BY ANDY WALGAMOTT, NORTHWEST SPORTSMAN MAGAZINE
Smelt turned up after all for Wednesday’s opener on the lower Cowlitz, a welcome surprise for dippers as well as state managers.
“Lots of limits,” said a WDFW spokesman this morning, proclaiming it a “Smeltmas Miracle” that the fish had come in.
Just 24 hours ago, the prospects looked pretty poor for today’s five-hour, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. opener.
WDFW reported that no fish had turned up in their Tuesday test dipping in the Southwest Washington river.
However, they also noted that commercial test fishermen were finding smelt in the mainstem Columbia from the Cowlitz downstream to Puget Island and that predators had gathered in the big river below the mouth of the tributary as well.
For some online, the hours between then and now were a chance to blast WDFW and their smelt management, the netters getting first cracks at the fish, the midworkweek opener, the agency’s license-selling scheme, the $%!$ !!@$% !#$!#$!#$!#$!#$!#!#$!@ seals and sea lions – you name it.
For those who stepped away from Facebook to test the waters this morning – fast limits.
“What the hellie, that might be a limit in a dip,” posted one person after streaming a surprised – and expletive-laden – live video of unexpectedly seeing a bunch of smelt in the river as well as people already catching them, then running off to get a net.
WDFW reported smelt were being caught at the Gearhart Gardens boat ramp on the lower Cowlitz just above the fishery’s downstream boundary, which is the Highway 432/Tennant Way Bridge, as well as upstream around Carnival Market and Riverside Park.
However, there was “minimal activity” up around Castle Rock and the Al Helenberg launch, which marks the upper border of the open area.
The per-person daily limit is 10 pounds, about a quarter of a 5-gallon bucket, and a Washington fishing license – freshwater, combination or temporary – is required for all dippers 16 years of age and up. You do NOT need the Columbia River Salmon and Steelhead Endorsement to partake in this fishery.
Columbia smelt, also known as eulachon, are an Endangered Species Act-listed run, requiring careful management compared to days of yore. Commercial test fishing on the mainstem Columbia helps determine if there is enough abundance to support a recreational opener. This Monday’s haul was the most yet, with an average delivery of just under 2,200 pounds per net boat.
Sometimes WDFW’s new way of lining out a schedule of potential openers well in advance and then making a final decision around comm catches doesn’t work – four openers last March yielded zero smelty smeltersons – and sometimes it works.
If it’s too late for you to get in on the action on the lower Cowlitz today, an announcement about a possible Saturday opener should be forthcoming tomorrow.
And in the meanwhile, now we can bitch about WDFW trying to pull a fast one on us and saving all the smelt for themselves!
