Alert: Vados to sell frozen and untreated smelt

[Steve Foss]

No, I'm NOT making this up.

I got a tip and called Vados Bait in Spring Lake Park late this afternoon. They confirmed that they have DNR permission to sell frozen smelt that are not treated with borax/salt, mineral oil, or alcohol. After several back-and-forth communications with DNR personnel, they got the go-ahead because the smelt they are getting are of a different strain or species than rainbow smelt.

The bait store folks told me they'd have them for sale later this week.

I am not in any way compensated by Vados, nor is Vados an HSO sponsor. I'm simply relaying information I believe to be accurate as a public service. And, unfortunately, the smelt are not cheap.

We'll see for sure when the first person chimes in on this thread after purchasing some, but I was told it's a done deal by Vados staff.

And darn, if this doesn't allow me to hope that we can find a way to exempt certain cisco. Most of the cisco sold in Ely, where I live and guide, are harvested from non VHS infected waters.

[maddowg1192000]

good luck and hope you get the go ahead on the ciscos up there. guess i will be stopping at vados sunday on my way back to brainerd

[deadeye]

Thats cool. Thats where I usually buy my bait and where I was told about this whole ordeal at. Im glad they are able to do that. It saves a lot of headache for sure!

Thanks for keeping us posted on this fiasco Steve!!!!

[JBMasterAngler]

If I understood the guys at Mike's bait in forest lake correctly, they are also selling frozen untreated smelt.

[herefish101]

I love Vados, they have always sold frozen smelt, I just never knew about this treated or untreated thing.

Steve, I think they'll ship bait in certain situations, did you ask about the possibility of getting some shipped up to Ely?

[Steve Foss]

Steve, I think they'll ship bait in certain situations, did you ask about the possibility of getting some shipped up to Ely?

Yes, I did ask, but at $10/dozen plus shipping, why bother?

I was told $4.99/pound (which generally equals half a dozen smelt), or $120 for a 25-lb box. With the results I just got today using rehydrated cisco that had been preserved in salt/borax, I don't see any reason to pay $2 to $3 more per dozen, plus shipping, for the smelt.

For those who only have smelt available, it could be a great deal. Smelt do not hold up nearly as well to preservation and freezing/thawing, so being able to buy frozen whole smelt that have not been preserved and do not need to be rehydrated (soaked for hours in water) before use sounds like a darn good option.

[deadeye]

I suppose it does make it better that I got a whole bunch of Burntside smelt in the freezer that I will use without fear of the DNR setting me on fire.

[Steve Foss]

I suppose it does make it better that I got a whole bunch of Burntside smelt in the freezer that I will use without fear of the DNR setting me on fire.

They are rainbow smelt. You can't legally use them in minnesota unless they've been treated/preserved as per the regs.

Well, as of today, anyway. Who knows what tomorrow might bring in this wonderful drama.

[deadeye]

Oh I see there is a different kind of smelt they are selling. Didn't pay attention to that in my first reading of the post Well I guess I will just hang on to what I got and wait it out. Either way I will use them, maybe in ND or IA. They work FANTASTIC in summer for cats so that is always a option. Or I could put them in my friends basement in a random spot.

I am going to try stopping by a Asian market in the next couple days to see what they got. I am intrigued by the whole sardine thing. When fresh they are super tasty so I guess I would have lunch and bait covered with them LOL. Hopefully in the next couple weeks I will be up in the Ely area to try them out on some of my favorite water. Otherwise I will give them a shot in the cities and see what happens.

[Steve Foss]

I am going to try stopping by a Asian market in the next couple days to see what they got. I am intrigued by the whole sardine thing. When fresh they are super tasty so I guess I would have lunch and bait covered with them LOL. Hopefully in the next couple weeks I will be up in the Ely area to try them out on some of my favorite water. Otherwise I will give them a shot in the cities and see what happens.

Please let us know not only what you find in the stores, but how you find they work on the ice.

[deadeye]

Oh I will. You and the others on here got me onto the whole cisco bandwagon so its only right that I return the favor Last year was one of the best ice fishing seasons for pike that I have had. I cant say when I have had more fun, I actually went a couple times with just tip ups which is out of character for me.

