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Fishing rules·WA

Washington fishing rules

License, gear, and the statewide limits WDFW publishes for major species. Water-specific rules replace these numbers. Last checked October 2026.

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License

Who needs one
Residents and nonresidents age 16 and older need a fishing license to fish or shellfish in Washington waters. A license is not required to fish for bullfrogs or to collect relic shells. A catch record card is required to fish for salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, halibut, or Puget Sound Dungeness crab, and everyone needs that card for those species, including anglers younger than 16. Paper cards must be returned by the deadline even if nothing was caught. Electronic catch record cards are available in the MyWDFW and Fish Washington apps.
Residents
Resident, senior resident, youth, and resident disabled licenses are listed on the WDFW license-types page. Anglers 15 and younger do not need a fishing license, but they still need a catch record card when they fish for a species that requires one. Federal and state law require everyone 16 and older to provide a Social Security number before buying a license.
Nonresidents
Nonresidents 16 and older need a nonresident fishing license and the same endorsements and catch record cards as residents. Short-term combination licenses are sold. There is no temporary catch record card: if you need a card the same day, use mobile licensing with an electronic card or buy it from a dealer.
Free fishing days
Free fishing weekend is the Saturday and Sunday after the first Monday in June. In 2026 that was June 6–7. A license is not required that weekend to fish for or possess fish that do not need a catch record card. Salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, halibut, and all shellfish still require the usual license. The two-pole endorsement is waived where two poles are otherwise legal, and a vehicle access pass is not required for WDFW parking. Seasons, size limits, daily limits, gear, recording, and area closures still apply.

Seasons and closures

  • Lakes and rivers

    If a freshwater area is not listed in the special rules, follow the statewide rules, then check emergency rules. Lakes, ponds, and reservoirs are open year-round for game fish except Dolly Varden, bull trout, and grass carp. Rivers, streams, and beaver ponds are open the Saturday before Memorial Day through October 31. Freshwater is open 24 hours a day when it is open. All freshwater is closed to salmon, Dolly Varden, bull trout, lamprey, and grass carp unless a special rule opens them.

  • Columbia River endorsement

    Beginning January 1, 2026, anglers age 15 and older need a Columbia River salmon and steelhead endorsement to fish recreationally for salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River and its tributaries.

  • Emergency rules

    WDFW changes salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, and marine seasons by emergency rule after the pamphlet is printed. The pamphlet rule is in effect unless an emergency rule on the WDFW site says otherwise. Check the water before the trip.

Legal gear

  • Hooks and barbless rules

    Statewide freshwater tackle is hook-and-line only: barbed or barbless hooks may be single, double, or treble, and no more than one line with up to three hooks may be used. Single-point barbless hooks are required in waters designated fly fishing only or selective gear rules. Sturgeon fishing allows only one single-point barbless hook, and bait is required for that fishery. Many salmon and steelhead special rules add barbless hooks, single-point hooks, or bait bans for that water and those dates only.

  • Rods per angler

    One line is the statewide freshwater rule. A two-pole endorsement allows two poles on most freshwater lakes and ponds, a few river sections, and a few marine areas. About 90 lakes are excluded, and two poles are not allowed in most rivers and marine areas. Every angler who wants the second pole needs the endorsement, except on free fishing weekend. Gear must stay in the angler’s immediate control. A rod holder is allowed if the rod can be picked up without delay.

  • Nets

    A club or dip net may be used to help land a legal fish taken on legal gear. A gaff hook may not be used in freshwater. Smelt may be taken by dip net, and each harvester needs a separate container that stays with them or is marked with their name. Shellfish and seaweed have their own gear rules by species.

  • Snagging

    It is unlawful to possess a fish taken from freshwater that was not hooked inside the mouth or on the head. The head is any part forward of the rear margin of the gill plate. Salmon angling must stop once the adult portion of the daily limit has been retained. Where bait is prohibited, or where lures or flies are used by choice, game fish may be caught and released until the daily limit is retained. When fishing with bait, trout and kokanee that are large enough to keep count toward the daily limit whether they are kept or released.

  • Spearing and bow

    Freshwater game fish are hook and line only under the statewide rule. Common carp may also be taken by spear or bow-and-arrow during an open game-fish or salmon season. Bullfrogs, which do not require a license, may be taken by angling, hand-dip net, spear or gig, or bow-and-arrow. Pacific, western brook, and river lamprey may not be taken, fished for, possessed, or used as bait.

