Oh yeah, that reminds me. I found out the other day that the reason for the smelt no show last year was that some college pranksters between the ocean and Portland completely depleted the run the previous year. Thus, no baby smelts made it out, so none came back. And no baby smelts last year means none this year, ad infinitum..... The Columbia smelt are extinct. That is pretty sad, but the one good part is that the feds have a line on the nutso professor that instigated the whole mess, and they will be making an arrest soon.
That young man should put them six smelt on eBay. He could make a bundle.