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Washington lakes and reservoirs

Alder Lake Fishing

A 2,877-acre Washington lake in Pierce, Thurston and Lewis counties.

Get driving directions

Pick for troutPiscifun Carbon X ultralight spinning reel28% OFFSale $57.99 ~~$79.99~~

Photo: Ken Lund, CC BY-SA 2.0

Pierce County

Alder Lake at a glance

Spread over 2,877 acres, Alder Lake is a lake of Pierce, Thurston and Lewis counties on the WDFW map. The WDFW elevation field reads 1,198 feet. The nearest town is Eatonville, some 7 miles off. The lake layer classes it as mixed-species water managed with a trout emphasis. WDFW plants for its county are listed under WDFW Region 6.

The access layers record no ramp here. Shoreline access on the WDFW record: good.

2,877surface acres

1,198 ftelevation

0launches

6species listed

WDFW Fish Washington lake layers on geodataservices.wdfw.wa.gov (surface acres, elevation, management emphasis, shoreline access, species), USGS NHD outlines, Census 2023 places, retrieved October 31, 2026.

Directions to Alder Lake

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Species

Fish worth chasing on Alder Lake

What the WDFW lake data says swims in Alder Lake:

Coastal cutthroat trout Kokanee Largemouth bass Smallmouth bass Yellow perch Black crappie

WDFW Fish Washington species layers (presence, not abundance), WDFW records and the 2026 trout plant report; retrieved October 31, 2026.

Access

Trailer access to the water at Alder Lake

The access layers show no ramp on Alder Lake; city, tribal or private launches may exist.

More WDFW and park launches around Alder Lake

Mineral Lake boat launchMineral Lake, 4 miles southeast
Ohop Lake boat launchOhop Lake, 8 miles north
Rapjohn Lake boat launchRapjohn Lake, 11 miles northwest
Clear Lake boat launch (west)Clear Lake, 11 miles north
Tanwax Lake boat launchTanwax Lake, 12 miles north
Clear Lake boat launch (west), Thurston CountyClear Lake, 12 miles west

WDFW Water Access Sites and Shore Fishing Sites layers (geodataservices.wdfw.wa.gov) and the Washington State Parks boat launch layer, retrieved October 31, 2026. A Discover Pass is needed to park at WDFW access sites and State Parks launches.

Limits

Size and daily limits on Alder Lake

Species	Daily limit and size	Season
Largemouth Bass	No min. size in lakes, ponds, and reservoirs. Only largemouth bass less than 12" may be retained, except 1 over 17" may be retained. Daily limit 5.	Lakes, ponds, and reservoirs: year-round; rivers, streams and beaver ponds: Sat. before Memorial Day through Oct. 31
Smallmouth Bass	No min. size in lakes, ponds, and reservoirs. Only 1 smallmouth bass over 14" may be retained. Daily limit 10.	Lakes, ponds, and reservoirs: year-round; rivers, streams and beaver ponds: Sat. before Memorial Day through Oct. 31
Walleye	Min. size 12" in lakes, ponds, and reservoirs. Daily limit 8. Only 1 over 22" may be retained. May be caught, retained, and released alive from a livewell until daily limit is in possession.	Lakes, ponds, and reservoirs: year-round; rivers, streams and beaver ponds: Sat. before Memorial Day through Oct. 31
Channel Catfish	No min. size in lakes, ponds, and reservoirs. Daily limit 5.	Lakes, ponds, and reservoirs: year-round; rivers, streams and beaver ponds: Sat. before Memorial Day through Oct. 31
Burbot (Freshwater Ling)	No min. size. Daily limit 5.	Lakes, ponds, and reservoirs: year-round; rivers, streams and beaver ponds: Sat. before Memorial Day through Oct. 31 (p.23 general rule for
Crappie, Northern Pikeminnow, Peamouth Chub, Perch, Suckers, Sunfish,	No min. size. No daily limit.	Lakes, ponds, and reservoirs: year-round; rivers, streams and beaver ponds: Sat. before Memorial Day through Oct. 31
Grass Carp	Closed unless otherwise listed in Special Rules.	Closed
Kokanee	No min. size. Daily limit 10. When fishing with bait, all kokanee that are lawful to possess and are equal to or greater than the minimum size are counted as part of the daily limit whether kept or released.	Lakes, ponds, and reservoirs: year-round; rivers, streams and beaver ponds: Sat. before Memorial Day through Oct. 31 (p.23 general rule for
Tiger Muskellunge (Tiger Muskie)	Min. size 50". Daily limit 1.	Lakes, ponds, and reservoirs: year-round; rivers, streams and beaver ponds: Sat. before Memorial Day through Oct. 31 (p.23 general rule for
Whitefish	No min. size. Daily limit 15.	Lakes, ponds, and reservoirs: year-round; rivers, streams and beaver ponds: Sat. before Memorial Day through Oct. 31 (p.23 general rule for
Steelhead	Release all wild steelhead. Min. size 20". Daily limit 2. Open during salmon or game fish seasons unless as otherwise listed.	Open during salmon or game fish seasons unless as otherwise listed
Brown Trout, Cutthroat Trout, Rainbow Trout, Golden Trout, Tiger Trout	In lakes, ponds, and reservoirs: No min. size. Daily limit 5.	Year-round (statewide lake season, p.23)
Trout (combined rivers and lakes same day)	The combined daily limit for an angler that fishes in both rivers and lakes on the same day is 5 trout, no more than 2 may be from rivers.	see the pamphlet
Lake Trout	No min. size. No daily limit.	Lakes, ponds, and reservoirs: year-round; rivers, streams and beaver ponds: Sat. before Memorial Day through Oct. 31 (p.23 general rule for
Eastern Brook Trout (EBT)	No min. size. No daily limit.	Lakes, ponds, and reservoirs: year-round; rivers, streams and beaver ponds: Sat. before Memorial Day through Oct. 31 (p.23 general rule for
Dolly Varden/Bull Trout	Closed unless otherwise listed in Special Rules.	Closed

