It’s waaaaay too early to get that long-handled net down, but the 2026 Columbia River smelt forecast at least holds out the potential for an opener and tentative dipping dates for the Cowlitz have been set.

Many Washington and Oregon anglers will see new fees to fish starting January 1, 2026. That’s the day a pair of endorsements go into effect for certain waters – the Columbia and its tributaries in the former state, the Pacific Ocean in the latter. They’re not blanket requirements, however.

Oregon fish and wildlife troopers want to talk to a couple of men caught on trail camera dragging an apparently poached blacktail out of the woods last week on the eastern side of the Willamette Valley.

ODFW sets 2026 spring Chinook limits on the Umpqua system, including a wild harvest ban on the mainstem and one-fish daily and 10-fish seasonal limit on the North like 2025, with hatchery springers open for harvest on both.

The Northwest Power and Conservation Council is taking public comment on a new draft of its Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program, which includes consistent hydropower system operations supporting smolt outmigration, cooler water temps, maintaining hatcheries and fish screens, addressing predation by nonnative fish, and continued habitat restoration.

The US House of Representatives has passed a bill that would redelist gray wolves throughout the Lower 48 states.