Originally Posted by
Pygmy
Lanse... I feel your pain...
20 to 30 years ago we had excellent smelting here in NY's Finger Lakes.. Albeit it was a spring dipnet fishery , but it was dependable..
Not much left now...The smelt seem extinct or nearly so in most of our lakes, and the remaining fishery ( Cayuga) has decreased greatly from what it once was..
Dipping has pretty much came and gone from Michigan as well. I hear numerous stories about "back then" when people would line the truck beds and fill them up completely. These are honest stories. I guess that is why the fishery is the way it is today. We have a select few lakes with a steady population but they are targeted by many fisherman.
Originally Posted by
Phil from Maine
Here we have both fresh and salt water smelts.. I like those little fresh water smelts the best. I haven't fished for them in years though.. I might just go out and catch some for bait though. Also we only have a 200 fish limit here.. When dipping it is 2 quarts only..
They sure work great for bait. I always keep a few out, keep some alive, and freeze some. This is the first year that Michigan has ever had a limit, it is 2 gallons. The last catch of mine was very close, right around 2/5ths of a five gallon pale so I figured to call it a night.