WOW! You guys crushed it! I remember back in the 70's when everyone was pulling in massive hauls and filling garbage cans at Pt. Peele. Those were the days. An old timer I used to work with never even bothered to bring any gear. He would just go down to the beach with his bucket and ask if anyone would like to fill his bucket for him, and everyone there would be happy to do it!
@@outdoorkruse - Unfortunately, we no longer have a smelt run here. You would be lucky to get a half bucket while pulling an all nighter. I remember the campfires on the beach and the party like atmosphere. Those were wonderful times.
While fishing for steelhead I was kept awake many a night listening to "We are rejoicing, bringing in the Smelt" being sung at the top of their voices.
I did this woth my dad when i was little. He passed away many years ago. I cant wait to do this with my son. Its been a really long time since i did this and always wanted to do it again. Hopefully when my little one gets older. It was somenof the beat smelt ive ever had.
Brings back memories all right. I wish I would have known about that back saving rope back in the day! That's a great idea. I grew up on Lake Michigan and a proper smelt party would feature a pony barrel in the yard. I usually got cleaning duty. There would be a Sheepsaid card game after smelting and that would sometimes go on until first light. Good times!
I used to dig a small pit and line it with plastic on the beach . Creating a small pond .That will clean off the smelt in the pond and with a 10 inch round bait net with a 3 foot pole and no bending over to collect the fish in the pond. You just go out in the water bring in the net . Dump the smelt in the pond and two people on shore catch them up and into a cooler. Awesome stuff guys .
Awesome catching them, takes forever to clean them🤣 I miss that growing up in MI, we use to run over to Au Gres every Spring to catch a few. Never hear of anybody doing it anymore, good to see some people still enjoying it.
I remember back when you could have camp fires. It was so much fun. Now it's all about rules and the government telling you NO. bring back the "good ol days"
I’m 75, when I was a kid, we lived in Conneaut Ohio, we would go smelting every year! There was a creek that ran into Lake Erie, I think it was called Turkey creek, we dip netted, and if it was a good run, we might get 2 or 3 five gallon buckets, good times!
those were the days we followed all the spawning runs, once from returning from fishing for walleye on a river out of lake Winnebego Wisconsin known for its sturgeon tons of people lined a narrow creek, I went to check it out and they were pulling in nice yellow perch .We had white bass runs too where you could bring home a garbage can full. good smoked. Hand catching suckers was simply primitive.poor computer generation. return to nature.
Smelting in the 70’s: 99 cent six packs of Hamns, setting the river banks on fire, and finding your smelt net on roof of your car the next morning after driving ten miles home the night before. Good times!
I'd go to Duluth with my Dad in the seventies. He was a musher back then and always looking for good cheap dog food. He smoked the fish and it was candy for the dogs some he would smoke and then dry in the sun for the family. A pocket full of smelt to eat in school. Smelled so good. We would get about 200 gallons every trip . Not sure how he did it but we always made a big haul. He and Mom would sit out on the lawn with scissors and clean fish while we went to school. Those were great times. I never went in the water like dad did I just stand on a gravel bar and scoop in the water and sometimes you had to dump off some fish or break the handle on the net cause it was so full. Great fishing, Great times, Great memories
@@Barnfind. Thanks for sharing this! Family history is the basis of every story. Not sure you were charming the girls with a pocket full of smelt in school, ha!
I was stationed at Duluth international airport from 72-76 we loved the smelt run, no limit,we used to fill garbage cans full. Drank beer smoked dubes had a great time. Those days are gone now. My grandkids won't see what I did but I guess that's the way it goes. I wonder if they still bite the head off the first smelt they catch , probably not because they're a bunch of pussies now.😂😂😂
Used to go smelting on the creeks running into Seneca Lake in ny many years ago, was great times. Unfortunately no smelt in that or any of the finger lakes any longer. Old timers say the zebra mussels killed off the smelt……
I agree with everyone else that it brings back memories. My parents would come home from work and load up the car and go to pt. peele. We would go to either side of the point go into the park to fish Just outside of the park there was a little dam along side of the road that's where we would fish mostly. There was a little place called three sisters store/ snack bar across the road from there. Also an ice cream place before that. Where the women's restroom was at.
Exactly! I gift out 6-8 gallons. I personally do a smelt fry at our seasonal campground. But... I will with hopes be doing a cleaing/cooking video tonight! Love the little bastards!
Purposely introduced species can absolutely be classified as invasive. Common carp were introduced on purpose in the 1800s, now they are one of the worst invasives.
Don't bend over to pick up your cigarettes like my dad did 😂 it took a while for his brother and friends to get him out. ( they had all been waiting for the fish and having one or maybe 2 drinks 😢 ) almost lost my dad over smelt. Don't smoke and fish for smelt in Duluth.😅
They would bring back so much smelt you got tired of looking at them let alone trying to clean them. Used garbage cans, buckets. You probably couldn't do any of this nowadays let alone crossing the border.
They are absolutely not invasive. They were purposely introduced, just like rainbow, browns, cohos, and chinook. If you were waiting for this, you knew in the back of your mind that what you were doing is wrong.
They were brought from Maine on purpose around WW1. Do my research? I know where they came from, I told you twice. You and your Robin Hood giving to the poor BS excuse is the reason Michigan put a 2 gallon limit on smelt several years ago. I'm not going to listen to what the Minn DNR says, they only care about the inland water in your state. They planted cohos less than five years, opposed to Michigan planting them in Superior for 40. If it's not a muskie or walleye, Minn Dnr could give a rip less. It's fish hog slobs like yourselves that screw up the forage base for sportsman in the two other States and one Provence.
Rainbow smelt are native to the Atlantic Ocean. It’s very possible they invaded the Great Lakes through the Welland Canal, which was built to allow ocean-going ships to pass between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie and then the rest of the Great Lakes. Lots of critters entered the GL’s thru the Welland Canal including the sea lamprey.
@@cohoanglervancouverwa6755 Here's a paper to look at. I can't put in a link because it will get deleted. From The Canadian Field-Naturalist 1944, by JR Dymond "Spread of the smelt (Osmerus mordax) in the Canadian waters of the Great Lakes. Page 8 of this years Minnesota Fishing regulations only lists Ruffe, round goby, bighead, and silver carp as invasive. The content creator is just using the invasive argument as an excuse to justify his behavior. I don't think if he had one wish to make smelt disappear from the Midwest completely he would take it. I bet he would for the species Minnesota lists as invasive. I stand by my guns, 26 gallons is gross overharvest.
@@webb-cast1030I agree that the amount harvested seems really excessive and perhaps wasteful. But I was only commenting on the origin of rainbow smelt in the GL’s, not on the ethics of harvesting an invasive species to excess.
