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  • Northlander

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you know, if the beach is not going to open up, the river is going to be very very crowded. for those of you who live up there, is there any way you guys can put up a photo of the beach as it is right now. i just want to see how much ice we get up there.

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And one more thing. Has there ever been a year like this. Wbere they run under the ice. And what did you guys do to deal witb it.

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Last year was an aboration as far as spring unless you believe in global warming....seems to me the prime smelting time is usually around the first week in May and I'm thinking it'll be the same this year.

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Last year was an aboration as far as spring unless you believe in global warming....seems to me the prime smelting time is usually around the first week in May and I'm thinking it'll be the same this year.

+1

Hopefully I don't miss it as I'm off turkey hunting May 3rd - 7th.

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Just out of curiousity, when you guys go smelting, do you ever find other fish (minnows, sculpins, juvenile trout) in your nets?

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Yes. More on the bayside. Never gotten a small minnow sized trout they have all been 2#-12#.

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I got a steelhead one time when I used to pull a seign net....if you get one don't even take it out of the water not even for a picture.

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yea its very common to get a big fish when you are dipping too. one time this huge pike was caught in my dip net. I had a old dip net that was breaking up, so the pikes gills were caught in there because it went in head first and hard. i tried to lift that thing out of the water to untangle it, not a good idea. that thing broke mu net off. was never seen again. i also hate it when i get eelpouts. there slimes always build up on your nets. very oozy and sticky. than of course there are the bnig trouts too. i get them more often than any other big fish when dipping, they always give me a scare because they'll get caught and try to take off while inside the net, threatening to pull me under the raging water. see i'm a small asian guy, add raging river water and a big fish and i'll go under faster than you know it. and when they splash, they always get me soaked. just some stories of mine.

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yes, in the "olden days" back in the hey day of smelting i watched some guys get trout in their nets in the lester river. smelt were so thick you could grab them with your hand if you wanted to. good luck.

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So. Does anyone know where i can buy dip nets. Mine are worn out. Im from minneapolis?

Fish4fun. I would go to maybe a Gander Mtn or fleet farm if you live i nthe cities, otherwise you could stop on your way up in Cloquet @ L&M in Cloquet like Bowfin Said. Also Marine General like Northlander said. Cheaper ones are around $25-$30.

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Please do continue to keep us posted on the smelt run. I'm thinking in a couple weeks we will all be in the lake. The temperature has been really nice in the Cities. We have been getting 60 & 70 degree temps!

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A friend of mine's cousin has been trying in Ashland for two nights and nothing yet. The ice there is totaly melted away. Hope to join them this weekend or next week...

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I heard that the run in ashland is always bigger and longer. is that true or just a myth? and a quick question, we we minnesotans need wisconsin license if we are smelting on wisonsin shores. you know the lake is just another big body or border water.

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Ordered a Chirsensen 25x4ft sein with purse today! Should be shipped out today and on my door step tomorrow, $215.

I'm not 100% sure if you need a WI license to smelt on Superior. I have had a WI license for 3 years now so don't worry about it. A couple years ago my cousin drove out with me to Ashland and he was under the impression you don't need a WI license to smelt there. The only problem we had was were to smelt! We asked several locals and nobody could point us in the right direction.

Planning on trying another body of water tomorrow night then next Monday or Tuesday going to try Ashland.

Yes, Ashland is the best place to smelt on Superior. A friend of mine goes off private land/water and he gets more smelt than he cares to deal with in just a few hours. He said there's also a place you can pay $10 a head to smelt in Ashland just have no idea were that is.

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I know this has been discussed before in the past, but why not bring it up again so we can discuss it some more. the regulation on the mn dnr website and handbook says seines that are used cannot exceed 25 ft. I dont have a christiansen net yet, but am hesitant to buy one because they are obviously longer than 25 ft. and i have seen people use seines at park point that are way longer thant he regulation allows. how is this possible. is there an exception to the rule, or are the wardens just turning their heads because its smelt.

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You can buy a 25 and 50ft sein from Christensons. I asked them what is legal to use on the MN side of Superior and he quickly said 25FT. When asked about the WI side of Superior he thought longer. My friends who run seins out of Ashland run 50 footers.

I think the guys running the 50 foot seins on Park Point are waiting for a ticket from the DNR. Unless you see a DNR measure their sein and let them sein it's illegal.

Here's what I do know.

My cousin has a commerical fishing license in MN. A couple years ago he was running his 50 footer with a purse inland MN for smelt. The DNR stopped them and asked for licenses. My cousin handed over his commerical license and said he din't know the exact rule but would get back to him. The other guy handed the warden his fishing license. A couple days later the two got a call from the warden. The warden said he was unclear how the law reads a 50 foot sein and commercial fishing for smelt. That being said my cousin was not given a citation. However, the other guy was given a citation for running a sein longer the 25ft.

In 15 years of smelting only been stopped by a warden once and that was last year inland MN smelting. Seen them before on the rivers but not yet on the main lake by the point or lift bridge.

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you know its the one thing I always forget to ask a warden when I see one up at park point. I see them and talk to them all the time, but never ask about the length of net, and to see if they care. hears the thing, I bought one of those frabill nets, that were 20 ft long, i extended it another 5 ft by adding a old net to it. last year when i took it out, i compared it to the guys pulling the christianson nets, there nets were obviously way longer, but of course not 50 ft. more like 30-35ft. it could just be that my observation is wrong.

and I believe someone tried to explain it by saying the net pulls back and shortens during the pull. dont know if that makes it legal or not but thats what someone told me over at park point last year.

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50 would haul in more smelt but we usualy go party smelting and run a couple 25's side by side.

A long night of pulling 25's is enough for me!

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Here are the facts these are directly from the MN & WI DNR website):

MN - maximum size is 25' x 4' (no exceptions)

WI - maximum size is 75' x 6'

WI net size is way too extreme for me personally. I think 25 by 4 is good enough.

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So is all this east wind going to do some good at reducing the ice mounds on park point? I'd think so...maybe not eliminate them, but knock 'em back so a person could pull seines in front of them?

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Relaying report from Ashland: 1/2 bucket of smelt but water was really cold. I trust this source and believe it to be true. Anyhow, Ashland always start off first since it's east of Duluth. This sounds like good news for us!!!

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I know my friends and I that use Christiansens run 25' of net. The extra lengths some are complaining of could be that the poles we use and the way we tie them off have some space between them and the actual netting. Not enough to make it 35' though so I dont know whose Christiansen these guys are measuring. Im guessing the 25' rule is of actual netting.

The guys I see using 50' nets are guys like Johny Chalstrom who has a comercial license. I doubt he will be pulling it this year though.

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