewater from their late-winter spawning creeks. Ranging from 10 to 20 inches, these fish prey heavily on the chum salmon fry that also appear in estuaries in early spring, as well as on a host of other marine crustaceans and baitfish.

Wild cutthroat also roam 20-mile-long Lake Washington, and anglers with powerboats and downriggers take fish up to 5 pounds.

In the north sound, the Skagit River also hosts a thriving population of wild bull trout, some weighing more than 6 pounds.

All cutthroat taken in Puget Sound must be released, but anglers can keep Lake Washington trout and Skagit River bull trout, although most do get released.

Anglers more interested in hatchery fish can find them from metropolitan Seattle's Green Lake to the Cascade foothill's Rattlesnake Lake to Island County's boggy Cranberry Lake.

If you live in Seattle and have a youngster who wants to catch a trout, Green Lake is actually a pretty good choice. It receives around 20,000 catchable fish between March and May and it's open year 'round.

Other King County lakes with more traditional surroundings and substantial rainbow plants include Pine, Langlois, Margaret and Morton.

Along with around 15,000 rainbows, Meridian Lake gets 750 triploids and 50,000 kokanee. Rattlesnake Lake is planted with catchable rainbows, 500 triploids, and rainbow and cutthroat fry. Wilderness Lake usually gets around 15,000 catchable rainbows and 25,000 kokanee.

Snohomish County's lakes Bosworth, Goodwin, Ki and Roesiger have each received between 10,000 and 15,000 rainbows recently.