Smelt Fishing

[bmags]

Couple questions.

 

I've been thinking up some different things to do this summer. Smelt season is coming up. I am an amateur, as the questions below will attest.

 

1) Do you need a boat to smelt fish?

2) Can I just toss my nets in and retrieve them without a boat?

3) Is smelt fishing fun at all or is it like throwing lobster crates into the lake?

 

Thanks.

-Ben

[Y2HH]

Couple questions.

 

I've been thinking up some different things to do this summer. Smelt season is coming up. I am an amateur, as the questions below will attest.

 

1) Do you need a boat to smelt fish?

2) Can I just toss my nets in and retrieve them without a boat?

3) Is smelt fishing fun at all or is it like throwing lobster crates into the lake?

 

Thanks.

-Ben

 

1) No, it's done from shore, at least in Chicago.

2) Yes, you need a heavy net anchor to throw, obviously attached to a lot of rope, or a gun to fire the anchor out for you. Obviously, you need the rest of the equipment to hang and drop the net, too.

3) Yes, depending on who you go with. It's a lot of talking and/or discreetly drinking/bbq'ing while you wait to check on the nets, so in that regard, it is somewhat like throwing lobster crates into a lake and waiting. If the smelt are running, you can catch multi-hundreds of them in a few hours. If not, you can catch 2-3 in an entire outing.

4) It's not something you just jump into, you pretty much need to take someone that has the necessary equipment, and knowledge on how to set everything up.

[FlaSoxxJim]

1) No, it's done from shore, at least in Chicago.

2) Yes, you need a heavy net anchor to throw, obviously attached to a lot of rope, or a gun to fire the anchor out for you. Obviously, you need the rest of the equipment to hang and drop the net, too.

3) Yes, depending on who you go with. It's a lot of talking and/or discreetly drinking/bbq'ing while you wait to check on the nets, so in that regard, it is somewhat like throwing lobster crates into a lake and waiting. If the smelt are running, you can catch multi-hundreds of them in a few hours. If not, you can catch 2-3 in an entire outing.

4) It's not something you just jump into, you pretty much need to take someone that has the necessary equipment, and knowledge on how to set everything up.

 

This is solid information. I went out smelt fishing with friends in high school and college a few of times out on the seawall at Burnham Harbor and had a great time. I didn't have any gear but my friends did, and as long as we had beer to share there were other fishermen out there that were happy to share fresh smelt they were grilling or frying. Don't know if it's the same sort of vibe it was back then but it is something I fondly remember.

[bmags]

Excellent. Clearly seems there is a niche for smelt fishing adventures. Given the large smelt fishing window, this seems incredibly lucrative./green

 

Really do appreciate it, wikipedia/google had all articles with assumed knowledge.

[Texsox]

This is solid information. I went out smelt fishing with friends in high school and college a few of times out on the seawall at Burnham Harbor and had a great time. I didn't have any gear but my friends did, and as long as we had beer to share there were other fishermen out there that were happy to share fresh smelt they were grilling or frying. Don't know if it's the same sort of vibe it was back then but it is something I fondly remember.

 

X2

 

I found it a lot like ice fishing, very social.

[Kyyle23]

Waiting for smelt it dealt it joke

[Reddy]

what the hell is a smelt?

[Brian]

what the hell is a smelt?

 

Something you delt.

 

That good, kyyle?

Edited March 3, 2013 by Brian

[Texsox]

what the hell is a smelt?

 

Fresh water sardines kind of. You catch them in gill nets that are run out on long lines which are thrown or launched from shore. They are deep fried while drinking large amounts of beer.

[southsider2k5]

Smelt fishing is a big deal on this part of the lake. No idea why, but it is. Bmags, one of my buddies is a charter boat captian. If you want, I can hook you up with him for some really good fishing advice.

[FlaSoxxJim]

Fresh water sardines kind of. You catch them in gill nets that are run out on long lines which are thrown or launched from shore. They are deep fried while drinking large amounts of beer.

 

Actually, smelt are more closely related to salmonids and pikes, and belong to the same superorder as them. Sardines belong in a different superorder that they share with anchovies. The lack of gill raker modifications typical of planktivorous clupeids and engraulids (the sardines and anchovies), and the lack of a physostomous connection between the gas bladder and the gut differentiate the Osmeriformes quite a bit from the Clupeiformes. Smelts are often anadromous as well, traveling from saltwater environments to freshwater to spawn like most salmonids.

 

The harmonious combination of fried fresh smelt and large amounts of beer is not in dispute.

Edited March 4, 2013 by FlaSoxxJim

[witesoxfan]

You just blew my freakin mind

[Kyyle23]

You just blew my freakin mind

 

not surprising. Im pretty sure Taco Bell Doritos Tacos blew your mind too

[witesoxfan]

not surprising. Im pretty sure Taco Bell Doritos Tacos blew your mind too

 

But those are awwwwweeeeeessome

[witesoxfan]

Could you imagine fried smelt Doritos Tacos?

 

 

[FlaSoxxJim]

You just blew my freakin mind

 

I have a big unit of ichthyology lectures coming up in a marine biodiversity course I help instruct, so I have fish systematics on the brain at the moment.

 

 

Could you imagine fried smelt Doritos Tacos?

 

Those would rock!

[Kyyle23]

mind blown

[southsider2k5]

Could you imagine fried smelt Doritos Tacos?

 

[insert girlfriend joke here]