On Alder Lake the statewide freshwater rows hold unless a Special Rule below says otherwise.

Anglers 16 and older need a Washington Freshwater license ($39.95 resident, $115.85 nonresident for 2026-27) or a Combination license; salmon, steelhead and sturgeon also take a catch record card.

Limits and seasons as printed in the 2026-2027 Washington Sport Fishing Rules (WDFW pamphlet, in effect July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027), PDF page 27 (pamphlet PDF; eRegulations statewide freshwater page), read October 31, 2026.

Washington licenses and limits

Compare

How Alder Lake compares in its part of Washington

By WDFW acreage, Mineral Lake tops the table with 275.

Lake	Distance	Acres	Elevation	Launches	2026 plants
Alder Lake		2,877	1,198 ft	0	0
Mineral Lake	4 miles southeast	275	1,421 ft	1	13
Ohop Lake	9 miles north	218	527 ft	1	1
Silver Lake (Pierce County)	10 miles northwest	133	607 ft	0	1
Rapjohn Lake	11 miles northwest	59	636 ft	2	2
Clear Lake (Pierce County)	11 miles north	156	781 ft	1	3

WDFW Fish Washington lake layers, access layers and the 2026 trout plant report; retrieved October 31, 2026.

Nearby

Next to Alder Lake

Lakes a brief detour from Alder Lake

Mineral Lake4 miles southeast
Ohop Lake9 miles north
Silver Lake (Pierce County)10 miles northwest
Rapjohn Lake11 miles northwest
Clear Lake (Pierce County)11 miles north

Tackle counters within a quick drive of Alder Lake

Great Falls Outdoors, Inc.bait and tackle shop, Centralia
Fish Doctor Jigsbait and tackle shop, Chehalis
Port of Anacortes, 266 Doty Dryad Rdmarina, Chehalis
Radio Shack & Tri-Mountain Sportsbait and tackle shop, Morton
Lost Creek Fly Shopfly shop, Onalaska
Arabella's Landing Marinamarina, Gig Harbor

Who runs guided trips on Alder Lake

Jr's Sport Fishing & River Guidecharter, Chehalis, (360) 262-9584
Mount Rainier Flyreel Workscharter, Buckley, (360) 829-3691
The Fly Fishercharter, Lacey, (360) 491-0181
Wild Rivers Guided Fishing Tripscharter, Orting, (253) 222-6886
Clancy’s Guided Sportfishingfishing guide, Chehalis, (360) 880-0409
D & J Guided Sport Fishingfishing guide, Olympia, (206) 914-9137
West Coast Anglersfishing guide, winlock, (360) 219-3863

Washington towns with beds close by Alder Lake

Eatonville7 miles
Clear Lake11 miles
Morton15 miles

The counties around Alder Lake

Pierce Countyseat: Tacoma
Thurston Countyseat: Olympia
Lewis Countyseat: Chehalis

Piscifun

A Piscifun spinning setup worth packing for Alder Lake

Piscifun and Amazon links are affiliate links; the site earns a commission on qualifying purchases.

Fish photos

A photo key to fish at Alder Lake

Coastal Cutthroat Trout, Washington — Coastal Cutthroat Trout
Photo: USFWS – Pacific Region, Public domain

Kokanee, Washington — Kokanee
Photo: USFWS – Pacific Region, CC BY 2.0

Yellow Perch, Washington — Yellow Perch
Photo: Heath Alseike, CC BY 2.0

Black Crappie, Washington — Black Crappie
Photo: USFWS Mountain-Prairie, Public domain

Answers

Quick replies about fishing Alder Lake

How do I find Alder Lake on a county map?

Search Pierce, Thurston and Lewis counties on the map, about 7 miles from Eatonville.

Is Alder Lake a large lake for Washington?

Some 2,877 acres by WDFW.

Can a trailered boat get onto Alder Lake from a listed launch?

The WDFW and State Parks layers list none on it; nearby ramps appear in the access band.

Which fish do WDFW sources tie to Alder Lake?

coastal cutthroat trout, kokanee, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, yellow perch and black crappie, by the WDFW layers and plants.

How many trout go home from Alder Lake under the 2026-27 pamphlet?

Brown Trout, Cutthroat Trout, Rainbow Trout, Golden Trout, Tiger Trout: In lakes, ponds, and reservoirs: No min. size. Daily limit 5.; Year-round (statewide lake season, p.23).

What does a WDFW freshwater license cost for a day at Alder Lake?