Types of Fish

• Salmon is one of many types of fish in Central Washington rivers.Salmon with lemon image by Lev Aleshin from Fotolia.com
  
  The Washington Fish and Wildlife Department lists several types of trout, bass, salmon and sturgeon as the primary game fish in Washington, although there are also crappie, catfish and bullhead. Fishing for them is restricted in certain areas or at specific times.
  
  

Licenses

• Everyone over 15 years of age needs a license to fish in this state. Licenses cost more for nonresidents than residents. Some of the money from fishing licenses goes toward the Warmwater Gamefish Enhancement Program, which helps protect fish populations and environments in Washington.
  
  

Seasonal Restrictions

• Before fishing in central Washington, anglers should look up opening days for fishing seasons for different types of fish in each area. According to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife's Weekender Report, many small lakes in central Washington open up for fishing in April and many other lowland lakes start allowing trout fishing toward the end of April. Fishing before these times may result in fines. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has a guide that lists different rivers and lakes and when they allow which types of fishing.
  
  

Catch Record Cards

• Washington limits the amount of certain types of fish that anglers can catch each year, depending on fish populations. Because of these limits, the state requires fishermen to keep Catch Record Cards to track of how many halibut, salmon, steelhead, sturgeon and Puget Sound Dungeness crab they have caught.
  
  

Popular Locations and Their Seasons

• The Methow River basin is in northern central Washington in Okanogan County and it is a popular fishing spot for trout and whitefish. In most parts of this river, anglers are allowed to take all types of game fish, although there is a limit of 15 whitefish. According to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, most parts of the river are open to fishing from June through August and December through March. Its tributaries open for fishing on the first Saturday in June and stay open through October.
  
  The Okanogan River is open for all types of game fishing except along the places where it borders an Indian reservation. According to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the river is open all year except for the part of the river upstream of the bridge at Malott. The state requires anglers to release all trout in this river, and Coho and Sockeye salmon caught near the mouth of the river must also be released.
  
  Some other popular central Washington fishing spots are Alkali Lake (especially for bass, bluegill and crappie), Banks Lake (especially for catfish, crappie, bluegill, perch, bass and trout), Evergreen Reservoir (especially for bluegill, largemouth bass, yellow perch, crappie and walleye), Roses Lake (for largemouth bass, yellow perch and bluegill) and Upper Goose Lake (for pumpkinseed, walleye, yellow perch, largemouth bass and bluegill).