Smelt???

[fishinbros]

I am currently doing a project for my school on the effectiveness of diffrent baits for northern. I was told to try smelt... my question is is how do I set them up on a tip up? Do I set them on the bottom or off the bottom. I read up on some articles saying that big pike like to scavenge the bottom for easy meals but I dont know if the northern would be able to locate it?

[goblueM]

so... hows this study work? seems like there'd be a lot of challenges to getting a statistically robust sample size

[MJ1657]

I think you will get alot of different answers. Seems like some things work for some and not for others.

I personally have better luck keeping them up off the bottom.

I start them a couple feet off the bottom and if nothing is happening I move them up. Often times I move them up so they are just under the ice.

[Acemac]

I cant catch anything on smelt this year....

[Acemac]

get about 5 of your buddies together and put 10 tip ups down with smelt at different depths and record your findings. My guess would be it will be way to random to ever tell.

[Gordie]

fishinbros they actually make a smelt hook its a big square shank style hook that kinda resmbles a kahle hook style and I think that fleet f carrys them and there are some bait shops that carry them as well.

\I always wondered when I was a kid about those funny shaped hooks in dads tackle box when I finally asked him he said they were for smelt I thought he said they (the hooks smelt)and took a sniff of the hook and looked at him bewilderd as he laughed his arse off in the boat.

[fishinbros]

I found a place that sells them but of course there out. Im gonna stick to suckers right now

[Steve Foss]

Smelt hooks don't work any better than other hooks. I use smelt and ciscos all the time (they are all I use for tip-up pike) with either a single hook or a treble, hooking the bait in the meaty part of the body just in front of the tail. Hangs head-down in the water. Pike don't give a rat's patootie if the bait is horizontal or not, and I rarely miss a pike on a tip-up with that bait/hooking style.

Nothing wrong with smelt hooks, just that there's no need to spend the extra jing and take up the extra space in the tackle box for something that doesn't work any better than what you've already got.

Just the way I look at it.

As for depth, when I'm alone fishing pike and only can have two tip-ups, one is half way down the water column and the other about two feet off the bottom.

[Acemac]

Man I can't get any thing to hit smelt they will take the Sumer on the dead stick buPt have not seen one flag yet.

Any one caught pike on tonka with smelt?

[leech~~]

I am currently doing a project for my school on the effectiveness of diffrent baits for northern. I was told to try smelt... my question is is how do I set them up on a tip up? Do I set them on the bottom or off the bottom. I read up on some articles saying that big pike like to scavenge the bottom for easy meals but I dont know if the northern would be able to locate it?

fishinbros, sounds like a cool school project. Does your teacher let you out of class for field trips or field studies on your report subject? Maybe you should tell her you need more time to test your project theories out on the lake when you go to school Monday! Good luck on the project!

[fishinbros]

Thanks leech:) that was my intention. I have another queation tho.. I recently bought some smelt but they are real small.. would it work to put like three on a hook?

[leech~~]

Thanks leech:) that was my intention. I have another queation tho.. I recently bought some smelt but they are real small.. would it work to put like three on a hook?

Lol, not sure how small of Smelt you got or how big your hooks are? But, I don't see why you would need more then one at a time. The Laker in my Avatar hit on a Rainbow Head, and jig.

[fishinbros]

They are like three inches.. about the size of my ring finger

[Steve Foss]

No prob putting two or three of those little buggers on a hook as long as they aren't packed so tightly that the whole gap is clogged with smelt. If you hook them through the meaty part just above the tail and have a 1/0 hook or bigger, should be fine.

[fishinbros]

Will the northern lose interest in them if you put two or three on?

[Steve Foss]

No. It's all just dead fish to them.

[harvey lee]

Are smelt legal for northerns throughout the state?

For some reason, I am thinking there is another rule on smelt.

[Steve Foss]

Tom, I've never specifically heard of smelt being illegal anywhere in Minnesota. As long as they are dead, that is.

[waterbound]

If the smelt you are using are very small you might want to try adding a crappie minnow to the hook so it has some added movement under the ice. I don't know if it will increase your success but I suppose it can't hurt.

[Fish to Win]

Steve-

Just wondering if you think that smelt that are gutted and missing their heads are less effective than whole (bigger) smelt. My thoughts are not because I think they like the smell.

p.s I was up in finland last weekend fishing on Lax lake, no luck.

[Steve Foss]

Steve-Just wondering if you think that smelt that are gutted and missing their heads are less effective than whole (bigger) smelt. My thoughts are not because I think they like the smell.

Yes, I do think that dressed smelt are less effective. If one wants to introduce more smell/taste into the water than the whole smelt offers on its own, it's a simple matter to pinch its head or belly to rupture the cavity and send all those juices out into the water to tempt Esox lucius with luscious liquid (say that tongue twister four times fast.)

I think the less that remains of the whole smelt when you put it down the hole, the shorter the time it'll keep putting out rich scent/taste. Just the way I look at it. No doubt others will have different perspectives.

That being said, if all I could get was dressed smelt, I'd still use them and go pike fishing instead of not going. I have no doubt they'll work. Pike just aren't that picky about dead bait. Free meal, no energy expended in the chase. What's to get picky about?

[Acemac]

mine always float belly up.... that bad?

[Steve Foss]

mine always float belly up.... that bad?

No. Pike are not that picky. They probably are floating because they're frozen. Once they thaw, they sink. Coupla good sized split shot keep them down until they thaw.

But frozen smelt/cisco don't disperse scent/taste as fast and can easily break when you hook them, so if they are frozen, I throw them up over the dashboard defrost vents before I head to my fishing spot so they are thawed when I get there. Or I just take them from the freezer the night before and put them in the fridge and they are thawed by morning.

[PEATMOSS]

Too bad you live so far away, I've got several bags of Pokegama smelt we netted this spring in the freezer. Had intentions of using them myself, but haven't found the time for gator fishing this winter.