Summit Lake

97% of the 19,772 catchable trout stocked in Summit Lake in 2025 arrived between March and May; the only release outside spring was on Sep 29, 2025.

WDFW data through Oct 30, 2026. Page updated November 5, 2026.

Key information

Size: 511.2 acres, 459 ft above sea level
Where: Just off Highway 101 between Olympia and Elma. The boat ramp is on the southwest end.
Bank fishing: Rated good, but shore access is only at the WDFW boat launch (about 100 ft). Shore fishing is limited and crowded when boats are out.
Boats: WDFW two-lane ramp, restrooms and about 50 parking stalls (15 for trailers). Ramp and toilets were recently replaced.
Fish listed: Rainbow trout, kokanee, coastal cutthroat, largemouth and smallmouth bass, yellow perch.
Rules to check: Open fourth Saturday in April through October 31. Two-pole fishing allowed. WDFW notes the listed surveys date from 2004.

From the WDFW page for this water, read on November 5, 2026. Access, rules and closures change, so check that page and the current fishing rules before you go.

Summit Lake in numbers

catchable trout in 2025: 19,772
so far in 2026, through Oct 30: 15,644
2025 against the 2015–2025 average of 24,406 a year: −19%

2026 is running behind 2025: 15,644 fish through Oct 30, against 19,772 by the same date a year earlier. The latest batch, 4,620 rainbow trout, went in on May 15, 2026, 174 days before this page was built.

WDFW lists Summit Lake as 511.2 acres in Thurston County, at 459 ft. Per acre, Summit Lake got about 39 catchable trout in 2025, which puts it 29th of the 37 waters on this site with a WDFW acreage. It is the larger of the 2 Thurston County waters on this site.

Release log

Every release since January 2025

10 species-date records, newest first. Fish per lb is the figure WDFW reports for each batch.

Latest batch, May 15, 20264,620rainbow trout, 8 oz each

Spring 2026

May 15Rainbow trout4,6201.9 per lb · avg 8 oz

Apr 20Rainbow trout5241.3 per lb · avg 12 oz

Apr 16Rainbow trout4,0002.3 per lb · avg 7 oz

Apr 15Rainbow trout6,5002.5 per lb · avg 6 oz

Autumn 2025

Sep 29Rainbow trout6251 per lb · avg 1.0 lb

Spring 2025

May 29Rainbow trout1,5532.2 per lb · avg 7 oz

May 28Rainbow trout5,0542.1 per lb · avg 8 oz

May 16Rainbow trout5,0132.1 per lb · avg 8 oz

Apr 22Rainbow trout3,0072 per lb · avg 8 oz

Apr 21Rainbow trout4,5201.7 per lb · avg 9 oz

2015 – 2026

Fish released each year

2025 is yellow. 2026 is outlined because the year is not over: the data runs to Oct 30, 2026. The busiest full year was 2015, with 6 release dates and 41,902 fish; the 2015–2025 average is 6.1 release dates a year.

42k2015: 41,902 catchable fish on 6 release dates
2016: 40,876 catchable fish on 11 release dates
2017: 39,327 catchable fish on 11 release dates
2018: 2,750 catchable fish on 2 release dates
2019: 14,795 catchable fish on 4 release dates
2020: 15,000 catchable fish on 3 release dates
2021: 15,531 catchable fish on 5 release dates
2022: 26,155 catchable fish on 7 release dates
2023: 23,500 catchable fish on 4 release dates
2024: 28,856 catchable fish on 8 release dates
20k2025: 19,772 catchable fish on 6 release dates
16k2026 (to Oct 30): 15,644 catchable fish on 4 release dates

How big are these fish?

4 to 8 oz: 22,120 fish, 62%
8 to 16 oz: 12,671 fish, 36%
1 to 2 lb: 625 fish, 2%

Weight is 1 ÷ fish per lb, as WDFW reports it for each batch. It is a batch average, not a guarantee for any one fish. Counts cover every release since January 2025.

Notes from the records

The biggest single batch since January 2025 was 6,500 rainbow trout on Apr 15, 2026. The heaviest fish were 625 rainbow trout on Sep 29, 2025, at 1 per lb, about 1.0 lb each.

Timing shifts from year to year. Treat this as a pattern, not a promise.