Smelt 2016

[lispeej]

I know it's still a bit early, but what are folks predictions this year for the run?

Last year, it was around mid April.  I'm thinking this year will be a little bit earlier than last.

We need a lot of rain!

Edited March 23, 2016 by lispeej

[dougger222]

I would guess a week earlier than last year for Park point. With the ice still on chequamagen starting to think Park point could start first. 

[live4chrome]

On March 23, 2016 at 10:32 PM, lispeej said:

I know it's still a bit early, but what are folks predictions this year for the run?

Last year, it was around mid April.  I'm thinking this year will be a little bit earlier than last.

We need a lot of rain!

We need warm temps is what we need for smelt. I don't think anyone dips the rivers anymore, you will catch more in one seine pull on the beach than 5 guys in the river all night with dip nets will do.

[lispeej]

dang, these cold snaps arent helping  with the smelt run  

[BD110]

Has anyone seen or heard of any test pulls being done. I'm looking at trying a few on Sunday or Monday evening!!  I'll give another post with the results. 

[LoonASea]

Smelt are running in the Ashland / Cheq bay area ,,,Still waiting to hear the frogs croaking 

[BD110]

It was a no go for myself and smelting tonight. I did not want to deal with the waves breaking on the shore just for some test pulls. 

Monday's wind direction is not going to help much either if we get what is being called for.

As always

Take care,

Tom (BD110)

[BD110]

I'm heading down tonight!!  Not really sure what to say about the present info on the topic but it is what it is.  Good luck to all that give it a go this 2016 smelting season.  Stay safe and stay dry!!

As always

Take care,

Tom (BD110)

[LoonASea]

Im hearing the start of the frogs croaking ,,,,weather/wind cooperating it should be starting soon 

[2thepointsetters]

The run is pretty good right now but the wind has been horrible. 

[live4chrome]

Went down last night to the airport and had to turn around there were so many people at 930. I have never seen it even close to that busy in the last 10 years I have been here.. There was no parking ANYWHERE. Hundreds of cars parked at the airport and along the road in places I have never seen cars parked. Looked like they were getting some but you would have had to walk a mile down the beach just to find a spot. Looked like mostly out of towners. Ill wait till the weekend is over before i go back down. 

[leech~~]

1 hour ago, live4chrome said:

Went down last night to the airport and had to turn around there were so many people at 930. I have never seen it even close to that busy in the last 10 years I have been here.. There was no parking ANYWHERE. Hundreds of cars parked at the airport and along the road in places I have never seen cars parked. Looked like they were getting some but you would have had to walk a mile down the beach just to find a spot. Looked like mostly out of towners. Ill wait till the weekend is over before i go back down. 

Times are hard, not easy to pass up free food.

[fivebelow]

11 hours ago, leech~~ said:

Times are hard, not easy to pass up free food.

 

free food? you got to be kidding -   gas for truck $110 waders $399 net $300  

if i wanted to just eat some smelt/ i rather just go to cub and buy a few bags

to me it's a spring tradition/ though we are not from here/ nor lived here like you natives mn *ahem* we have made it a tradition to head up every spring for the run. 

 

 

[live4chrome]

25 minutes ago, fivebelow said:

 

free food? you got to be kidding -   gas for truck $110 waders $399 net $300  

if i wanted to just eat some smelt/ i rather just go to cub and buy a few bags

to me it's a spring tradition/ though we are not from here/ nor lived here like you natives mn *ahem* we have made it a tradition to head up every spring for the run. 

 

 

yes, its a spring tradition for us too. We just catch what we can use fresh and a hundred or so for bait, then sit back by the fire and enjoy the night. I learned long ago that cleaning gallons upon gallons of smelt is a miserable process. Plus they are hardly edible once you freeze them, however fresh they are pretty darn amazing. 100x better than those nasty hooligans from the west coast rivers. Ugh.

