After five years of scooping up samples from the beach at Deception Pass State Park’s Bowman Bay and finding only sand and pebbles, a group of volunteers made an exciting discovery. Surf smelt eggs ...

PORT ANGELES — The Elwha River mouth’s 80 acres of new beaches are bringing back a very small fish to places it hasn’t been seen in a long time. That’s the prognosis of the Coastal Watershed Institute ...

The devotees come to Kalaloch Beach 4 from as far as Spokane and Bend, Ore., standing knee deep in saltwater, bracing for the whirling tide. Most come in waders and wet suits. A few old-timers tough ...

ANACORTES — Each week a group of volunteers collects beach samples from the Fidalgo Bay shoreline. The goal is to help the state identify when and where surf smelt spawning is successful along the rim ...

KEEP AN EYE on North Olympic Peninsula beaches. With the calendar days away from turning over into August, we’re getting awfully close to what is considered traditional surf smelt dip netting season.

Although surf smelt can be found year-around at various places in Puget Sound, winter is the traditional time to bundle up the family and head for La Conner, Cornet Bay or Oak Harbor marina for a ...

The state will curtail recreational and commercial smelt fishing in Puget Sound in hopes of increasing protection for the species. The decision was made by the state Fish and Wildlife Commission ...

This story originally published Nov. 10, 2016. PORT ANGELES — Smelt, a tiny fish with big importance, is the latest species to show rapid recovery after the fall of the Elwha River dams. The marine ...