The Eagle Outdoors

The big news, if you haven’t already read the news release from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife for February 2025, is the implementation by the agency of some brand new regulations surrounding the traditional smelt fishery on the Cowlitz River.

Biologists determined that populations of Columbia River smelt, or eulachon as they’re technically known, began to decline in the mid-1990s. In 2001, the Washington-Oregon Eulachon Management Plan was drafted; nine years later in 2010, Columbia River smelt was listed under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) as a threatened population, a status they still hold. Since the mid-90s until today, smelt dipping seasons have been spotty to non-existent; no season, no season, no season, followed by half a day here and half a day there. A harvest opportunity was, at least in past years, somewhat of a surprise last-minute sort of proposition. Traditionally, no fishing license has been required for smelting, but that’s somewhat off-topic.

Or is it? That’s one of the big changes for the 2025 Cowlitz River smelt fishery. This year, and presumably moving forward, anyone participating in the smelt fishery will have to have a current Washington fishing license. License types requisite for the fishery include either a Combination or Freshwater Fishing License or a valid temporary license. This license requirement holds for residents as well as non-residents. Children 14 and under are not required to hold a valid fishing license.

Why, after all these years, would the WDFW implement a license requirement for those attempting to harvest smelt? “[Smelt] are the last remaining native fish in the state of Washington to require a fishing license,” said Laura Heironimus, the agency’s sturgeon, smelt, and lamprey unit lead based out of the WDFW’s Region 5 (Ridgefield) office, a position she’s held since 2018. “And they’re an ESA (Endangered Species Act) listed fish. So part of [a license] had to do with our ability to prosecute these fisheries meaningfully. If you’ve ever been to the fishery,” she continued, “it can tend to be somewhat of a party downriver, and we hope to improve compliance with fishing regulations. By requiring a fishing license, people are going to be hopefully more aware of the rules surrounding the smelt fishery, using the correct gear, and following the harvest quotas associated with participating in the fishery.”

Heironimus, along with her WDFW counterparts, are pleasantly politically correct in their phrasing of certain regulatory guidelines or explanations. I, however, having been politically incorrect for most of my 60 years, do not operate under a like umbrella. Therefore, I’ll put it this way. The fact that smelt did not in the past require a fishing license meant, to SOME, the absence of any regulations, e.g., harvest limits. Rather, it can be somewhat of a Wild Wild West sort of atmosphere down at Gearhart Gardens in Longview, the Carnival Market in Kelso, and the Lexington area upriver toward Castle Rock. And Castle Rock, too. An example is in this excerpt from my 2023 smelt interview with Heironimus:

“The department is in favor of having a license requirement because … so many people who come to this fishery aren’t familiar with the rules. As a result, we have a fishery that can get a little out of hand. In 2022, our average [smelt] bag limit – the average individual take – was higher than the legally allowed take. On average, people were harvesting a pound of fish more (#11 versus the legal #10) than they were legally allowed to. Not to mention we had law enforcement seize over 5,000 pounds of fish that were illegally taken, so we’re hoping that by requiring a license, it will help people understand the fishery better, as well as helping from an enforcement standpoint.”

And that’s the reason behind the new license requirement. It’s not an attempt by the WDFW to make millions upon millions of dollars. In fact, and as Heironimus explained during our talk in January monies received from people buying fishing licenses specifically to target smelt won’t go to her programs, per se, but to the WDFW as an agency. These dollars then, in part, trickle down to each and every angler who fishes for stocked trout, catches a hatchery steelhead, launches at a state-owned ramp, and on and on. Heironimus went on to explain the new license requirement “will enable [the WDFW] to continue working within the guidelines of the ESA and allow some limited [smelt] harvest. Another piece is better angler education more opportunities for us to work with the public and to have these educational conversations. It will also provide better regulation monitoring of the fishery in general.”

The Tentative Dates

There’s more new news. In recent years, smelt hopefuls have learned of the pertinent upcoming single-day harvest opportunities via email from the WDFW or the agency website. This year will be different.

“Our management strategy this year,” said Heironimus, “is to announce tentative dates at the beginning of the [smelt] season. These tentative dates are just that, tentative, until the in-season run data shows the run is large enough to support a fishery. So what we’re looking at this year,” she continued, “is setting every Wednesday and Saturday through February and into early March as these tentative dates. And then the Friday before those days, every week, the WDFW updates our website and puts out news releases for any openers, letting people know if the next week’s dates are going to be open or not, along with a small justification as to why we made that decision.” Tentative times, Heironimus said, will be 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. “Those times give us daylight hours,” she explained, “which help with compliance with the fishery, as well as minimizing impacts to the city of Longview/Kelso.”

If you dig razor clams, you’re familiar with the process. The WDFW sets X number of confirmed digs (GO), along with Y/Z number of tentative digs based on toxin levels. Same story. This GO/NO GO for any particular smelt harvest will be announced the Friday afternoon prior by the agency via email or per their website. This year’s TENTATIVE DATES look like this –

Feb. 5 and Feb. 8 (approval notice Jan. 31)

Feb. 12 and Feb. 15 (approval notice Feb. 7)

Feb. 19 and Feb. 22 (approval notice Feb. 14)

Feb. 26 and Mar. 1 (approval notice Feb. 21)

Mar. 5 and Mar. 8 (approval notice Feb. 28)

Mar. 12 and Mar. 15 (approval notice Mar. 7)

Mar. 19 and Mar. 22 (approval notice Mar. 14)

For a complete rundown of the 2025 smelt fishery, including licensing details and regulations, visit the WDFW’s website at https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/smelt.

In other outdoor news

What else might there be to do outdoors during this first week of February 2025?

Razor Clams – There’s a dig planned for Feb. 1 on Long Beach, Twin Harbors, and Copalis with a -0.1 low tide at 8:21 p.m. Additional digs are tentatively scheduled for Feb. 8 through 14 (Valentine’s Day), with some flip-flopping between Mocrocks and Copalis beaches. For a complete list, visit https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfishing-regulations/razor-clams.

Sportsman’s Shows – The Washington Sportsman’s Show in Puyallup runs through Sunday, Feb. 2, while the Pacific Northwest Sportsman Show in Portland will be held Feb. 12-16. Both are products of the O’Loughlin Family. Events, seminar schedules, admission, and other notes can be found at https://www.otshows.com/.

Late goose season – This February/March will mark the final late goose season in Goose Management Area 2/Inland, which includes all of Wahkiakum County, for the foreseeable future. Wildlife officials are concerned about the current status of the cackling Canada goose, aka cackler, and as such, will drop the late season in 2026, along with shortening the season (2025/26) from 107 days to 74 days and the daily bag limit will be reduced from three to two. This year’s season in Area 2/Inland will open on Feb. 8 and close on Mar. 5, 2025.

Crabbing – There’s always crabbing from the North Jetty, Tokeland Docks, or Westport Boat Basin. Sure, it’s cold, but the crabs are meaty this time of year, and besides, what else will you do in February? Regarding crabbing and the North Jetty, look for a short How-To story on throwing crab snares from the rocks. It’s a great adventure for kids, as long as you’re very careful on the Jetty.