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I'm starting to gather my gear to get ready for this spring smelt run. Anybody else?

I usually go to Duluth at park point.

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I will probably go once and get enough for my meals for the year than be done with it. Now that we cant use them for bait its just not worth smelting a bunch. frown

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Boy I miss the days of smelting in the Chequamegon Bay in Ashland. Is it still as popular as it used to be?

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People still smelt, eh?

It seems to be one of those activities that only a few die hards do anymore

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I'm hoping the usual crew start testing the waters this spring so I know when to go down and dip the nets! grin

I'm guessing we are still a month away from the 2011 run.

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We will be out and keep everyone informed but as soon as I get mine Im done for the season. No sense keeping so many I have to freeze a bunch if all I can do is eat them. I can only do 3-4 meals a year before I get my fill. Now if anyone wants to pull my seign some night I will gladly come down and watch you have your fun.

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i haven't been smelting on the northshore for years. i remember the good ol days when you could literaly get them with your hands. those were some fun times. now i catch all i need through the ice. that's even more fun. good luck.

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i haven't been smelting on the northshore for years. i remember the good ol days when you could literaly get them with your hands. those were some fun times. now i catch all i need through the ice. that's even more fun. good luck.

Ya them bad boys are a blast on a Jason Mitchell meatstick or spring bobber rod! We do this in between the piers off of Wi. Point and it can be a riot. Monster Lake Superior smelt on super light tackle is more fun than some may think.

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that does sound like fun. i get mine down here in grindstone lake. some go 11in. but those are for smoking. my brother brings a guy from duluth every year and we give him all the big smelt and we keep the smaller ones for the deep fryer. 5 or six and i'm full. but what a tasty treat to have on hand at anytime of the year in the freezer. like you said, now that you cant use smelt frozen for bait you take what you can eat. good luck.

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I'm starting to gather my gear to get ready for this spring smelt run. Anybody else?

I usually go to Duluth at park point.

Nothing to gather on my end. My gear is hanging in my garage ready to go just like I left it at the end of last season. Never seem to get my fill of Smelt. smirk

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I will probably go once and get enough for my meals for the year than be done with it. Now that we cant use them for bait its just not worth smelting a bunch. frown

When I was outdoor allure Craig said you can still use your own smelt on the Wisconsin side. He said right now MN has the only laws for using certified.

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Problem might be having them in your boat when you want to fish both sides of the line? I dont know how that will work out. No matter the walleyes dont care for smelt and I caught almost as many trout on gulp smelt as I did the real thing last year.

Sold my down riggers to get my kicker motor so now I need to get a new set.

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Problem might be having them in your boat when you want to fish both sides of the line?

I dont see any issue because you can claim the smelt for your lunch. I doubt there is anything they can or will do if your not using them in MN water.I will have to try the gulp smelt.

There were some decent priced riggers on the other great lakes fishing forum classifed section. The shipping might be a deal breaker though.

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Here's a few pics my buddy sent me from ice fishing last night fishing for smelt. Northern MN smelt. Seems like a lot of work but, I guess it works. 1+2+3= Yummy.full-34423-6869-1.jpg

full-34423-6870-2.jpg

full-34423-6871-3.jpg

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I've eaten my share of Smelt but usually after being dipped in a beer batter. Most of all the heads have been removed as well. If that's your idea of 1+2+3= Yummy more power to ya! eek

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators

I prefer smelt on the meat/flasher/flies but suckers work just as well.

I'd check the regs or ask a CO as far as traveling MN waters to WI with smelt for bait.

The word "Possession" would be a deal breaker.

Those smelt look like they cooked to perfection. I cut the heads off and then snip the belly, I can fit more in the deep fryer that way too. smile

I ate 75 on my first feed last year.

I'm ready all ready. Just grab the waders, seign, neoprene gloves, headlamp, and bucket.

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I trim heads and tails off with scissors then snip all the way down from head to tail and clean out the guts. Dip in beer batter and deep fry. Ill pass on the heads and tails that dont even look good to me.

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Here's a few pics my buddy sent me from ice fishing last night fishing for smelt. Northern MN smelt. Seems like a lot of work but, I guess it works. 1+2+3= Yummy.full-34423-6869-1.jpg

full-34423-6870-2.jpg

full-34423-6871-3.jpg

Your buddy fry those things up whole? Guts and all???

Never seen that before.

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Yes. It is quite tasty!!! Ok, well an acquired taste. The truth is the when you fry it whole, once it cooks, than you can break it in half if you don't desire the head/insides,,,,you can discard it.

But with the females, the eggs are a bonus to the smelt. I personally enjoy the eggs myself. Smelts are fairly clean fish, and taste great either way.

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I used to go smelting on Park Point years ago with my folks. Back them you could fill a few 5 gallon pails in one pull! I tried a few years ago,but our old net wasnt so good,I think i lost a lot,or maybe they just werent there. Where do you fish for them? Any info would be great,Id love to get dad out fishin for them at least. Thanks much!

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Deer_Assassin,

Smelting on Park Point is no different then in the years past other then the numbers of Smelt are down. We still pull seine nets on select areas of the point. Next to the pier wall, the tot lot and the area by the airport are a few. Some of the folks have updated to newer nets that seem to work better at getting the job done. Whatever quality of net you may have you should still be able to get into the smelt if you bring enough people to keep the net working.

Keep an eye on this topic and you should have a good idea when the Smelt are making their run. That and get an evening or two of good weather at the same time and you should be set.

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Thanks much Tom!

Im gonna get together some guys and try to teach em how to run the net! That might have been my problem last go around as well. Maybe Ill see ya up there.

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I want to thank the locals ahead of time for all the extra work they do with keeping us posted with reports. It saves people alot of time and money, especially with the uprising gas prices.

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Anybody have a chritiansen seine net or comparable that they are no longer using and have upgrade to a newer one and want to sell their old one? Must be in good condition.

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Good luck with that one man. Once you go Christiansen with a sock you dont go back! wink

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I think you all need to get off the pipe if you are talking about smelting

already!!!!!!!!!.

Nothing wrong with smelt uncleaned. Heads, tails, guts as long as they are fried crispy. Come down to the bridge and eat some smelt on the stick cooked over an open fire, uncleaned.

Its the people that complain about going home and cleaning smelt that gets me. What we do, go home and rinse them off and then freeze without cleaning. Then thaw and clean and cook. Does not seem to effect the fish. See everybody on the point in about 1 month.>>>>later the load

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I should have added this before, but when the smelt are running, and since I am running 3 Christens nets, you are more than welcome to come down to the bridge and use my net to get a few smelt>>>>later the load

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Hey Load,

Folks need something to talk about as we wait for the Smelt run to get closer!! I'll stick to cleaning my Smelt before I consume them. I try not to complain about cleaning them until at least the 3rd or 4th five gallon bucket. grin

As always I'm open to meeting up with others and sharing the use of my Christiansen Seine.

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • Brianf.
      I'm not there, so I can't tell exactly what's going on but it looks like a large area of open water developed in the last day with all of the heavy snow on the east side of wake em up Narrows. These two photos are from my Ring Camera facing north towards Niles Point.  You can see what happened with all of snow that fell in the last three days, though the open water could have been wind driven. Hard to say. .  
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    • LakeofthewoodsMN
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