He who Smelt it,,,,,

Kallitype's mention of those yummy little candle fish reminded me of the days of yore when three swings of the net produced a 20 lb limit in the Cowltiz or Lewis. Ahhh, thems were the days boyz.
(probably has something to do with eulachon approaching the endangered list too)

 That said, they still taste good (yes, as a matter of fact I do eat bait) and the Columbia mainstem is open for sport dipping. Anybody actually ever done that? Think you could pull it off in the yak?

The only smelt that I'll see are in the freezer section. Down here people dip for shrimp and I've been thinking (ah oh ) of a yak-sized trawl. Maybe a couple of pink lady divers and a pool noodle with a cast net? It's guaranteed to be no fun at all to paddle, but you should'nt have to go very far with it down (that is assuming that it does not drag you down to the bottom first)

Anybody been there and done that? Any thoughts?

I saw fresh smelt in the fish counter at Vashon thriftway this week---wonder where they came from???  Used to clean them after netting them  (in Lake Huron the the 1970's) by snipping the heads off with kitchen scissors, a snip and a thumb-flick to remove guts, then drop them in tempura batter and into the deep fry, yummy!!  You could net a washtub full in a night back then.

long time smelt dipper here... off the yak would be interesting to say the least.  I always just went off the bank, tried the boat thing but it wasn't more effective.  The numbers are so low these days I can't justify going and beating up on a seriously depressed run.

I saw fresh smelt in the fish counter at Vashon thriftway this week---wonder where they came from???  Used to clean them after netting them  (in Lake Huron the the 1970's) by snipping the heads off with kitchen scissors, a snip and a thumb-flick to remove guts, then drop them in tempura batter and into the deep fry, yummy!!  You could net a washtub full in a night back then.

Lol!  I litterally just caught myself drooling while reading this.  I remember frying these up as a kid.  Some salt and pepper, a little raw onion and a big heap of rice.  Mmmmmmm.  Damn, I just drooled again.... 

I remember my step brothers going smelt fishing somewhere in longview. and smoking them.

I remember my step brothers going smelt fishing somewhere in longview. and smoking them.

thats where I most often dipped.  I love them for sturgeon bait and smoked they are hard to beat for boat snacks, we don't even clean them.  Just brine and smoke,  love those crunchy tails..  maybe this year I will go get a few for old times sake.