fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

If you ever have an opportunity to go ice fishing for smelt...at night...I would strongly encourage you to take in the adventure!

Spent about 5 hours last night sitting in a shanty over 45' of water in hopes of scrounging up enough hook and line caught smelt to make for a couple of deep fried meals. Got set up just as the sun went down, and stayed until just after midnight. Going after smelt at night is new to me...so this was a first time effort.

Haley jigs, tipped with small maggots, seems to be the preferred choice of tackle on this pursuit. I was using a 28" long standard ice fishing rod in a medium action, which made detecting a bite somewhat difficult. It was like closing your eyes, holding out an ostrich feather quill, and then trying to feel a common housefly land on the end of it. Very, very subtle! I missed a lot of bites, but did manage to catch 28 smelt...all in the 5" to 7" length range.

Everything is a keeper, and I felt like a giddy child every time I got a solid hook up and brought a wriggling fish up thru the hole. Back in the 60's, we used to dip net these rascals when they were more common and ran up into almost every Great Lakes river tributary to spawn. We even caught them in small ditches...and always well after dark. It was an annual fishing ritual for us kids. Lot's of excitement and hoopla, as well as having had permission to stay out late with our friends.

Fishing last night was an absolute blast, and by the time I had decided to call it quits I noticed I was sitting in a half inch deep water pool on the floor of the shanty as the internal ice surface melted from my ever glowing space heater. There was some lake water in the mix as well due to the recent heavy snowfall that was pressing down a little bit on the 8" thick ice surface so that water could weep in from the slight depressions around the borings.

Thank goodness for the heat! It was 20 degrees when I started, and 13 when I finished. After having spent 5 hours inside the shanty it was a rude awakening to step outside and start the take down process. The edge flaps of the shanty fabric had frozen to the ice and it was like pulling 9" wide industrial strength Velcro strips off!

Got home, cleaned fish and laid my head on the pillow by 1:30 am. Dreampt all night long, or so it seemed, that I was encapsulated in a "green room" jigging up smelt one after another. If I count all the fish I caught while sleeping my tally may have been closer to a hundred!

All set up and awaiting total darkness! There were about 20 other huts set up last night.


Took this shot of another fisherman's set up as I was walking back to shore. From the air I suspect that we all looked like a cryptic pictogram ready to guide an alien spaceship down for a landing!


Tried 3 different Haley jigs, and while they all caught fish, the white and pink barred one towards the bottom produced best last night. Although I do not use much in the way of live bait, having the hook tipped with a real meal was imperative.


Fish came and went during the night on the electronics. The guys who really have this sport dialed in do not bother with locators, but for me it was helpful to know when they were under the shanty. The bite went in cycles.


The fruits of my labor...a nice batch of fresh caught smelt.


A frosty walk back to the truck. I think some of my gear is still frozen this morning as it sits inside the truck, parked in a garage!


Ready to shake up in some breading (Drake's) and take a final trip into the deep fryer. My wife, "thank you dear", recently bought me a brand new "Fry Daddy" so that I can cook fish in a deeper container than a pan on the stove top.

bknecht Loc: Northeast pa

Beautiful photos FY, obviously had to have had a blast. Never tasted a smelt but do like sardines packed in oil and the kinda look similar. I’m jealous of you boys out there on the ice, we only had about 2 days of safe local hardwater this year.

FishingCowboy Loc: Redding, California

When I was a kid growing up in Detroit, my dad would go netting for smelt. I always wanted to go but never did.

I do remember having to partake of cleaning the little guys though. But the eating was well worth it.

fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

Thank you BK! Like yourself, I have always enjoyed canned sardines. As a youngster, the Bulldog brand in mustard sauce were always a big hit with my taste buds. Nowadays I have switched to the King Oscar brand in the Mediterranean flavor. Kippered snacks are on my list of favorite canned fish too.

Yes...smelt are very tasty...at least in my opinion! They are indeed a lot like a sardine as far as size goes.

