Columbia River at Sunset All images copyrighted
Cowlitz County: shaped by rivers, explored via river. Rivers were the life-blood of the area and the livelihood of many of the first settlers. In the beginning the rivers were used to convey loads of lumber from mills deep in the woods to ships in the ports. Settlers traveled by steamboat because roads had not yet been built. Fish were harvested, sent to canneries and sold to hungry cities like San Francisco. In a landscape dominated by water; rivers, lakes and streams still define life in Cowlitz County Fishing is a popular recreational activity for the locals, as well as folks from outside Cowlitz County. Located within easy driving distance to the Pacific coast, the immense Columbia, several smaller tributaries and lakes offer numerous opportunities
The Columbia, Cowlitz, Kalama, Toutle and Lewis rivers all boast runs of salmon and steelhead. Trout, bass, crappie, chub and bluegills enable children to learn the joys of fishing. Lakes Merwin, Horseshoe, Silver, Kress and sometimes Sacajawea offer many different styles of fishing. Kress Lake is stocked with trout. Silver Lake is a bass fisherman’s paradise.
Smelt Dipping on the Cowlitz River All images copyrighted
Kelso is known as the “Smelt Capital of the World” because of annual migration up the Cowlitz of a small silvery fish also known as eulachon in the game books. Every January and February people flock to the banks of the river, braving the rain and wind, to dip smelt.
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