Dan Andrews Posted April 17, 2010 Report Share Posted April 17, 2010 Hey I went down to Queenston last night to see this fiasco first hand. When I got to the parking lot most people were on the way out. Seems the smelt run is still heavy enough that everyone is getting their fill and they don't need to stay until all hours of the night. I talked to a few people in the parking lot who were all really nice and told me it was safe to hit the launch as there was plenty of room last night. I went down and immediately got a spot on the end of the dock at the ramp. I saw no garbage in the water. I saw very little on the land although it was dark and the lights were kind of blinding me. There were many bright lights on the US side also. I began tossing my 4 foot minnow mesh with holes on a 6 foot frame and quickly got one smelt. Half a dozen throws later I still only had one. Heard someone behind me and turned to receive from friendly advice from some Indian fellows. The told me if I hit the other side of the retaining wall that the smelts were pushing each other out of the water right on shore. I thanked them and told them I was good as long as I managed at least 3 dozen; enough for a meal. "Oh is that all you want" one said with a smile and instructed me over to his truck. He grabbed my "planter bucket " and dipped it into his tote full of smelts. What a great bunch of guys . They saw I was not equipped and shared the wealth. This seemed to be the way things work down there. Everybody is helping each other out and sharing their harvest. So my night was done (pre cleaning anyway) so I head back up to the parking lot and chatted with a few guys up there again. Guys were working hard to get their bags of smelts up the hill. I wish I had brought my coleman stove last night because I know there were allot of people who would have been willing to help me clean a few and cook them too . For anyone who thinks it's bad to over harvest smelt from our fisheries think again! http://dnr.wi.gov/invasives/fact/rainbow_smelt.htm Look at the picture above and imagine what 75,000 eggs a piece can turn into. These fish will then eat laketrout larvae and other game fish before they get a chance to start life as well as eat walleye out of a home. These invasive creatures were swarming out of the water and oozing billions of eggs on our shoreline last night. It was good to see totes upon totes being hauled out of there. If only gobies made themselves that available. Remember when Rob MacIntosh held up a big bag of gobies the kids helped remove from our waters on Kids day a few years back? That was a good thing but it was only a half drop in the bucket compared to the smelt harvest. Has anyone here ever read the consumption suggestions for rainbow smelt? Eek . I guess we are lucky to have these people come from all over the province to help get them out of the water. It took me over an hour to clean all mine and it just didn't seem worth my time because there is less meat there then a good trout. So the smelt harvesters are helping the Lake, disposing of the contamination and I enjoyed the friendly atmosphere. It is amazing how nice everyone is when you approach them the right way . Thanks guys for saving my night and sharing your food. Hope to see you again next year and I'll bring a better net for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minnow killer Posted April 17, 2010 Report Share Posted April 17, 2010 thats a nice haul of smelts. and they are still running. so i might just have to go try out my new dip net tomorrow. Thanks for the report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigugli Posted April 17, 2010 Report Share Posted April 17, 2010 What you experienced, Dan, is something that has long been forgotten by most in our society. The collective harvest. Smelting, net fishing, etc.. is a community event. Many immigrants still understand the concept, as do many who live up north. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.appel13 Posted April 17, 2010 Report Share Posted April 17, 2010 thats alot of fish, Ill have to wait till next year to try out the smelting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Andrews Posted April 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2010 I just talked to my local contact who told me it was a mess down there this morning still so the clean up is on for next Sunday 5pm. I will post details on another thread tomorrow. We may have some special guests helping us Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riverfisher22 Posted April 17, 2010 Report Share Posted April 17, 2010 hey chilli those are actually atlantic salmon smolts, your info had been given to the mnr again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil R Posted April 17, 2010 Report Share Posted April 17, 2010 This morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted April 17, 2010 Report Share Posted April 17, 2010 If it's true that smelts are an invasive fish that is causing damage to the fishery , then by all means bring the commercial boats in and load up the tanks . I wrongly assumed that taking tons of smelt was detrimental to feeding the salmon , and if they are being sold , then it creates a market to get rid of more smelts and puts extra cash into peoples pockets . That is a good thing . There used to be a good run of smelts at Port Dalhousie harbour , usually a little later than the Niagara River run . I took my net there after dark last night & didn't catch one single smelt .....maybe try again in a few days . It was great of those guys to give you some of their catch Chilli , they look like nice smelts ! I have an extra 4' frame that I pulled up from the harbour last fall , you can have it for minnows etc. It looks like there's a nice load of garbage to be collected .....maybe a bucket would be handy for broken glass . Be careful . