Conference wahoo::fishing-v2

    Already???  They didn't show up last year until early October.  Anyhow,
    You know Me.  Any evening I'm game (but I think I'll wait until
    October).  I seemed to miss that tidbit in the Fisherman... Was it this
    weeks?  Where?  I don't trust the "Fishin' Pole".  He seems to
    exaggerate beyond control.  Soon as someone catches 1 smelt "The smelt
    are biting like all get out in Beverly/Salem Harbor".  How come I never
    see anyone catch those cooler's full of flats?  The best trip I had was
    17 flatties 12-16" off hospital point.  Every time I fish off Baker's
    Island, all I get is weed.  Haven't found "the bottom" for flounder
    there yet.  I'll call my pal at the bait store and get the scoop.
    
    Tim
    

    I called Sawyers and they said it'd be a couple more weeks before they
    put the shacks out... 8^)
    
    donmac - maybe I'll put some pontoons under smelt shack 8^)

    Tim,
    	I'll have to double check the Fisherman. I've only been getting it
    	for 2 weeks now - I haven't learned what to trust yet! Its
    	probably best to wait until Oct. anyway - I would imagine any
    	bluefish in the area would tend to break up the schools of smelt.
    
    			Robert.
    

    My thoughts exactly.  Between bluefish and harbor seals, we're lucky if
    we get any smelt this year!  BTW, p. 42 of The Fisherman, #36
    (5-sep-91) under the QUINCY section claims "It's good to hear about the
    first smelt catches in Scituate and off the Pemberton Pier in Hull. 
    Let's hope they survive their bluefish predators."
    
    Tim
    
    P.S. I'll wait until mid october.  By then all the blues should be
    gone.
    

    re: .last
    	Whew! Thanks Tim! I looked in The Fisherman last night and
    	couldn't find where I had seen smelt mentioned! I was ready
    	to write in here that maybe I had imagined the whole thing :*).
    
    		Perhaps I'm not losing my mind after all!
    				Robert.

    I'm pleased to be the first one this year to enter a note about
    CATCHING smelt.  I got a whopping 3.  One about 4", the others about
    7".
    
    Kelly's Landing, South Boston.  Preference was for a plain hook.  Got a
    few hits on a pimple (single hook) but couldn't stick 'em.
    
    I may try Salem tonight.  Yo Robert, want to go?  Give me a ring @
    (508) 671-9763 if so.
    
    Tim

    re: .6
    
    	aaargh! Class tonight Tim. Thanks for the offer though. I expect a
    	full report by Friday. (so I can decide if I want to try it out on
    	the weekend!) :*)
    
    			Robert.

    No smelt in Salem yet...  Will post when they arrive.
    

    couple of questions for ya.
    
    is all smelting done at night?
    
    do you need to fish for them on a boat? or from shore?
    
    my brother inlaw fishes for them but in freshwater? they
    do live on both salt and fresh correct? and it sounds like
    you need the smallest rod available, like a jigger etc. help
    me out just courious, i'm lucky my wife lets me fish during the
    day, because at night she wouldnt think i was fishing. WHEN i 
    STUMBLED in.
    
    						Ronni

    The answer to .9 is it depends.  On what?  I'll tell you.
    
    Smelt are anadromous, they live in both fresh and salt.  The salt ones
    return to fresh water to spawn.  They do so largely on the first
    incoming tide of the evening.  Hence the reason we fish for them at
    night.
    
    You do not need a boat.  I've heard of people fishing out of jon boats
    in the Parker river, but I've never fished out of a boat and I've
    caught many.  A dock, pier, wall, etc. is fine.  Or in Great Bay, you
    fish through the ice.  In a shack, a very short rod is used, usually
    with no reel.  Off piers, I use my standard fresh-water spinning
    reels, although lots of people fish for them with cane poles (or
    fiberglass equivalents).  These poles are up to 12' in length.  THe
    advantage to the length is that you can swing the fish up in one smooth
    motion.  This has two advantages: you don't lose the depth you were
    fishing at and they don't get away as easy.  Stop moving them upward
    for .001 seconds and they are almost always gone.
    
    Hope this helps.  Send mail and I'll take you down to Beverly some
    night if you want...
    
    Tim
    

    Any word on those smelt yet? Tim?
    