I just couldn't believe the crowd, and why there were so many more than I have ever seen this year than the previous. Social media maybe? Hopefully it doesn't become a thing where you have to get there at 6 just to get a spot.

Edited April 24, 2016 by live4chrome

[leech~~]

1 hour ago, fivebelow said:

 

free food? you got to be kidding -   gas for truck $110 waders $399 net $300  

if i wanted to just eat some smelt/ i rather just go to cub and buy a few bags

to me it's a spring tradition/ though we are not from here/ nor lived here like you natives mn *ahem* we have made it a tradition to head up every spring for the run. 

 

 

Dude, it was a joke. I maybe a Cityit just like you!

[reinhard1]

Is anyone netting on the bay side up from the landing toward the airport?  When we were kids that's were we used to go netting and back then nobody went on the beach side that I knew of.  I haven't gone smelting in years.  I catch all I need through the ice which is also a lot of fun.  good luck.

[Timber Donkey]

I went down Friday and it was unreal.  It was like the Park Point garage sale with a wader dress code.  

I think Live4Chrome hit the nail on the head, social media.  I've lived here for ten years and every year we see more and more people using the area.  In the last couple of years it seems the pressure on the rivers for spring andromonous species has tripled.  So the next time you want to show off to all your friends on Facebook or some other social media outlet, think twice.  This is what happens when people and groups plaster things all over social media.

[Big Kype]

Stopped down at the pier Saturday night and there were a few groups making a haul over the wall using some crazy type of net contraption they built themselves. It looked like ten poles crisscrossed with a big net suspended underneath. They would then lower it down into the water with a long extendable pole and let it sit for a minute, then rip it up really quick out and over the wall loaded with smelt. I've never seen anything like it but it was working pretty good. And is it legal? I don't know...

[maxpower117]

10 hours ago, Timber Donkey said:

I went down Friday and it was unreal.  It was like the Park Point garage sale with a wader dress code.  

I think Live4Chrome hit the nail on the head, social media.  I've lived here for ten years and every year we see more and more people using the area.  In the last couple of years it seems the pressure on the rivers for spring andromonous species has tripled.  So the next time you want to show off to all your friends on Facebook or some other social media outlet, think twice.  This is what happens when people and groups plaster things all over social media.

Can anyone comment first hand with what it was like in the 70s? I get a feeling it's totally tame compared to then. 

And that was without Facebook and cell phones, and even Internet. 

Edited April 26, 2016 by maxpower117

[kkahmann]

I fished for smelt in Duluth in the late '60s and early '70s. It was a zoo!! I think me and my buddies were the only ones using a seine--everyone else was dipping with handheld nets right in the rivers--parking was a problem on every river between Duluth and Two Harbours. The only reason we used a seine was because we couldn't find a place to fish on any river.

I think the Minneapolis paper mentioned in 1970 that over 3000 people were on the Lester river alone one Friday nite and I believe 3 people drowned that weekend.

I used to put a livestock watering tank in the back of my 3/4 ton truck and fill it up with ice and beer--pick up a bunch of other neer-do-wells and head up to Duluth. Bunch a guys riding in the back drinking beer all the way up 35W--fill the tank with smelt and take them back and sold them for 10 to 15 cents a pound. Almost paid for the beer once.

[Odonata]

Good point kkahmann,

The masses were definitely out in the 60's and 70's.  I wasn't alive until the late 70's, but stories and pictures affirm the hay days.  I would assume that led to the posting of "no smelting" in many of the area tributaries.  (?)  I feel what we are seeing now is a natural "ebb and flow" (pun intended) of people.  The DNT alone has had 4 articles on the spring steelhead/looper counts.  The means of communication may have increased, but I think word would get out regardless.  

Any recent reports?

[dougger222]

There are still smelt runs that take place today that rival the smelt runs of the 60's and 70's. My father and I got to witness it first hand 6 years ago in Chequamagon Bay where we saw many 1,000 pound+ sein hauls. That run lasted well over a week with reports of large hauls every night. This year we got to witness two back to back 1,000 lb+ in a sein (75x6ft w/purse). The run in Chequamegon this year lasted almost 2 weeks. In recent years we were lucky to get into them for 5 nights with a total haul of 1,000 lbs. This year was our best year ever.

