eric888 Posted April 9, 2012 Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 If you can find a spot there you are a better spot finder than I am, haha . We fished in another spot on the River last night and only got a few keepers , the rest only 4-5" .....good for bait later . I have about a dozen .....just enough for a taste . smerchly the smaller ones are better lol. some of those big ones u almost need to fillet them. I keep the big one for pike they don’t mine the mercury Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted April 9, 2012 Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 smerchly the smaller ones are better lol. some of those big ones u almost need to fillet them. I keep the big one for pike they don’t mine the mercury I like them about 7-8" average Eric . The small ones are really like big minnows & a pain to clean up . I bagged up about 40 , put a dozen or so into a zip bag & covered them with water & froze them . They keep very well & look very fresh when used later . I believe any chemicals in them is very minute since the lakes are cleaner these days (I hope) . When you see them going out of the River by the truck load , somebody is eating a LOT of them . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niagarangler89 Posted April 10, 2012 Report Share Posted April 10, 2012 I made it out to Queenston on Friday night to experience first-hand what the whole 'smelt craze' was all about. Personally, I absolutely loved the atmosphere. People were friendly, garbage was minimal (for that amount of people), there was no fighting for spots, and the fishing was decent. Patience was definitely a virtue that night: we had to wait for the current to change up, which brought the schools of smelt in tight to shore. You knew a school was coming because everyone would tense up and then someone would yell, "NOW!" and everyone would start hauling their nets in--it really felt like a team effort. I might've been lucky and been down there on a good night, but I wanted to fill everyone in on my positive experience there. I hear it gets a lot worse when the smelt start running heavy, and I can see how doubling the amount of people down there could lead to some nasty situations. All in all, I had a great time! I also now have two ziplock baggies full of frozen smelt! Thank you AC/DC! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted April 10, 2012 Report Share Posted April 10, 2012 I have been tempted to try Queenston again but I'd wait for a nasty rainy day & wear rain gear rather than fight the crowds . One good outing per year is plenty for me . A 2 gal pail full is more than enough for my freezer as well as a few doz. for friends & family . I may wait to see if some come into Port Dal. later . I happened to Google up "niagara river smelt dipping" and was surprised at the findings . This link shows many spots to catch smelts all over Ontario ! http://ontariosportfishing.com/view_topic.php?forum_id=6&id=177http://ontariosportfishing.com/view_topic.php?forum_id=6&id=177 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AC/DC Posted April 10, 2012 Report Share Posted April 10, 2012 ACDC I'd still like to hear more about the DEC managing smelts. I viewed their regs and like the other species you are allowed to dip net for your limit is 8 quarts. I also found the following about bait. I'm not arguing with you, I just found the idea of managing an invasive for the purpose of preserving them a radical idea. If you hear anymore about this please share it Hi Dan, I was informed of Lewiston managing the amount of smelts being pulled from the river by a local angler that I bumped into at Gander Mountain. I have not researched their regulations to verify but he did mention it was because of the abuse. People taking much more than can be used personally. I know that they have a huge smelt festival in Lewiston first weekend in May. Perhaps it has to do with that particular area. I don't fish over there so I am not all that concerned with their regulations, just found it interesting that this guy mentioned it when I was inquiring about net material for smelting. He also mentioned that they have net regulations as well. I have no claim of being super knowledgeable about smelts and how invasive they may be, so there is no argument there. I just wanted to share information that was passed on to me. I still feel that people should not be pulling excessive amounts of smelts out of there for profit and I feel even more strongly about the garbage left behind. That kind of disregard for our environment is what will ruin it for everybody. It's simple, bring a garbage bag, they have garbage cans down there, use them! Don't throw your beer bottle in the river! or your water bottles! or food wrappers! I understand that things happen, you drop something, the wind catches it but I watch people just leave their garbage everywhere and there is no need for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AC/DC Posted April 10, 2012 Report Share Posted April 10, 2012 I made it out to Queenston on Friday night to experience first-hand what the whole 'smelt craze' was all about. Personally, I absolutely loved the atmosphere. People were friendly, garbage was minimal (for that amount of people), there was no fighting for spots, and the fishing was decent. Patience was definitely a virtue that night: we had to wait for the current to change up, which brought the schools of smelt in tight to shore. You knew a school was coming because everyone would tense up and then someone would yell, "NOW!" and everyone would start hauling their nets in--it really felt like a team effort. I might've been lucky and been down there on a good night, but I wanted to fill everyone in on my positive experience there. I hear it gets a lot worse when the smelt start running heavy, and I can see how doubling the amount of people down there could lead to some nasty situations. All in all, I had a great time! I also now have two ziplock baggies full of frozen smelt! Thank you AC/DC! Your welcome Niagarangler! I am glad you enjoyed your experience! We were fortunate, the group of people down there were very nice. I had a great time. Joey cooked his up the next day and he said they were delicious! We went down again last night and caught a few more, they seem to be coming in a little more now. Hope we all get to fish together again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icehut Posted April 11, 2012 Report Share Posted April 11, 2012 Had an excellent time Monday evening. Didn't bother wetting the net, as the smelt seemed very small and rather few and far between, but it was neat just to get close to such a big, badass river, and enjoy the friendly fishin' atmosphere. Very cool scene, guys with generators running lights, 20' long pole nets waving back and forth, dozens of people mucking about in the dark, lotsa fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric888 Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 are the smelts still running? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zuoxiaoxi Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 There are still some running now, but all of them are small ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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