“This little fish, we call qʷáləstiʔ, and it’s always been very important in our culture,” said Bill Iyall, chairman of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe in southwest Washington state.

“While the tentative schedule provided structure, the fish did not cooperate by entering the Cowlitz River during the fishery.” This season was the first with a license-requirement. That move ...

Dozens of fishermen from Oregon and Washington test their luck during a one-day chance for smelt dipping on the Cowlitz River on Tuesday afternoon. (Amanda Cowan/The Columbian) Smelt dipping will ...

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 ...

This year’s Cowlitz River recreational smelt dip-fishing season kicked off Wednesday almost totally without its two most important elements: smelt and people dipping for them. Each year for ...