smelt?

[hydro]

The ones at Coborns are in the 8-9" range. A little big for my preference but they work just fine.

[ljbreyer]

The ones at Coborns are in the 8-9" range. A little big for my preference but they work just fine.

Sweet. Those are a little on the small side for me, but they'll work.

I'll be picking some up for sure

[MJ1657]

Vado's in Fridley has smelt and Ciscos. I just picked some up.

[Steve Foss]

would u guys say they're better than suckers???

Yes.

[icehousebob]

My sons and a nephew and I experimented with coloring dead smelt for tip-up bait. Using food coloring, we made blue, gold, yellow, and greenish chartruese. They really show up under water well, and the chartruese was by far the best. We got a large group of tip-up fishermen mad at us one day. They had buckets full of live bait that they continued to change, so their baits were moving well. We had a plastic bag of strange looking smelt. We went home with several Northerns and they never saw a flag. One thing more fun than catching lots of fish is doing it when others are catching none.

[Acemac]

hmm I was out this week end had a 6 inch smelt on the tip up and was using crazy fighting suckers in the fish house. well long story short I could barley keep a sucker minnow down there with out it getting pounded, and the flag never went up on the tip up once.... maybe i was doing something wrong.

the bait never seemed to thaw out do i need to thaw them at home (wife would love that)

smelt was cheep though got 4 for like a dollar and im not telling you where lol.

[Steve Foss]

do i need to thaw them

For best scent dispersion underwater, yes. Also, whole smelt are preferred over dressed smelt.

[MJ1657]

Do you guys reuse them if you were out and didn't catch anything on them?

[minneman]

Thawing smelt is easy on the ice if you have something to put lake water in like a plastic coffee container, or you can leave your rig set in the hole for a bit. they get a coating of ice on them fairly quickly, just bend them slightly to get the ice off, a couple times and they're ready to sink. Frozen they wont sink.

[ac777]

I used smelt this weekend and got one nice pike on a tip up. I like the fact that you don't have to try to keep them alive.

[Steve Foss]

Do you guys reuse them if you were out and didn't catch anything on them?

I don't reuse one that's already been sitting on the hook because a lot of the oil/scent is gone. If the smelt/cisco is still intact after landing a fish, it still gets tossed on the ice for the ravens and foxes. Unless, that is, I've planned poorly and didn't bring enough bait. I generally bring three dozen. I've had days with over 30 flags using smelt/cisco. Cisco hold together a lot better than smelt once they've been frozen, thawed, frozen and thawed.

[Herky2002]

I tried out smelt and ciscos this weekend for the first time, under a deadstick in my shelter. I jigged the pike in with a buckshot spoon. I saw several pike swim by on the fish camera, but none even stopped for a look at the smelt or ciscos, which they almost always do when I am using suckers, even if they don't take it.

I wonder what I am doing wrong? I had the smelt on a quick strike rig, set to suspend horizontally, if that makes any difference? I tried 2' below the ice, 2' above the bottom, and nearly touching the bottom. The bait was whole fish, probably 6-8" long.

Any tips would be appreciated.

[MJ1657]

I tried smelt and Cisco for the first time Monday. I got one using a quick strike rig with the smelt hanging horizontally. I was in 7 fow and had the smelt about 3 feet down.

[chewynoeyes]

my experience with smelt is they produce fewer flags and fish but the fish you do catch are going to be large. all my biggest pike were caught on smelt.

if i'm looking for a few small eaters i don't use smelt.

i also think it depends on the lake. some lakes pike only like shinner other like only suckers and other like smelt, and some days their just not hungry.

[waterbound]

Just wanted to mention that I picked up some smelt tonight from Wayzata Bait & Tackle. I can't remember the last time I bought smelt, but these seem very large (8 inches or so and FAT) compared to the ones from Superior that I normally use.

[Steve Foss]

I tried out smelt and ciscos this weekend for the first time, under a deadstick in my shelter. I jigged the pike in with a buckshot spoon. I saw several pike swim by on the fish camera, but none even stopped for a look at the smelt or ciscos, which they almost always do when I am using suckers, even if they don't take it.

I wonder what I am doing wrong? I had the smelt on a quick strike rig, set to suspend horizontally, if that makes any difference? I tried 2' below the ice, 2' above the bottom, and nearly touching the bottom. The bait was whole fish, probably 6-8" long.

Any tips would be appreciated.

Well, it was your first time using deadbait, and with the camera/jigging line/deadbait all down there that was a lot of suff going on in a small area for those pike. I'm not saying pike are shy about that stuff, but if you didn't have any hit on your jigging lure, they were not active that day, and neutral/negative pike can be downright sullen, like teen-agers who come to the dinner table because it's habit but don't really feel like eating or talking.

Throw out a tip-up about 30 feet from the house for your second line to get it away from your camera and jigging line. Or forget the camera and the jigging lure and put out two tip-ups. I have a great time fishing pike that way. Leave my Otter flipover at half mast to cut the wind and just sit and watch my flags and see what's going on around me out on the ice. Leaving the electronics packed up can be a very relaxing way to fish. I've never gotten fewer than 10-12 flags using smelt/cisco and two tip-ups, even when it's slow, and my best days are around 30 flags or a bit over.

It doesn't matter whether the bait is horizontal. They'll take it any which way. I just hook them in the heaviest fleshy portion a bit in front of the tail and they hang head-down.

[The Hex]

I like to marinate my smelt/cisco in Dr. Juice for a while. Don't know if it helps, but it sure stinks.

[Herky2002]

Thanks Steve! I am going out Saturday and I will give it another shot as you suggest.

[Steve Foss]

Good luck, Herky! Be sure to tell us how you do.

[Boker001]

I can't find whole smelt anywhere in Mankato area. Any ideas? Will dressed and deheaded smelt still work? I'll be heading up to Remer in a few weeks. Anyone know of a spot that sells whole ones on the way?

Thanks

[Boker001]

I found some. Mocol's in Mankato can order them. Whole jumbo smelt for bait use. They come in a 25# box at $3.00/lb. I don't need that many so if anyone wants to split a box let me know. The guy said he could have them by friday if it was ordered today.

What size do you think jumbo would be?

[Acemac]

jumbo=good

big fish

[Beast26]

I found some. Mocol's in Mankato can order them. Whole jumbo smelt for bait use. They come in a 25# box at $3.00/lb. I don't need that many so if anyone wants to split a box let me know. The guy said he could have them by friday if it was ordered today.

What size do you think jumbo would be?

Go to the Lake Superior Fish Companies HSOforum and order them up yourself and they will be shipped to your house. MAKE SURE YOU GET THE UN-DRESSED variety.

[Acemac]

how do you cook these guys always heard storys of how great they are when i was growing up.

[Beast26]

how do you cook these guys always heard storys of how great they are when i was growing up.

First off I have never bought them at a store and eaten them. We have always went up to the north shore and seined them in the spring.

To clean them all you do is cut the head off with game shears and then cut a slit all the way to the [PoorWordUsage]. Take your thumb and push the guts out. After than take a toothbrush and clean out the blood on the inside where the guts were. You will notice a buildup of blood along the spine. Rinse them off good.

Put them in your favorite dry batter and deep fry them. Eat the whole thing....fins and tail included. They are delicious if fresh. Once you freeze them they don't taste as good.

Yes, they are great!