Smelt [pics]

[ksfowler]

That is a great pile of fish there. How do you catch them?

[buckhunter14]

Originally Posted by ksfowler

That is a great pile of fish there. How do you catch them?

Similar to other fish, small fishing rod, light line, many hooks on one line, and any type of grub.

Must have an underwater light, fish them at night. They are attracted to the Plankton.

[Pygmy]

Sorry Crokit... Your memory betrays you...

The limit on Seneca, Keuka, and Cayuga was 8 quarts back then, as it is now...

Lake Erie and Ontario tribs had no limit, and may not today, but as far as I remember, the Finger Lakes have always had an 8 quart limit..

I know Cayuga ( Taughhannock) had a season for years, but it was not even legal to dip smelt in Keuka until around 1970.. Not sure about Seneca....

People may have been taking garbage cans full of smelt out of the Finger Lakes, but they sure were not doing it LEGALLY...

[crokit]

If I remember correctly, the use of a garbage can help some of the more unethical sportsman hide the fact that they may have had over the limit. Nothing saying you couldn't put 8 qts of smelt in a 2o gallon pail filled half way with water. I remeber seeing lots of the old timers doing it.