    
    			Robert.

    As a matter of fact, yes.  Last night (Sunday) I got about 18 down in
    Beverly.  Send me you DTN/Home phone in a mail message and I'll call
    you next time I go.  I am planning on going every Tues & Wed night
    while they are around.  With the gale warning running into tonight, I
    don't know if I'll go Tuesday.  If it is at all fishable, I will be
    there.
    
    Tim
    
    p.s. Most other people got 8-10.  I stayed a bit longer till the tide
    started running and picked up 5-6 more.  Still not a full-force
    showing, but I've heard from the regulars that they've been spotty,
    like 50+ on Saturday night.
    

    Any ideas on what this storm might have done to the smelt fishing in
    Beverly? (assuming the fishing docks are still standing!)
    
    The tides this weekend are perfect for an early evening smelting
    expedition...
    
    			Robert.

    Where 'bouts in Beverly do you go?
    
    /MArk

    re: .last
    
    	one spot is down at the public pier by McDonald's...
    
    			Robert.

    I'm sure it will be a few days before things settle.  I don't know if
    the docks we usually fish are even intact.  I like the tide best for
    Tues and Wed, when it has been dark for a ew hours and the tide is
    really running.
    

    OK. I haven't made it out yet (but MAYBE this weekend!) - Any word on
     the smelt in Beverly?
    
    				Robert.

    Time:  05-Nov-1991, 18:00 to 23:00 (HT @ 22:26)
    Loc:   Beverly, MacDonalds, and a spot that shall remain nameless
    Take:  18 Smelt, 150� pollock (harbor, 6-8")
    
    Me & Capt. Codfish
    
    Call me before you go, Robert...
    

    Time:  06-Nov-1991, 18:00 to 23:00 (HT @23:09)
    Loc:   Beverly, MacDonalds
    Take:  13 Smelt (no Pollock!)
    
    
    Tim
    

    Looks like a big storm is coming in on Saturday. I may try tomorrow
    night. If I can't get any seaworms, would bits of shrimp work as bait?
    
    			Robert.

    I didn't catch any on shrimp last night.  Bring a dip net, plenty of
    grass shrimp around.  Minows are the best bet right n�w.
    
    Tim
    

    Eeeeek! I don't have a dip net! How do you get the minnows?
    
    Oh yes, If I aquired a dip net somehow, how do I go about catching
    grass shrimp?
    
    
    			Thanks Tim!
    				Robert.

    Firday night, 18:0b� to 23:30, November 8, 1991.  With Robert N.
    
    31 smelt, plus a few really tiny ones I through back.
    
    For catching shrimp:  They occasionally swim by while smelt fishing,
    just grab them with a bucket, or a minnow net.  For minnows: Set a
    minnow trap at low tide in a marshy area, or, chase them with a net
    made from a coat hanger and a DARK pair of nylons.  They seem to want
    to take refuge in the darkness of the nylons. 1-2" - 3/4" seem to work
    best.  Anything bigger and the smelt ignore them.
    
    Tim
    

    Tuesday 11/14: Nothing at MacDonalds, 4 smelt elsewhere, all SHALLOW
    (5' or less)
    
    Wednesday 11/15: 21 smelt, all VERY DEEP (15-20')
    
    Tim
    

	Smelt are in Maine !!! I fished the Eastern River (at James Eddie) on
12/26 PM tide - Caught just short of 300 between the 4 of us.  Also fished the
Kennebec (at Bakers) on 12/30 PM tide - Unfortunately only caught 28 between
the 3 of us.  The ice was better then 7 inches at both places.

    	For all those interested in smelt in central Mass., I stopped down
    Lake Quinsigamond last night and found gys smelting behind the Fallon
    Clinic on No. Lake ave. There were about 7 groups and each had been 
    there for about a half hour to 45 min. and they had between 10-12 each.
    I plan on heading out tomorrow night. Let you know the outcome.
    
    					Butch

    Six of us (two dads, four kids) got up at 4:20 on Sunday & drove
    two and a half hours to Bowdoinham where we rented a 6-person shack 
    ($60!) at Riverbend for the morning tide.  Put down our 48 hooks, 
    refreshed bait every hour - caught 1 smelt.
    
