The reasoning was to provide more opportunity. And it has. It's just not the kind of opportunity that springtime trout anglers are used to. The problem with off-season fishing in what we call warm water lakes is that the water isn't warm. Trout are slow to respond when the water temperature dips below 45 degrees.
Spring is different.
The water starts warming. The water plants start growing, and bugs start hatching. These are three sure signs that the trout will bite. For years now, the WDFW has planted several lakes with catchable-size hatchery trout. Generally, this was done just preceding the traditional opener.