Mainely outdoors – Winter anglers setting up for smelt season

While most winter anglers must wait for New Year’s Day to auger holes and drop a line for trout, togue, splake and salmon, some ice drillers will be fishing as soon as s safe layer of ice freezes. A half-dozen regional lakes open early for Maine’s smallest game fish, the tiny, tasty smelt, and on most waterways the early season produces the most consistent action. Best of all, gear is inexpensive, tactics are simple and results are dependable even for novice or young ice fishermen.
Individual involvement remains one of the prime reasons smelt fishing is so much fun. Unlike sitting, watching, and waiting for a tip-up flag to fly, smelt anglers jig hand lines with cut bait or small jigs to entice strikes from traveling schools of silver slivers. Since smelt are plentiful and generally more cooperative feeders than their big brother game fish species, they are a perfect quarry for kids just getting into winter fishing.
Another attractive feature of smelt jigging is the enjoyable option of using a warm, comfortable smelt shanty, and of course the added incentive of a fishing hut is the chance to go out fishing even if it’s dark. After working all day a sportsman can visit a nearby lake for a couple of hours in the evening and not only relax but catch a few succulent smelt for breakfast. Some ardent smelters have cook stoves in their fish shacks so they can enjoy supper between catching a few dozen fish. Regardless of how cold a night is, a toasty fishing hut makes every outing comfortable, and in my experience smelt usually bite better between dusk and midnight.
Although most any type of line will work for smelt jigging I prefer 6- to 8-pound monofilament, it’s lightweight, fairly transparent, doesn’t stiffen in cold water and inexpensive even on bulk spools. Ten dollars will buy enough mono to rig half a dozen lines for an entire family with plenty left over for spares or replacements. Size 6 or 8 hooks are perfect for jigging cut bait and when possible purchase red, or my favorite, gold plated hooks. The flash and shine of colored hooks entice more strikes and I’ve even seen smelt grab a bare gold hook being pulled up after another fish stripped the bait from the barb.
Speaking of bait, nothing works better than a freshly caught filleted and diced smelt. Leave the skin attached and skewer the hook point and barb through the tough hide, it’s not unusual to catch half a dozen fish without losing the bait. Always leave one smelt on the cutting board in the shanty after fishing, it will freeze until you warm up the hut the next trip and then the fish will thaw and provide fresh bait. If a smelt isn’t available, canned shrimp will work almost as well, and I’ve seen folks hook silver darters with marshmallows, Vienna sausage, bread balls, hot dog pieces and even suet.
A round sinker about the size of a pencil eraser (avoid lead sinkers whenever possible) should be crimped onto the line 12- to 16-inches above the hook. Some anglers prefer to hold their line and jig continuously, frequently changing depths, while others put out multiple lines and just let them hang at different depths, wiggling each only occasionally. Hanging smelt lines are usually suspended from an overhead nail in the ceiling of the smelt shanty above the ice hole. Sometimes a moderately stiff piece of wire is attached to the nail, then the line is half-hitched to the short wire to allow more noticeable movement when a smelt strikes the bait.
An old trick I still utilize is to double half hitch a wooden kitchen match to each line about a foot or two above the water level in the ice hole. Not only does the match easily twitch and twirl at even the lightest nibble, allowing anglers to quickly visualize hits, but the match offers a simple way to grab and secure the line to set the hook. For outdoor smelters, or those that hang onto their lines and jig continuously when inside, the match offers a comfortable hand hold.
To prevent tangling, misplaced lines or worst of all, dropping and losing a line and jig down the open hole, some sort of handle or storage container is needed. I cut an eight-inch piece of lathe, saw a V-notch in each end, then sand it smooth and paint the wood a bright color to prevent loss or misplacement. I drill a hole in the center so the terminal end of the monofilament or line can be tied off permanently, then wind the rest of the line around the stick in the notches and bury the hook point into the wood to hold everything in place. This no-tangle, simple to carry and store line-holder will even float if accidentally dropped from frigid fingers into the water.
If enough safe ice forms before the New Year, visit one of these early-open smelt lakes near you: Squa Pan Lake, Big Machias Lake, Pleasant Lake, Spaulding Lake and Umcolcus Lake. After January1st all open ice fishing waterways with populations of smelt are open to fishing, Square and Long lakes offer excellent handlining. On many lakes it’s possible to set out four tip-ups for larger species, but leave one line free to jig for smelt while waiting and watching for flags.
Small they might be, but smelt are a lot of fun and cooperative for anglers of all ages and experience levels, and they are delicious tablefare. Sometimes ice fishing isn’t all about the trophy-size catches, it’s about consistent action and a nice warm fish hut.