Ice Fishing for Smelt
By Andy Whitcomb
Jan 11, 2016
Well, winter has finally arrived in the northeast and my precious open water on lakes is almost gone.
Well, winter has finally arrived in the northeast and my precious open water on lakes is almost gone. As I grumble and begin to sort and organize my ice fishing stuff, I can’t deny that I am looking forward to the opportunity to go ice fishing for, of all fish, the smelt.
Rainbow smelt are slender and small: 7-8 inches long and weighing just a few ounces. About the size of some of my bass and pike lures. They don’t hit hard; the cocoa puff sized bobber just sort of rolls over. And they can’t put up much of a fight even on the tiniest tackle. I have had aquatic vegetation that fought harder. But smelt fishing is strangely fun.
With miniature toy-like ice fishing rod and reel combos, anglers drop a line of up to three tiny hooks in tandem, tipped with wax worms under a micro bobber. Then they park it on an overturned bucket and wait. But if the smelt are “in,” they typically are in large numbers and you won’t have to wait long.
When a bite is detected, the line is just lifted out of the water. Smelt have such small mouths that they may not be hooked but are just hanging on. Lift quickly; shake off the smelt into bucket number 2, laugh, and repeat. If they are really biting, this can be done with a rod in each hand.
There is no limit for smelt in Lake Erie in the Pennsylvania, one of the 2015 Top 100 places to fish and boat in the country, if caught on hook and line. If cleaned properly, “butterflied,” and fried lightly, they are considered a delicacy.
Before you venture out, be sure to check your state regulations. For example, Pennsylvania recently increased the size of a hole in the ice from 8 inches to 10 inches, although I’m sure it wasn’t to make more room for smelt. It has been many years since I’ve wrangled smelt and I think my kids will have as much fun as I did.
Andy Whitcomb is an award-winning freelance writer, outdoor humorist, and stressed-out Dad living in Pennsylvania. Visit him at www.justkeepreeling.com
Rainbow smelt are slender and small: 7-8 inches long and weighing just a few ounces. About the size of some of my bass and pike lures. They don’t hit hard; the cocoa puff sized bobber just sort of rolls over. And they can’t put up much of a fight even on the tiniest tackle. I have had aquatic vegetation that fought harder. But smelt fishing is strangely fun.
With miniature toy-like ice fishing rod and reel combos, anglers drop a line of up to three tiny hooks in tandem, tipped with wax worms under a micro bobber. Then they park it on an overturned bucket and wait. But if the smelt are “in,” they typically are in large numbers and you won’t have to wait long.
When a bite is detected, the line is just lifted out of the water. Smelt have such small mouths that they may not be hooked but are just hanging on. Lift quickly; shake off the smelt into bucket number 2, laugh, and repeat. If they are really biting, this can be done with a rod in each hand.
There is no limit for smelt in Lake Erie in the Pennsylvania, one of the 2015 Top 100 places to fish and boat in the country, if caught on hook and line. If cleaned properly, “butterflied,” and fried lightly, they are considered a delicacy.
Before you venture out, be sure to check your state regulations. For example, Pennsylvania recently increased the size of a hole in the ice from 8 inches to 10 inches, although I’m sure it wasn’t to make more room for smelt. It has been many years since I’ve wrangled smelt and I think my kids will have as much fun as I did.
Andy Whitcomb is an award-winning freelance writer, outdoor humorist, and stressed-out Dad living in Pennsylvania. Visit him at www.justkeepreeling.com
Andy is an outdoor writer (http://www.justkeepreeling.com/) and stressed-out Dad has contributed over 380 blogs to takemefishing.org since 2011. Born in Florida, but raised on banks of Oklahoma farm ponds, he now chases pike, smallmouth bass, and steelhead in Pennsylvania. After earning a B.S. in Zoology from OSU, he worked in fish hatcheries and as a fisheries research technician at OSU, Iowa State, and Michigan State.
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