A small creek in Michigan's Upper Peninsula holds lots of Smelt for dipping during the day. It is amazing the number. #smelt #fredtrost #DipSmeltDaytime #DaytimeDipSmelt #SmeltDippingMichigan #practicalsportsman
I always respected Fred for his views on conservation. Without conservation, we would hunt or fish a species to extinction. I sure miss watching Fred on tv. He was the epitome of ethical hunting and fishing.
Wow does it make my day to see these videos again ! I grew up without a father and these shows are what got me interested in hunting and fishing .. Good stuff please post more .
I remember this episode and it's always good to hear Fred's voice again thank you Zack for putting these clips up. Michigan needs an outdoor show like this again...maybe using these old clips for the second half??? Hmmm need help... I'm game :)
Fred was a head of his time with conservation. I seem to remember a video where he wounded a doe and tore up his doe permit. Fred lived by principals that people today don't possess or want to unfortunately.
I remember my grandpa and his buddies coming back with huge trash cans full of smelt that grandma and I would clean (and cook). That would have been in the 70’s. I haven’t had fried smelt in a very, very, very long time.
I was born in 1956 and grew up watching Michigan Outdoors with Mort Neff and Jerry Chiapetta. My dad would always watch the program on Thursday night. I was just a child and had no particular interest in hunting or fishing other than the occasional fishing trips with my dad however Mort Neff had a style and charisma that I really enjoyed as a child. I consider that the golden age of Michigan Outdoors. When Fred Trost took over I considered him the perfect host to replace Mort Neff. I so miss Fred and his shows and its so heartwarming to be able to watch these old programs. Michigan Out of Doors these days just cannot compare to anything Fred Trost did. He is missed by so many thousands of viewers in Michigan. I would love to be able to sit back on a thursday night a cue up some of his old shows..
i watched Fred's roast when I lived in Michigan up until I moved out in 2006 I can't even remember the last time I saw the show but it was certainly more than 15 years ago... I moved back in 2019 and just by chance in 2024 While coming up on the smelt dipping season and searching youtube videos I found this one and I knew Fred Trost's voice before I saw his face in the video
I seen hog island on us 2 where the hole river was black 1991!And it was 2pm sunny day during trout season! All the dippers went home there was old camp fire everywhere!! Smelt season was over for 14_21 days or better!! We broke a net first dip rounded it!! U couldn't even see the sand on the bottom of river!! Just black from the smelt!And not just a few spots the hole river for 5_6 bends!!for as I walked so may have bean more!! All together 2 ,55 gallon drums!! In under a hour!! We helped other people that were just driving buy stopped!! A older couple wanted for a old age home they ran!! So we fill them up!!! Couldn't believe it! I think there coming in later when all dippers go home!! It's one of the last great memories I have of my dad!! And our time together!!! Love ya dad!!
Wow that is very Interesting. I do have a question: What did you do with all that Smelt? I remember my dipping days and how much time it took to just clean less than a 5 gallon bucket. Good Times & that amount of Smelt was enough to satisfy our family & friends for the year.
What a great show! Grew up watching this. I remember in the early 90's running into Mr Trost at the silver dollar saloon. I was there quite a few weekends. If i remember the name right, the band that always played there was The Kicker band. Great time, great music. Fred always had a smile and was very friendly when i would see him there.
Yes it was, was sad to see it go. Thank you for posting all these, great ride down memory lane and now my kids can grow up watching your dad. Thank you so much again!!
Wow I remember this episode. I always looked forward to Thursday nights. Mort Neff (sp) and later on Fred and I still watch Jimmy when I get the chance. Thanks Much for this one for sure!
I remember a creek in the U.P. that would over flow with suckers. You could almost walk across the creek, those suckers were coming up on the banks!! Watching the suckers gather out in lake Michigan and as the sun was going down the closer that black mass would come to shore. As a 10yr old kid, this was an amazing site to see!!! Now the nightmares of cleaning all the smelt your father and friends would bring home ugh....the many fish fry's to follow were oh so yummy!!!
i miss you fred.. I watched your show every week in my teens.. Zack could you please post more videos or tell me if there is a set a available for purchase? Man i would love to own a set and share them with my children
I remember Smelt Fishing back in the 70's they would dip continuously for hours filling up entire 50 gallon drums. They would hang a 50 gallon drum in an inner-tube and fill it right up. My dad would give most of it away, rarely keeping more than a few pounds for the freezer. This was in lower peninsula too. You don't see smelt numbers like that anymore. They would actually have to stop because their arms were too tired from dipping the nets or ran out of storage for the fish.