We heard a report from 4-5 years ago that a group got 8,000 lbs, that year we didn't do very good in our spot so suspect they found the big school off shore.

The smelt ran good this past Sunday night despite massive waves which left every smelter on Park Point soaked. Most reports were everyone who braved the waters got all the smelt they needed. This week calls for strong North winds which will prove difficult for smelters. Some have been doing well in the Lester too. 

[ATW]

Are the smelt done running? Haven't seen any reports since last weekend?

[dougger222]

It was mixed results on Park Point last night. Some got a few gallons and some got several gallons. Guessing the water warmed bringing the smelt back in.

[kkahmann]

I used to fish smelt commercially and even though I'm retired I still keep track of it.

As a general rule if you hit Duluth on the 28th of April you will get some--Thunder Bay 4 or 5 days later and Nipigon to Schrieber 2 or 3 days after that. Lake Nipigon always about the 1st week of May.

I have a smelt creek here in my yard on the East shore of Lake Nipigon--they started nite before last--1 or 2 per dip in the net. Last nite I filled 2 - 5 gallon pails in 7 swings of the dip net.  Main Lake is still frozen but creek mouths are open.

[dougger222]

kkahmann,

Did you commercial smelt in Superior on the Canada side? Did you use boats with deep nets or go in shore? What was considered a "good" day/night in terms of weight? Do the inland lakes in your area have native smelt in them? I'm a member on the facebook page Northern Ontario Smelt Watch group and see a lot of people smelting up there mainly with dip nets. Must be nice having a smelt creek in the back yard!!!

Seen a commercial smelt report from 6 years ago on Superior MN side I believe and they reported 800,1,200 pounds per day which I thought was low.

My smelting buddy seen a report from a commercial smelt outfit out East that reported they get 60,000 lbs in New Hampshire through the ice!

My cousin used to have a commercial bait license (before the VHS) and he ran a 50ft sein for smelt and had some really good nights on Superior and inland MN lakes. We mainly smelt in Wisconsin and have a 50x4ft with purse, a 75x4ft with purse and the 75x6ft with purse. For Minnesota we use the tiny 25x4ft with purse (biggest we can use).

[kkahmann]

Smelt are kinda like eel-pout they don't freeze well nor hold on ice for long --they get mushy.

We tried a purse seine off a fish tug but that didn't go well--mostly we dip netted--never tried the hand seines. One year 5of us dip netted 60,000 lbs over 6 nights--@ .60 per lb it just wasn't worth it.

sold a few hundred lbs out of the back of the truck to people from southern Ontario and sold lots to local bait dealers.

fished all the small streams on North Shore in vicinity of the town of Nipigon and on Lake Nipigon--there are a few lakes inland where smelt have accidentally been introduced. They definitely an invasive specie but it's not the end of the world if they get into a lake.

[monstermoose78]

32 minutes ago, kkahmann said:

 

We tried a purse seine off a fish tug but that didn't go well--mostly we dip netted--never tried the hand seines. One year 5of us dip netted 60,000 lbs over 6 nights--@ .60 per lb it just wasn't worth it.

 

Not seeing how 36,000 bucks in 6 nights is not worth it.

[the nature boy]

Wow. Six thousand $$ per night for 5 guys comes out to $1200 per person per night. I'd gladly work for that kind of salary. 

I used to buy frozen smelt from a local grocery store and repackage them and then sell them in my bait shop. This was back in '81. 

[kkahmann]

I misspoke--.60cents a pound was the best we ever got and that was landed in Thunder Bay. The next year we set up on the Ombabika River and caught 60,000 lbs but only got .20 cents a pound and still had to truck the fish to  Tbay.

Like most fishermen I can't measure or add worth crap!!