[Steve Foss]

Jon, I've been on many laker and pike outings where tip-ups were all we used. Most of my guided pike trips are tip-ups, with occasionally some baitcast rod/reel deadbait rigs. Well, a good number of walleye outings, too. Tip-ups are underused for fish other than pike, and should be classified as deadly weapons, as long as the shooters understand they can't go running/stomping all over the place and causing the fish to drop the baits.

[DTro]

I find it kind of ironic that the DNR is trying to keep an invasive species and or a disease out of a body of water that was introduced by a non native species, and to find a loophole, people might be introducing something from an Asian market.

Don’t get me wrong, as a Catfisherman, I am always looking for a way to get good fresh “legal” bait, but more and more the MNDNR is handcuffing us when it comes to bait.

It sure is frustrating.

[Acemac]

how are you going to convince the DNR guy to not give you a ticket for using smelt? most of the time they are not informed of the loop hole.

[leech~~]

Maybe it's like the gas thing? You can run with non-oxygenated fuel up there but we can't down here. But we can buy and use untreated smelt down here and you can't up there!

[Great Outdoors]

I suppose it does make it better that I got a whole bunch of Burntside smelt in the freezer that I will use without fear of the DNR setting me on fire.

You cannot use any Smelt from Burntside for fishing because of the invasive species (Spiny Water Fleas)

[deadeye]

Yeah I saw that. I read a little more into it and it is what it is. They are pretty old and I suppose I can part ways with them by putting them behind my friends dryer duct in his basement.

Idk about the chances of introducing something invasive from a asian grocery store unless its alive. Saltwater fish that are frozen don't seem like much of a threat to me. I guess anything is possible though . Half the artificial lures we buy are from somewhere overseas and who knows what kind of sick pathogens, disgustabugs and junk they got on them . The only way to not introduce anything foreign is to not fish.... Not gonna happen...

Since Vados is selling smelt it doesn't really matter. I got to go up there anyway for the live bait that can possibly introduce some other kind of disease or invasive species so why not get some smelt Either way I'm going to be cautious and within the law but I am also not going to live in a plastic bubble Steve also said that the re-animated ciscos worked pretty good and I want to go to Ely so I will probably get some ciscos too.

[Steve Foss]

Jon, freezing doesn't kill everything. VHS isn't killed by freezing, which is essentially what started this whole mess in the first place.

After Monday, I have full confidence in the rehydrated treated cisco.

[deadeye]

I understand that, and the science behind it, after all its part of what I went to school for. Its frustrating when you know people that get really nice clean stuff from places like Ojibway (not superior) though. But the law is the law and I am the first one to get in trouble if I break it so I just don't.

I am glad to see that whats legal is working and really don't have much of a reason to try and find alternatives.

[Xplorer]

Jon, I've been on many laker and pike outings where tip-ups were all we used. Most of my guided pike trips are tip-ups, with occasionally some baitcast rod/reel deadbait rigs.

Tip-ups do not work at all for lakers, trust me on this one

May have to give the re-gurgitated, err, re-susitated, or was it re-whatever cisco's a try on a local lake as soon as the ice satabilizes. You are a trooper on this one Steve

[pulleye16]

I've read the english use herring alot and so do some other states. I heard people on here were looking to do the same. Any reports yet? How about Sardines? These are both still legal right? (sorry, have not read any of the new laws yet, won't be getting out 'til around christmas time.)

[Steve Foss]

Sardines work great for pike, I'm told, but they seem kinda spendy from the price research I've done.

The new regs only apply to cisco/tulibee/lake herring and smelt.

[Steve Foss]

BTW, has anyone picked any fresh frozen smelt up at Vados yet? It's technically "later in the week."

[Great Outdoors]

The DNR was having a meeting this afternoon, and from what I was told were going to ban these Smelt and brined,frozen Herring.

I'm expecting a message on the answering machine at the shop tomorrow morning, giving me the bad news.

[reinhard1]

vados is sold out of the frozen smelt approved by the dnr. now as said by outdoors he is waiting for a possible ammmendment to the ruling that would cover all smelt for preserving. so it looks like possibly the preserved fish will rule the day. my guess is that there would be too much confusion on the ice on which smelt is which, which is understandable. some smart guy will figure out to make these preserved baits, in whatever form is approved to be the best bait ever, maby that will be you steve. good luck.