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.appel13 Posted April 17, 2010 Report Share Posted April 17, 2010 I am completly new to the fishing world, so how does this smelting work? How long does it go on for? I am assuming im a little late but id love to go out next year and try. Looks like some good fun, My son would love getting a bunch of fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted April 17, 2010 Report Share Posted April 17, 2010 B.appel13 ....if you have some time , take a drive to Queenston where the jet boats are , at the boat ramp area and watch how they catch them . They use bright lights at the waters edge after dark and use 6 foot nets on a rope to haul the smelts out . I've seen so many smelts in the net , like 500 , that the net breaks . We catch smelts one at a time through the ice but can catch about 100 each per hour . I still have another meal in the freezer from ice fishing . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigugli Posted April 17, 2010 Report Share Posted April 17, 2010 I might just run down for a go real soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.appel13 Posted April 17, 2010 Report Share Posted April 17, 2010 I dont have my licence yet hoping to get it on tuesday. But i might have to take a run down there after that. Looks like a good time. If I get a C licence is there a limit on them if I just so happen to get lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Andrews Posted April 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2010 hey chilli those are actually atlantic salmon smolts, your info had been given to the mnr again Well aren't you allowed just one. The others were caught by my 700 friends and they forgot them at my house B.appel13 all you need is a license and a minnow mesh landing net. Don't forget something to put them in. NO LIMIT but read the regs; don't take my word for it. There are just as many dead smelt on the bottom as on shore. Some of the nets were coming up so full that picking them off the rocks just wasn't all that important. Those pictures don't look any worse than most times of the year ; kinda like the whirlpool in the fall. Looks like thick leather gloves are a must. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigugli Posted April 17, 2010 Report Share Posted April 17, 2010 hey chilli those are actually atlantic salmon smolts, your info had been given to the mnr again That's it! Somebody bend Chilli over while I get the big paddle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_feelgood Posted April 18, 2010 Report Share Posted April 18, 2010 That's it! Somebody bend Chilli over while I get the big paddle Big ug.......that's my job and you know it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_feelgood Posted April 18, 2010 Report Share Posted April 18, 2010 hey chilli those are actually atlantic salmon smolts, your info had been given to the mnr again river.. they sure as hell look like smelt to me. Chilli has done more good for the resourses then most do against it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik.T. Posted April 18, 2010 Report Share Posted April 18, 2010 hey chilli those are actually atlantic salmon smolts, your info had been given to the mnr again those are rainbow smelt, smolt would have parr marks on them and they wouldn't bee as long and skinny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvevolution Posted April 18, 2010 Report Share Posted April 18, 2010 the same thing happened when we were down there. we weren't fishing for Smelt and we couldn't get a spot to throw our lines in, so we just watched. the Chinese family next to us offered us some, but I said no cause we didn't have anything to put them in. mext thing you know, she's back with a shopping bag and filled the bag for us. how nice was that? these were also the family that was cleaning up garbage while they fished. we took the Smelt home and I spent an hour beheading, gutting and cleaning them, then I soaked them in milk overnight, to get any fishy flavour out that might be offputting to some of the members of my family. then I fried em the next day in flour and black pepper. they were good, but I wouldn't rant and rave over them. just my taste I suppose, but I put a whole bunch in the freezer for cat bait...............the cats in Gibson really seem to like them in chunks, so free bait it is. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvevolution Posted April 18, 2010 Report Share Posted April 18, 2010 and yes, they are indeed Rainbow Smelt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Andrews Posted April 18, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2010 I'm very sure the smolt comment was sarcasm guys they were good, but I wouldn't rant and rave over them You soaked them in milk why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riverfisher22 Posted April 18, 2010 Report Share Posted April 18, 2010 lol yeah i was poking fun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigugli Posted April 18, 2010 Report Share Posted April 18, 2010 lol yeah i was poking fun I still think he needs a paddlin. Eh DOC? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riverfisher22 Posted April 18, 2010 Report Share Posted April 18, 2010 Using his own kayak paddle, make an example of him for other poachers to see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron4blues Posted April 18, 2010 Report Share Posted April 18, 2010 Atlantic Salmon smolts are a different life stage than parr, and should have no parr markings. While it could be easy to confuse a smolt with a smelt, of course, you won't find Atlantic Salmon smolts in the hundreds of thousands congregating in Ontario lakes or streams. So even though the comment was a joke, it still raises the point that species identification is important, especially with immature fish that may not have the same traits as an adult version of their species. Smolt: Smelt: Parr: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spottedGARRR Posted April 18, 2010 Report Share Posted April 18, 2010 Great info coachman, thanks for taking the time to educate us all =] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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