Smelt Run—Classic Hits 100.7 KLOG News

Many were skeptical, but the smelt were indeed running on the Cowlitz River yesterday.

Hundreds of people took to the Cowlitz River to get their 10 pounds of the small fish, though there were fewer people than typically seen in previous years. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) biologist Laura Heironimus said it was a little slow, but people were able to pull smelt from the river and limit out.

Heironimus said they were out there conducting biological sampling of the fish, checking the gender ratio, and tracking how many were being harvested.

For those wondering how the dipping dates are decided, she said there is a method to it; the agency’s management plan is available online. They use the commercial fishery to track activity from the main stem of the Columbia, and they also have a test fishery that WDFW staff observe. Heironimus did say, however, that unlike salmon, smelt do not always go to the same place to spawn. The Cowlitz is historically where they tend to go most often, but at times they choose other rivers, leading to weaker runs.

It is currently not known whether there will be more dipping opportunities this year; the season runs through March 21. WDFW makes weekly update posts each Friday announcing whether the following Wednesday or Saturday will be open for dipping.