Smelt Regulations approved by Tribal Council

Warm Springs Tribal Council has approved smelt regulations for the Cowlitz and Sandy rivers.

Tribal members can harvest seven days a week from 6am to 6pm with dip nets. The tribal allocation is 2,500 pounds of smelt for each river. The Branch of Natural Resources- Fisheries Department will monitor, and creel surveyors will be on site to check your catch. Those who fish should carry their tribal id.

A few other things to remember – it is a subsistence fishery, so fish may not be sold and to report a catch to the harvest manager at 541-460-0272 within 24 hours if it is not reported to an onsite surveyor.

The harvest manager has received reports of smelt in the Cowlitz in small numbers, and some, but not a lot, of sea lion and bird activity. The guess is that this is an early pilot run and the main group of fish are waiting for the Columbia to warm up a few degrees, so watch for warming weather and water temperatures.