    If anyone is thinking of going up to Maine for smelt - you might
    call ahead to see whether there are any to catch.  They did have
    some good tides earlier in January.
    
    Jack

    Anyone out there started smelt fishing yet? Both The Fisherman and
    rec.outdoors.fishing has mentioned people catching smelt in Sictuate
    Ma. already. Is it time to hit the docks in Beverly?
    
    		Robert.

    What techniques are used to catch smelt?  
    

I've been catching them in Scituate since early September.  Best night = 40.

As for techniques--there are various discussions somewhere in this notesfile.

Check out 100.2

    Anyone been up by Great Bay yet?  I've heard rumor that Exeter is
    frozen over.  Anyone know what the status of the Lamprey is?
    
    Just about time to pull out the smelt shack...
    
    -donmac

	2 friends and I fished the Eastern River down Maine at James Eddie's
Smelt Camp on 12/30 (6:30 to Midnight).  Caught 209 between us in total.  The
action was very steady all night....The long ride home on black ice was most
interesting - I don't want to do that again in a hurry.....

Dave
AKA Baitmaster

    A couple of friends and I have been talking about going out on the ice.
    Can you send me directions/info about James Eddis's Smelt Camp?
    
    
    Jim

why not post directions.  Do you need a license?

	James Eddie Smelt Camps is located in Dresden, Maine on the Eastern
River.  It's about 145 miles from Lowell, Mass or a 3 hour trip.  The cost is
$8.00 / person with 1 bag of seaworms included with the shack.  Additional bait
is $1.00 / bag.  The phone number is 207-737-2596.  Call for reservations 
before you head up - it's a long ride to get there and not be able to fish.
All the shacks are either 4 or 6 man, heated with kerosene heaters which is
much easier with more even heat then the wood stoves used to be.  A 4 man shack
can be a bit cramped with 4 guys (8'x8'), the 6 man are (8'x12').  If it's not
to busy they'll usually give you a bigger shack if available.  You do NOT need
a license to fish smelt in Maine on tidal waters.  The shacks all come with
house lines, but we usually bring our own gear.  The house lines are often
broken, tangled, or missing etc, because of the idiots that fished there before
you.  Also I find that small jigging rods with mono and a light weight produce
much more fish, especially if the fishing is slow.  The water is between 8 and
18 ft depending on which shack you're in and the tide.  At James Eddie you
start fishing at High tide and can fish for 6 hours until low.  For some
reason they don't catch fish on the incoming tide there.  Also some of the
shacks have more current then others, so you might want to bring an assortment
of weights (1/8 to 1 oz when fishing mono).


DIRECTIONS TO JAMES EDDIE from Mass:

	Rt95 North to the Maine Turnpike.  Take Exit 9 to Rt95 North.  Take the
Richmond Exit (I'm not sure of the exit number but I think it's 25 or 26).  At
the end of the ramp turn right.  Stay on this road until you come to a stop
sign which is at the foot of a small hill in a small town - there is a river
across the road at the stop sign.  Turn left.  Bare right at the fork which is
less then a mile down the road.  Proceed over two bridges until a stop sign.
There is a small green building which used to be a market (L'll Market) across
from the stop sign - Turn Right.  James Eddie is about 1.5 miles on your right.
Be careful because the sign isn't lit and it's easy to miss.  If it's icy I
recommend you park your car on the grass at the entrance because it can be very
difficult to get out unless you've got a 4x4.  Otherwise just take the dirt
road entrance slowly and you won't have any problem getting back out.

	There is another smelt camp - "Smith's" which is located on the right
just after you cross over the second bridge.  I've never fished there so I
can't give a recommendation.  I know that Smith's had their shacks out on the
ice this past weekend.  They usually have a decent crowd when we pass by.

	We fished James Eddie again this past Saturday morning (3:30 to 8:30).
We caught 146 between the 3 of us.  The action was slow for the first 3 hours
but it pick up around dawn when we caught the majority of the fish in less then
an hour.

	I hope this helps - Let us know how you make out!!!

Regards,
"Baitmaster"

Excellent description and directions.  Thank you very much!!!

    Just made reservations for the 22nd (i feel a cold coming on next
    friday, so i better plan ahead, right?).  
    
