Check

 

Defiance Boats!

LURECHARGE!

THE PP OUTDOOR FORUMS

Kast Gear!

Power Pro Shimano Reels G Loomis Rods

  Willie boats! Puffballs!

 

Three Rivers Marine

 

 
Topic Options
Rate This Topic
#144415 - 03/10/02 05:58 PM Where do smelt go after they spawn?
cowlitzfisherman Offline
Three Time Spawner

Registered: 06/14/00
Posts: 1828
Loc: Toledo, Washington
I have a question and I don't really know the answer. Maybe one of our resident biologist that posts can give me the answer. Do the smelt that spawn in the Cowlitz and other Columbia River tributaries die after they spawn, or do they return to sea? Second question; do they return every year, an if so how many times can they do this in their life cycle?

Cowlitzfisherman
Is the taste of the bait worth the sting of the hook????
_________________________
Cowlitzfisherman

Is the taste of the bait worth the sting of the hook????

Top
#144416 - 03/10/02 09:28 PM Re: Where do smelt go after they spawn?
bardo Offline
Returning Adult

Registered: 11/21/01
Posts: 304
Loc: union wa
they return to sea and can live as long as 5 years.
most dont live this long.they end up as sturgeon bait.

Top
#144417 - 03/10/02 10:14 PM Re: Where do smelt go after they spawn?
stlhdr1 Offline
BUCK NASTY!!

Registered: 01/26/00
Posts: 6312
Loc: Vancouver, WA
I was always under the impression that they died after they spawned...
Keith laugh
_________________________
It's time to put the red rubber nose away, clown seasons over.


Top
#144418 - 03/11/02 06:50 PM Re: Where do smelt go after they spawn?
Krome Brite Offline
Spawner

Registered: 10/18/00
Posts: 665
Loc: Washougal, WA
Funny, I was walking along one of the public beaches on the lower Columbia during the peak of the run earlier this year. It was right after the tide switchover from high. As the water receeded, I began to notice a lot of dead smelt carcasses littering the bank. When the next high tide came up, it probably washed them out. Of course, like my dad reasoned, those smelt could have been killed by passing ships that knocked them senseless. Is this a reasonable possibility as to why those smelt were killed?

Top
#144419 - 03/11/02 07:17 PM Re: Where do smelt go after they spawn?
bardo Offline
Returning Adult

Registered: 11/21/01
Posts: 304
Loc: union wa
i know that smelt dont die, cause i asked one. he told me that they are distant cousins to steelhead,and they follow them back out to sea.

Top
#144420 - 03/11/02 07:32 PM Re: Where do smelt go after they spawn?
rcl187 Offline
Juvenile at Sea

Registered: 03/07/01
Posts: 124
Loc: Sedro-Woolley, Wa
Bardo,
That's funny cause when I was talking to my only friend last week (who also happens to be a smelt - I call him oolichan) he said basically the same thing.
For those oh you who don't believe us (or have never had the chance to personally talk to a smelt) hear is a good link: http://www.oolichan.org/hp.htm
_________________________
Proud member of:
The "your wife didn't seem to mind" club
~*uselessL7*~
take off your pants and jacket

Top
#144421 - 03/12/02 01:47 AM Re: Where do smelt go after they spawn?
BigShark Offline
Juvenille at Sea

Registered: 08/20/01
Posts: 221
Loc: PDX
Come on you guys be serious. Every smelt you will ever talk to will tell you that they go to the big gravelbar in the sky after they spawn.

Top
#144422 - 03/12/02 07:46 AM Re: Where do smelt go after they spawn?
Thumper Offline
Returning Adult

Registered: 04/08/01
Posts: 334
Loc: Vancouver, WA
From the site:

"Once the oolichan eggs hatch, the small larva (5 to 7 mm) are flushed slowly by the currents to the ocean. It is suspected the adults then die post-spawning since there have been no adults found in the ocean larger than those found in rivers. Also, "spawned" fish lose their teeth and their have been no discoveries of oolichan in the ocean with no teeth. This suspicion of the absence of repeat oolichan spawning has not yet been confirmed."
_________________________
Jack

Please join CCA. After only 18 months total Pacific Northwest membership is over 7,000. We need you!

The walls of death have got to go!

Top
#144423 - 03/12/02 10:01 AM Re: Where do smelt go after they spawn?
Banock Offline
Parr

Registered: 11/24/01
Posts: 59
Loc: Oakville, Wa.
I read the article on the smelt and what I got out of it was some die and some recover. The times that I have missed the runs there have been so many dead smelt on the bank and in the water that the smell is restrictive of getting close to the water, which gave me the impression that they die after spawning. Maybe we need more info.
Banock
_________________________
Tight Lines

Top

Moderator:  The Moderator 
Search

Site Links
Home
Our Washington Fishing
Our Alaska Fishing
Reports
Rates
Contact Us
About Us
Recipes
Photos / Videos
Visit us on Facebook
Today's Birthdays
JeffV, Katosan, legendarynero, NorthwestAngler, SPRINGLOADED, Streamer, TanyaJC
Recent Gallery Pix
hatchery steelhead
Hatchery Releases into the Pacific and Harvest
Who's Online
1 registered (28 Gage), 988 Guests and 5 Spiders online.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
NoyesMaker, John Boob, Lawrence, I'm Still RichG, feyt
11499 Registered Users
Top Posters
Todd 27838
Dan S. 16958
Sol Duc 15727
The Moderator 13942
Salmo g. 13508
eyeFISH 12618
STRIKE ZONE 11969
Dogfish 10878
ParaLeaks 10363
Jerry Garcia 9013
Forum Stats
11499 Members
17 Forums
72938 Topics
825171 Posts

Max Online: 3937 @ 07/19/24 03:28 AM

Join the PP forums.

It's quick, easy, and always free!

Working for the fish and our future fishing opportunities:

The Wild Steelhead Coalition

The Photo & Video Gallery. Nearly 1200 images from our fishing trips! Tips, techniques, live weight calculator & more in the Fishing Resource Center. The time is now to get prime dates for 2018 Olympic Peninsula Winter Steelhead , don't miss out!.

| HOME | ALASKA FISHING | WASHINGTON FISHING | RIVER REPORTS | FORUMS | FISHING RESOURCE CENTER | CHARTER RATES | CONTACT US | WHAT ABOUT BOB? | PHOTO & VIDEO GALLERY | LEARN ABOUT THE FISH | RECIPES | SITE HELP & FAQ |