A smelt dip on the Cowlitz River brings about a festival atmosphere as folks gather to have fun, and hopefully end up with a mess of smelt. (Terry Otto for The Columbian) Smelt-dipping will return to ...

Feb. 12—Smelt-dipping will return to the banks of the Cowlitz River as the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has approved a one-day recreational fishery on Thursday, Feb. 15. During ...

A smelt dip on the Cowlitz River brings about a festival atmosphere as folks gather to have fun, and hopefully end up with a mess of smelt. (Terry Otto for The Columbian) RIDGEFIELD — There will be ...

Mar. 8—Smelt dippers will return to the banks of the Cowlitz River as the Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife has approved recreational fisheries for Wednesday, March 12, and Saturday, ...

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Thursday its tentative schedule for recreational smelt dip net fishing on the Cowlitz River ahead of the first season in which a fishing license is ...

Mar. 12—Anglers from across the Pacific Northwest took to the banks of the Cowlitz River on Wednesday, March 12, for the opening of the state's brief smelt dipping season. All it took was a few empty ...

KELSO -- Sam Wright of Olympia finds it hard to believe that the once-abundant smelt runs of the Cowlitz River are down to nearly nothing. The oily 6-inch fish once swarmed so thick that a single dip ...

Smelt are thick in the lower Sandy River, prompting a one-day dipping season Thursday, from noon until 7 p.m. Dipping (only) will be allowed from the bank (only) from the river’s mouth upriver to the ...

Smelt-dipping will return to the banks of the Cowlitz River Thursday. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has approved the one-day recreational fishery from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fishery ...