When he meant giving them to others, a lot of older or poor people can't hunt or fish like the younger days, but still enjoy fresh caught fish or game, I'm sure that none went to waste.
Well back in the late 60's early 70's, it was like an hour to fill two garbage cans, my mother would freeze them in 1/2 gallon milk cartons and we ate them a couple of times a week, none went to waste, she always fixed them by dipping them in batter and frying the whole fish, head to tail, guts and all. This was on the Carp River UP.
It's not a mystery then why you rarely see smelt like that anymore. Thanks to the greedy ones who just couldn't get their fill,. But wanted it all for themselves. Then have the gall to brag about it too. Disappointing to say the least.
That's crazy... I have to sit on the ice to catch them one at a time with hook and line. I'm glad to see they were not too greedy with them though. In my territory, we have a limit of 60 per day.
I never realized you could catch smelt in the daytime. The main reason I never went for them is because you could only catch them at night, according to local lore. The run's over for this year, but next year I'm gonna try dipping in daylight.
Zachary where did you guys catches all these smelts? I would like to come and catches some to eat. Can you tell me what is the name of the river and what city is it?
I just got back from dipping tonight. Dipped for several hours, got wet from waves, and 2 of us ended up with a total of 3 smelt. It's an improvement from last weeks 2 smelt trip, but watching this video now is just crazy! When was this filmed? Had to be a while ago... there's been a 2 gallon limit for a few years now.
I know there were legal issues with who has the rights to the video tapes, but if they are still around it would be awesome if they could be hosted on RU-vid. I think some money could be made monetizing the videos to make the effort worth it.
I remember when I first saw this, I wrote your dad. He said "I could look around Michigan for smelt". He never did reveal where. I cracked up when I read his letter. Because I knew this was one of his spots. I wish I could remember where I put that letter.
Interesting. Are they Native to Oregon? They are not to Michigan, were introduced into an inland lake in Lower Peninsula of Michigan, I think in the 1920's
@@Michigan-Outdoors For sure! Shared it with a friend who's never been smelt dipping and now this is his expectation for smelt fishing! Im afraid he may be disappointed! He keeps telling me that we need to go dip for smelt like this. Well.. A big maybe.
I remember the glory days dipping up in leland you could fill a garbage can if you wanted too.. probably why there are not as many now, that and the salmon..
That is an interesting question. I have only eaten them prepared in 2 ways that i recall. Deep fried and breaded and the other in a tomato type sauce but i think it was still fried. They are not at all like sardines they are not very fishy, the flesh is whte and firm. Along the lines of Bluegill/Brim. They are much larger than Minnows and are even caught through the ice in the winter on rods.
Back when this was filmed (I'm guessing in the 1980's), there was no limit on smelt in Michigan. In 2016, the smelt limit in most of Michigan is 2 gallons.
Thanks for the clarification of current regulations. Even so, the chances of finding Smelt you can dip during the day like this is very few and far between. Plus everything you dip, you have to clean.
I am not sure of the laws and Smelt fishery in Maine. In Michigan, Smelt were released in an inland lake around the 1920's. They eventually made it to most of Michigan's waterways. They have been declining for several years. But that is true for many invasive species. Anglers also fish for them on the ice on a few of our lakes. Some of these smelt get rather large, up to 12 inches.
LOL, Now that is funny, Sure this one afternoon of Smelt Dipping caused the down fall of Smelt. For the record they kept less than a 1/2 of a 5 gallon bucket. Actually by the early 90's, Smelt Populations had already nose-dived. Partially due to the fact, Smelt are an invasive species, they were introduced into Green lake in the Early 1900's. From there they worked there way all the way into the Great Lakes. Fishing pressure had nothing to do with the decline.
@@Michigan-Outdoors I wasn’t talking about them but others that took advantage of it, just like today going silver bass or white bass people take home hundreds of them and the limit is 25
No worries, I know what you are saying. We have limits and sizes set for a reason, when this is not followed you are correct it can have a very bad impact on populations.
Nice to hear back from you Zack. I seen you on TV back in the day with your Dad. He was a Great Man! and a true advocate for Michigan's outdoors. I know you're proud of him and even I Am too that I had the privilege to watch him growing up. G-D Bless your family.
Thanks to the mismanagement of the DNR those days of bucket full of smelt are long gone, it's rare to limit out now. In another 10 or 20 years most hunting and fishing in Michigan will be nonexistent because they have politicians running the DNR and not scientists and sportsman. It's sad to see the sports dying.
