San Carlos Recreation and Wildlife Fishing Permits

San Carlos Apache Tribe Recreation and Wildlife Department (SCRWD)

Contact

Address: PO Box 0 (office on US Highway 70 at Old Moonbase Rd, Peridot)
San Carlos, AZ 85550
Recreation and Wildlife Department: 928-475-2343
Toll free: 888-475-2344
Fax: 928-475-2701
San Carlos Apache Tribe main line: 928-475-1600
Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-4:30pm, Sat 8am-12pm, closed Sunday (MST)
Website: sancarlosrecreationwildlife.com

Buy a licence Read the regulations

At a glance

Licences and permits: 8
Of which specialty: 5
Cheapest listed licence: $10.00
Fees verified: 4 Sep 2026

Who does not need one

The San Carlos Apache Reservation is a sovereign jurisdiction and the Tribe issues its own permits for San Carlos Lake and all reservation waters. The Recreation and Wildlife Department states: "SAN CARLOS RECREATION & WILDLIFE REQUIRE YOU TO HAVE A FISHING PERMIT & HABITAT STAMP." Two documents are therefore needed to fish - the fishing permit AND the habitat stamp - plus a boating permit if you fish from a boat, and a Black River Special Use Permit for that corridor. IMPORTANT AND UNVERIFIED: no official San Carlos source loaded states in so many words whether an Arizona state fishing licence is also required, or whether an Arizona licence alone is accepted. Nothing on the Tribe's site suggests a state licence substitutes for the tribal permit and stamp, and no state licence is mentioned anywhere in the Tribe's permit requirements. Do not assume an Arizona licence covers you on San Carlos Lake - buy the tribal permit and habitat stamp, and call 928-475-2343 if you need the state-licence question settled. Anglers should also note the Tribe's published limits for children distinguish a "licensed angler" from a child, but no explicit age exemption from the permit requirement is published.

Specialty licences 5

Extra items an angler must hold on top of the base licence. These are the ones most often missed — a base licence alone does not cover them.

Licence	Type	Who needs it	Applies to	Fee
Habitat StampThe Tribe states: "SAN CARLOS RECREATION & WILDLIFE REQUIRE YOU TO HAVE A FISHING PERMIT & HABITAT STAMP." The validity period of the stamp is not published on the page loaded.	Stamp	Every angler, in addition to the fishing permit	Any · annual · all	$5.00
Two Pole PermitThe Department's fishing page lists "Two pole permits" as a permit type but publishes no fee and no validity period. Not verifiable from any official source loaded on 2026-09-04.	Endorsement	Anglers fishing with a second pole	Any · all	Not published
Boating PermitPublished as a $5.00 boating permit. The duration is not stated on the official page loaded; treat the period as unconfirmed.	Permit	Operating a boat on reservation waters including San Carlos Lake; a precondition to fishing from a boat	Any · 1-day · all	$5.00
Black River Special Use Permit$20.00 per day per person, age 12 and over.	Permit	Access to the Black River special use area, in addition to a fishing permit	Any · 1-day · 12+	$20.00
Recreation Permit$10.00, covering a married couple with children under 17; each additional person over 17 is $10.00 per day.	Access or habitat fee	General recreational access on the reservation; covers a married couple plus children under 17	Any · 1-day · all	$10.00

Every licence and fee 8

Licence	Residency	Term	Ages	Fee
Base licence 3
Daily Fishing Permit (Non-Member) Non-members fishing San Carlos Lake and other reservation waters Listed as $10.00 per day. Must be held together with the Habitat Stamp. "Non-resident" here means non-member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe.	Non-resident	1-day	all	$10.00
Annual Fishing Permit Anglers wanting a full-year permit rather than daily permits The Department's fishing page confirms annual fishing permits exist but does not publish the fee. No official San Carlos source loaded on 2026-09-04 carried an annual price. Call 928-475-2343 or use the online store at sancarlos.nagfa.net/online for the current amount.	Any	annual	all	Not published
Tribal Member Fishing Permit Enrolled San Carlos Apache tribal members No tribal-member fee tier is published on any official San Carlos source loaded on 2026-09-04. Enrolled members should confirm directly with the Recreation and Wildlife Department.	Resident	—	all	Not published
Stamp 1
Habitat Stamp Every angler, in addition to the fishing permit The Tribe states: "SAN CARLOS RECREATION & WILDLIFE REQUIRE YOU TO HAVE A FISHING PERMIT & HABITAT STAMP." The validity period of the stamp is not published on the page loaded.	Any	annual	all	$5.00
Endorsement 1
Two Pole Permit Anglers fishing with a second pole The Department's fishing page lists "Two pole permits" as a permit type but publishes no fee and no validity period. Not verifiable from any official source loaded on 2026-09-04.	Any	—	all	Not published
Permit 2
Boating Permit Operating a boat on reservation waters including San Carlos Lake; a precondition to fishing from a boat Published as a $5.00 boating permit. The duration is not stated on the official page loaded; treat the period as unconfirmed.	Any	1-day	all	$5.00
Black River Special Use Permit Access to the Black River special use area, in addition to a fishing permit $20.00 per day per person, age 12 and over.	Any	1-day	12+	$20.00
Access or habitat fee 1
Recreation Permit General recreational access on the reservation; covers a married couple plus children under 17 $10.00, covering a married couple with children under 17; each additional person over 17 is $10.00 per day.	Any	1-day	all	$10.00

Fees as published by San Carlos Recreation and Wildlife and read on 4 September 2026. Agencies change fees without notice and vendors add issuing charges, so confirm the current price at the point of sale. We do not reproduce seasons, limits or gear rules — see the agency's regulations page for those.

Notes on this listing

This is the thinnest of the six. Prices recorded (daily fishing $10, habitat stamp $5, boating $5, Black River special use $20, recreation permit $10) all come from the Department's own fishing activity page at sancarlosrecreationwildlife.com, loaded 2026-09-04. That page carries no permit-year label. Annual fishing permit, two-pole permit and any tribal-member tier are recorded with null prices because no official source publishes them: the online permit store at sancarlos.nagfa.net/online is blocked by robots.txt and could not be loaded; the vendor and permit-price pages on the legacy site sancarlosrecreationandwildlife.com are stale (that site's own footer shows it was last updated January 2006) and were used ONLY to establish that those permit types exist, never for a price; scatrecreation.org is also blocked by robots.txt. The mailing address PO Box 0, San Carlos AZ 85550 and the Old Moonbase Rd office location come from the Tribe's official site scat-nsn.gov; the department site gives the street location only as US Highway 70, Peridot, AZ 85550. No published email address - the Department uses a web contact form. No aquatic invasive species inspection requirement is published on any San Carlos source loaded. Whether an Arizona state licence is also required could not be verified - see license_exempt_notes.

About San Carlos Recreation and Wildlife

San Carlos Apache Tribe Recreation and Wildlife Department manages fishing on the sovereign waters of the San Carlos Apache Tribe (AZ). A state fishing licence is generally not valid here.

Its licences and combination packages are listed at $10.00.

Beyond the base licence there are 5 specialty items to watch for, including the Habitat Stamp, Two Pole Permit, Boating Permit and the Black River Special Use Permit. These are separate purchases and a base licence does not cover them.

The fee table below was read from official sources on 4 September 2026. We list what each item is called, who needs it and what it costs, and link out for the rules themselves — seasons, limits and gear regulations live on the agency’s own page and change too often to mirror.