Fishing pond in north Gig Harbor opens for season

Each spring Olympic Property Group stocks the Harbor Hill pond behind the Tom Taylor YMCA with rainbow trout ranging from 7 inches long to upward of 10 pounds.

Children attending the YMCA day camp during their spring break last week were treated to a front-row seat of the stocking process.

More than 300 fish made their way through a tubular “fish Slip ’N Slide” into the pond. Campers added a verse from “Spongebob Squarepants” and lots of laughter to the festive mood.

The pond provides a great opportunity for grandparents and parents to bring the kids out and enjoy a day of fishing. Fly fishermen will enjoy the berm that divides the pond as a great place to practice their casting without having to put on waders.

The pond does have some rules, however:

▪ Single hook lures only, with no barbed hooks

▪ Food bait is not allowed

▪ The pond is catch and release only so members of the community can enjoy fishing the pond for as long as possible

As these are farm-raised trout in a stormwater retention pond, Olympic Property Group does not recommend the fish for human consumption. Area hawks, on the other hand, disregard the rules as they consider the trout an all-you-can-eat buffet. The pond is located west of the Tom Taylor YMCA and can be accessed by a trail entrance from the parking lot.

“It’s great seeing the community come out and have a blast fishing the pond,” Brendan Mason, Olympic Property Group project manager, said in a release. “The previous four years it spread by word of mouth, so I know some people are going to be disappointed we’re announcing that we stocked the pond.”

This story was originally published April 27, 2016 at 9:55 AM with the headline "Fishing pond in north Gig Harbor opens for season."