We essentially lost the entire month of January for ice fishing this year due to warm temps as well...but finally things turned around in February and some lakes have had a stable 6 to 10 inches on and off. There are numerous places I would normally have gone (but not this season). They may have to wait until later in the season...or next year!

I did enjoy many of your catch stories when you had good ice...but I know that you would have enjoyed getting out more if things had been different.

fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

Yes...back in the day the Great Lakes smelt was a highly sought after fish! I think the salmon plantings pretty much wiped them out, along with many other small fish types around our regional waters. Thankfully, a remnant population does survive, and there are numerous deep inland lakes that host populations as well.

If you ever see them on a menu, and they are fresh caught...I would highly recommend giving them a try. Unique flavor. For some they are considered the best tasting fish of all...but just like anything that becomes a favorite...it's all in the eye (or taste buds) of the beholder.

The Outcast Loc: NE Michigan

Good job Yaker! Smelt were a staple for me in my younger days… Weyans fish store in Wyandotte was my go to place for my lunch when working at Great Lakes Steel. Call them up 1/2 hr before I left for work, and they would have a bucket of smelt cooked up with a couple dipping sauces…. Perfection.
I used to use them for walleye bait on a jig in the Detroit river as well. They would already be cleaned, and heads cut off, but made an excellent bait if you hooked them thru the tail and fished them backwards! Very oily and had a strong scent and the walleyes could not refuse them… a 32-1/2” 12lb female caught in 6’ of water on a jig/smelt combo still my PB walleye. Full of eggs and released…. The memories came flooding back from your post… Thanks!

fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

Thank you Outcast! Yes...for anybody that has lived around any of the Great Lakes the days of smelting rank very high on the "fun stuff to" do list! Great idea to use them for bait...big fish love to eat them! Quite a few guys I know around here do keep most of what they catch for dining...but also keep some in reserve for lake trout fishing thru the ice. Very cool that your PB walleye came on a real smelt! They remind me of many modern synthetic baits that are designed to run on jigs...

mistred64 Loc: Grayslake, illinois

When me and my friends were in our late teens and early twenties we went down to Montrose harbor on Lake Michigan, Chicago. You could only fish for smelt overnight with a net. We were there for the party, built a fire in a drum, coolers of beer, and BBQ. Lake Shore drive was to our backs. Great setting. Occasionally we pulled up the net hoping there weren't many smelt in there. The ones we caught I took home to my mom and dad and they cleaned and cooked them. I'm not a fan of smelt but my wife loves them. Too bad she wasn't around then.

UncleRob Loc: NE Maryland

I never smelt a smelt like that smelt smelt. Sorry, I had to.

NJ219bands Loc: New Jersey

Fluke like smelt.

FishingCowboy Loc: Redding, California

Ok….. that was funny! I don’t care
What the rest of them say!

fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

You have described a very typical "smelt outing" from back in the day. Many participants in the smelt runs made it a festive occasion and had a good time while going after them...regardless of how serious they were! Fun for me to hear some of the old smelt stories!

I deep fried the ones I caught yesterday, along with 10 yellow perch...and had a small feast! They really are very tasty when fresh. Like many oily fish that is the case...best when fresh!

fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

I could smell that joke coming when I decided on the post title...glad someone had a similar tickle in their funny bone!

fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

I would not be surprised if many other fish species enjoy them too! It's kind of a funny thing to eat something this small on the "bait chain" side of things. For instance, I could never envision myself getting excited about eating worms, night crawlers, minnows, leeches, waxworms, crickets, grasshoppers, etc. when it comes to using bait for fishing...but a smelt...still being a great bait...is absolutely delicious for people to eat!

It reminds me of a fish french fry. Once deep fried, you eat the entire body...skin, fins, bones and all! Of course as I pictured them in a bowl above after cleaning...no head or innards!

fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

Life would be boring without a good sense of humor!