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Published: July 2023
Pages: 17
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (WDFW) Warmwater Fish Program began in 1997 at the request of fishing organizations interested in Bass, Walleye, Crappie, Bluegill, Perch, and Catfish in Washington. The enabling legislation authorized WDFW to fund the program through a $5 fishing license surcharge. Today, the Warmwater Fish Program is funded from a portion of freshwater fishing licenses sold to people participating in warmwater fishing.
The Warmwater Fish Program’s goal is to increase opportunities to fish for and catch warmwater game fish. To do so, the program conducts fish community assessment surveys in select lakes and identifies management strategies to improve the quality of fishing. Volunteers are used whenever possible, to involve and educate the public, minimize costs and gain the greatest return for the investment.
This document provides anglers with a summary of Region Two (Adams, Grant, Douglas, Chelan and Okanogan Counties) waters where warmwater fish are managed. There are also links to more detailed reports throughout this document. It is important to remember that lakes are biological systems and fish communities change over time. We will provide the best information we have at the time of publication. Our warmwater reports can be found at https://wdfw.wa.gov/publications