IFish Fishing Forum banner

Smelt are thick in the Cowlitz 2-20-2009

13K views 107 replies 44 participants last post by  Ripthemlips 
#1 Ā·
Just got back from scouting the Cowlitz and there is bird activity all the way from town up to Camelot which is as far as I went.
Shot some video of a guy and his grandson snagging the smelt @ Camelot using fishing poles with a treble hook & pencil lead.
I let them know that it wasn't open till tomorrow morning but he made all kinds of excuses to justify their actions.
Nothing new there!

I will upload the video in awhile to utube and post a URL for the video.
Uploading the pic's and video I shot right now to my PC.

Better plan on getting after them first thing tomorrow morning.
You snooze, you loose.
Get em while the gettin's good.

Dano
 
#8 Ā·



Thanks for the reminder. I need to fetch me a bucket tonight!
Someone stold my last one. Go figure...

I think it is approx. a half a bucket if you are using a normal 5 gal bucket.
They don't expect you to carry along a scale and as long as you're close I've never heard of a problem.

I used to get all the 5 gal plastic 5 gal buckets I could use from Burger King so if you need one you might stop by a nearby Burger King and see if they have any.
Years past I would stop on in and get a dozen maybe even 20 buckets at a shot.

I will start a different thread featuring the video I shot at Camelot a little while ago of the father/Grandson so innocently snagginā€™ smelt on a non retention smelt day.
Snagging them is illegal in itself.
 
#10 Ā· (Edited)
as long as we have a hot thread and tomorrow is the possibly first time for some dippers let's go over the rules a bit.
To my knowledge the earliest you can dip is Noon and everything shuts down at ten in the p.m.
Your smelt must be kept seperate from others in your party. No dumping all the smelt in a cooler or container. All limits must be seperate from each others catch wether it be in seperate buckets or plastic bags.
If you are going to be dipping from a boat the boys in green last run were giving tickets at the ramps for boaters that failed to have all safety gear and running lights. Expect to be inspected.
Anybody else remember any other rules and laws???
 
#22 Ā·
At the risk of sounding like a complete maroon......do you need a WA license to harvest smelt in the Cowlitz?? Anyone that can help with a recommendation on where to dip would very much appreciated!!! I want to take the kids down to watch the chaos. Their grandfather used to dip smelt every year. I think his outings were more for the company and the drinks on the river bank more so than the actual harvest. We will be using his nets tomorrow..............

He used to tell some great stories. RIP Big Pa.
 
#26 Ā·
Just got back from the river,lots of birds,wasn't seeing many hit the water around rocky point,but moved my sturgeon adventure alittle further down river and there were plenty of gulls smacking the water around the train station.As far as the sturgeon fishing,slow,my partner had one hit,and swung away, steeeerike! nothing but air:jester:.
 
#32 Ā·
I remember smelting as a young kid with my dad and how much of a blast I had. I am going to bring my 4 year old daughter with me tomorrow and hopefully she'll enjoy it as I did.

Question I have. Would I be able to "help" her dip her limit and be able to take home 20#'s for both of us?
Just keep the limits seperated and you will be good. Lots of limits have been dipped by kids too young to handle a pole.
 
#36 Ā·
I drove westside just before dark.Saw a few gulls,and I do mean few,at Rocky point.To about 1/2 way to Carnival Market.

No birds anywhere else between Lexington and Allen St.

When I got to Allen St. it was almost dark.

I think tomorrow will just depend on a roll of the dice.
But hey,I'll be tryin.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top