Thousands line Oregon’s Sandy River for rare 7-hour smelt fishery

Standing on the banks of the Sandy River, Oregon, at 11:45 on Thursday morning, parents, grandparents and kids jostled for a good spot and ready their nets.

Below, in the clear water, thousands of smelt streamed by, each one about 6 inches long. They spend their adult lives in the ocean, then return to their native stream to spawn and die.

Little did these fish know, as they flitted past, they had just beaten an important deadline. The fishery didn’t officially open until noon, and there was a countdown happening.

“Five, four, three, two, one!” the crowd shouted. Then they waded into the water to dip their nets. It only took five seconds before someone pulled out dozens of smelt, each one shining silver and black.

This was the Sandy River eulachon smelt dip net fishery. It only happens once every few years because the runs are erratic. And when it does, it’s only open for seven hours, because the state is trying to protect the fish.

“Two scoops!” shouted Todd Whitaker, a West Linn resident.

Two scoops of his net and he caught the 10-pound limit. In fact, he said, he’s only taking 9 pounds, “Because I feel there are a few folks who went way over the limit.”

About 100 fish writhed in a blue bucket by his side.

The eulachon smelt fishery is truly a wonder, tugging the imagination back to the days when, legend has it, people could walk across Oregon’s rivers on the backs of the salmon. Although some biologists aren’t sure that was ever actually the case.

Whitaker said he remembers fishing along the Sandy River in the 1980s when the smelt run was enormous. But, he said, numbers started declining.

“Everybody was afraid that it had stopped forever,” he said. “But anyway, 2015, there were quite a few fish taken. But it wasn’t as much as this. This is unusual.”

Eulachon smelt were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2010. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist Ben Walczak said their abundance has since increased to a level that allows limited harvest.

“So there are some restrictions on what we can and can’t do, on the size of the run, and what the recreational take can be,” Walczak said.

Related: 2,500 pounds of smelt seized from poachers along the Sandy River

Eulachon smelt have a long history with Native American tribes. They’re sometimes called “salvation fish,” because they come at the end of winter when food supplies run low.

“They can be 15% fat,” Walczak said. “So very nutritionally dense. Not only for people, but also for fish, wildlife. Thirty-four different bird species can eat them.

“Trade through the first people was really huge for these fish, because of that nutritional value.”

They’re also known as “candlefish” because they can be dried, threaded with a wick and used to burn, like a candle.

Some historians think the name “Oregon” may be a corruption of the smelt name eulachon, from the Chinook language. There are various pronunciations, but one is not dissimilar in sound to Oregon. People also talk of the “Eulachon Trail,” a tribal trade route for fish oil.

The oil was harvested by allowing the fish to decompose for a week in a hole in the ground, and then adding hot water. The heat would liquify the oil, which would then float to the surface and be skimmed off.

But nowadays, perhaps the best part of this sporadic smelt run is that it often coincides with spring break.

“Generationally, on this river alone, we’ve seen people that were young in the 40s and 50s when there were good runs, now bringing their grandkids, which is pretty cool to see,” Walczak said.

Winston Luo, a middle school student at Oregon Episcopal School in Portland, points out his family on the banks of the river.

“That’s my grandma and that’s my aunt. That’s my niece. That’s my brother and that’s my dad.”

Luo is having a blast. “Everyone at 12 o’clock said, ‘I’m ready!’ It’s like really chaotic.”

His family has five buckets full of fish and they’re planning a big meal.

“We usually fry them,” Luo said. “Put some green onion and oil and some ginger inside. And some other spices like pepper, too.”

Eulachon smelt can be dried, smoked or canned. Many sport fishers prize them as bait. The smelt oils flow out into the water when they’re on the hook, attracting salmon and crab.

Much of the smelt run charm comes from its erratic nature. Some years, they arrive; other years, they don’t. Millions swim up one stream, leaving another stream entirely empty.

Since they were listed as threatened 15 years ago, the state has only allowed four lightning-fast seasons. The last one attracted about 10,000 people.