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 ...

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, ...

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 ...

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 ...

Smelt’s annual return from the ocean has long drawn thousands of dip-netters up and down the Cowlitz River. This year, however, the prized tradition will be different. The Washington Department of ...

Pacific smelt have made an early appearance in the lower Cowlitz River, with dip netters between Kelso and the river's mouth easily getting their 10-pound limits yesterday. Last year the fish, also ...

Standing on the banks of the Sandy River, Oregon, at 11:45 on Thursday morning, parents, grandparents and kids jostled for a good spot and ready their nets. Below, in the clear water, thousands of ...

A special 7-hour fishing season in Oregon brought chaos and a bit of lawlessness to the Sandy River on Thursday. As big pushes of tiny smelt worked their way upstream and into anglers’ dip nets, ...

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 ...