Often dredged and fried whole, it's not always clear whether ... After all, enjoying piles of whole smelt with a beverage in hand and friends alongside makes the prospect of bones much less ...

Dozens of fishermen from Oregon and Washington test their luck during a one-day chance for smelt dipping on the Cowlitz River on Tuesday afternoon. (Amanda Cowan/The Columbian) Smelt dipping will ...

Delta smelt are tiny fish — most adults are less than 3 inches long — and nearly translucent, with a steely-blue sheen on their sides. As larvae, they start out eating microscopic food like ...

Longfin smelt live for several years, spawning in freshwater and inhabiting estuaries and nearshore waters, and even ranging out into the ocean. Usually growing from 3.5 to 4.3 inches as adults, these ...

Probably the most controversial fish in this region, if not in California as a whole, is the Delta Smelt. The Delta smelt is the poster child of all that is wrong in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.