  • Bait and live transport

    It is unlawful to chum or to broadcast bait or any other fish attractant into freshwater unless a special rule allows it. Live aquatic animals may not be possessed or used as bait except live aquatic animals other than fish that were collected from the water being fished, live sand shrimp, and live forage fish in the Columbia River downstream of Rocky Point/Tongue Point. Eulachon may not be retained unless an emergency rule allows it.

Bag and size limits

These are the statewide or default limits. A named lake, river, or marine area can replace every figure below.

  • Trout

    In rivers, streams, and beaver ponds, brown, cutthroat, rainbow, golden, and tiger trout and grayling have an 8-inch minimum and a daily limit of 2. In lakes, ponds, and reservoirs there is no minimum size and the daily limit is 5. An angler who fishes both rivers and lakes the same day has a combined limit of 5 trout, of which no more than 2 may come from rivers. Eastern brook trout and lake trout have no minimum size and no daily limit. Dolly Varden and bull trout are closed unless a special rule opens them. Possession of game fish is two daily limits in any form. Special rules replace these numbers on many waters.

  • Bass and walleye

    In lakes, ponds, and reservoirs: largemouth bass daily limit 5, and only fish under 12 inches may be kept except one over 17 inches; smallmouth bass daily limit 10, and only one over 14 inches may be kept; walleye minimum 12 inches, daily limit 8, and only one over 22 inches. In rivers, streams, and beaver ponds those three species have no size restriction and no daily limit unless a special rule says otherwise. Bass and walleye may be held alive in a livewell until the daily limit is in possession.

  • Steelhead

    Release all wild steelhead. The statewide minimum is 20 inches and the daily limit is 2, open during salmon or game-fish seasons unless a special rule says otherwise. A catch record card is required for every angler. Some waters require a Columbia River salmon and steelhead endorsement, barbless hooks, or mandatory retention of legal hatchery steelhead.

  • Salmon

    All freshwater is closed to salmon fishing unless a special rule opens that water. There is no statewide freshwater salmon bag. Where salmon are open, the special rule sets the species, hatchery or wild, adult and jack, size, and gear, and emergency rules change those seasons through the year. Possession in fresh form is two daily limits, plus up to 40 pounds in frozen or processed form. Landlocked Atlantic salmon may be kept during any open trout or salmon fishery with no size or daily limit.

  • Sturgeon

    Green sturgeon may not be fished for or retained. White sturgeon are catch-and-release only in the Columbia below Bonneville Dam, from McNary Dam to Chief Joseph Dam, the Snake River from Ice Harbor Dam upstream, and coastal and Puget Sound waters including their tributaries. Retention is limited to the Columbia from Bonneville Dam upstream to McNary Dam, including tributaries: minimum 38 inches fork length below The Dalles Dam and 43 inches above it, maximum 54 inches fork length, daily limit 1. The annual limit is 2 white sturgeon statewide per license year (April 1–March 31), even if the angler also holds an Oregon license. A catch record card is required. Sturgeon over 55 inches fork length cannot be removed from the water. Night closure applies to all sturgeon fishing.

  • Other freshwater fish

    Kokanee: no minimum, daily limit 10. Channel catfish in lakes: no minimum, daily limit 5. Whitefish: daily limit 15. Tiger muskie: 50-inch minimum, daily limit 1. Crappie, northern pikeminnow, peamouth, perch, suckers, sunfish, catfish other than channel, rock bass, and striped bass: no minimum and no daily limit. Northern pike: no limit, and the fish must be dead before it is removed from the riparian area. Grass carp are closed unless a special rule opens them. Shad have no limit except a spring closure on the mainstem Columbia below Bonneville Dam.

Saltwater

Saltwater salmon, halibut, lingcod, rockfish, and shellfish are managed by marine area. Seasons and bag limits change by emergency rule and are not one statewide number. A catch record card is required for salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, halibut, and Puget Sound Dungeness crab.

  • Puget Sound Dungeness crab needs a catch record card and, on an annual combination or shellfish/seaweed license, a Puget Sound crab endorsement. Anglers 14 and younger pay no endorsement fee, but they still need the endorsement and the card.
  • A halibut catch record card is a paid addition to the free catch record card. Coastal and Puget Sound halibut seasons are set by marine area.
  • Two poles are legal in only a few marine areas, and only with the two-pole endorsement.
  • Shellfish harvest, including razor clams, shrimp, and crab, follows the shellfish rules and the marine-toxin closures. A fishing license does not open a beach that is closed for biotoxin.

Sources