Cowlitz Smelt

Twoshottom · 01-12-2002, 10:16 AM

Watched 6 guys dipping at Carnival Market about 9:30 am this morning. In 15-20 minutes I saw 5 smelt. One guy said he had about 20 smelt in his bucket but he had worked hard for them.

Also watched some dippers under the Longview Kelso bridges for a few minutes, no smelt.

A lot more people out this morning but haven't seen enough smelt to get my net out yet. Should get better, I hope. :grin:

Cutter · 01-12-2002, 10:41 AM

Thanks for the update Twoshot, Maybe by Wednesday. I can't remember do you need a fishing license to dip for smelt, I always had one when I lived there, but now that I'm in Oregon, I find all the really good stuff is free, crabs, clams, smelt, crawfish.

Twoshottom · 01-12-2002, 12:14 PM

No license required to dip for smelt. 10 pound limit in the Cowlitz. Open Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 6 am to 10 pm.

Yes, it is okay to dip from a boat. If you go into the Columbia its open to dipping 7 days a week. Haven't tried that yet but I don't see why it wouldn't work if you stayed in the shallower water near the mouth.

Hard to say when they will show up in good numbers. I think its usually late January into February. If I remember right, last year was late February and into March.

Game Chaser · 01-12-2002, 11:00 PM

Thanks twoshottom for the report. Is there any prediction on when the run will show up? Is it legal to dip them from a boat say at the mouth?

GC