    High tide is at 2:45pm, with another around 3:30am Sat. morning.  I 
    figure we'll fish till about 8:00, then head out for munchies and a
    nap, then start up again at 3:30, back home on Saturday afternoon.
    
    Now if i can just manage to stay clear of any meetings next Friday...
    
    
    Jim

I might be interested in going with you, if there is room...  Let me know.

Tim

    I'll keep you posted...
    
    Several friends have expressed an interest as well, so what I thought 
    would be a 2 person trip is growing...
    
    When I spoke to them on the phone, they said they were pretty much
    "open" in terms of bookings.  I will try to put the whole thing
    together by Mon or Tues at the latest.
    
    Jim
    

    
    If there is room for a total novice who has never been smelt fishing 
    before I would like to try it, and meet a few new people.
    
    Dick
    

    Sure is quiet in here!  Anyone been up to Exeter yet? I took a drive
    over Saturday (1/16) just to check the ice and there were 20 to 30
    shanties within 100 yards of the launch in town. There was reportedly
    about 6 inches up near the launch and about 4 inches at the last shanty
    down (about 100yds) and progressively less downward from there. There
    were a couple of house several hundred yards down. There were the usual
    reports of success that "they did well the other night". This cold
    weather should firm things up a little better. I loaded my shanty onto
    the trailer and will be taking it over this weekend. I cna sit in the
    shanty and do nothing just as well as sit in front of the boob tube.
    I even took my wife one time last year. She wasn't impressed at all
    until she caught her first smelt (first ever fish) and then she began
    to understand why I continue to go  and endure the elements. She got so
    excited that she lost the damn thing overboard.
    
    anyone doing anything anywhere?
    
    John
     

    I've heard they've been catching a few in exeter.
    
    I just called sawyers and they have 3-4" behind their place and will
    try and put some shack out on todays low tide.  
    
    Also said people are fishing behind the mill, that the ice has stayed
    there pretty well.
    
    I'll probably head up this Friday night.
    
    -donmac

    I'm still shootin' for the smelt camp this weekend, although there are
    WORK things trying to get in the way (such as an unscheduled trip to
    L.A....Who the $*#& wants to go to LA when there's fish to be caught?)
    
    jim
    

    
    LA's sliding into the ocean today, haven't you heard?

    
     Yah I heard the same thing!! In the paper thay were looking
     for divers to swim out about 100yds, go to the bottom and kick
     like hell to keep it from sliding. ha ha ha ha 
    
                                                  Sorry  (tee hee)
    
                                                         Kiv

    
    
    	GREAT!!!  one MORE reason not to go, and one more reason I'll
    	probably get stuck going!
    
    

    By the way...
    
    Can someone give me an idea of what smelt equipment costs?  thinking of
    buying my own as opposed to using the "house" stuff mentioned
    earlier...
    
    What would i need?  Whats the best place to buy (the fair?)? and whats
    the cost?  I'm not looking for the "best", but don't want junk
    either...
    
    Jim
    

Jim,

I've made a couple of smelt rods by gluing the top tip sections of old broken
fiberglass rods into 3/4 to 1" wood dowels for a handle.  The rod section is
about 18-20" long with the handle about 10" long.  Make sure to use thin rod
tips (not cue sticks) as you want as much sensitivity as possible.

K-Mart, WalMart, and Zylas have inexpensive rods for jigging thru the ice. 
They can be had for $3-5 each.  Some have cheap little spools built in or
you just wind the line around a couple of posts.  No big deal as you aren't
fishing that deep.  I usually start out with 3 rods about 1' apart, but once
the action picks up, you'll have your hands full with just 2.

For smelt, I use 4 lb test line.  I also put "spring bobbers" on the tip of
each rod for increased sensitivity.  A spring bobber is simply a piece of
fine wire about 4-6" long with an eye at the end.  It's attached to the end
of the jiggin rod and the line run thru it.  It will bounce up & down with
the slightest bite from a smelt.  i used to use a small slip bobber on the
line to detect a biting smelt, but gave up on them as they always ended up
freezing to the line.  The spring bobber is the best way to go. 

Use small hooks (#10-12) or the smallest Swedish Pimple you can find.  
Leave the small treble hooks on but sharpen them up.

I usually bring small blocks of wood to prop the rod up on to raise the rod
tip.  It makes it easier to reach for the rod and to see the tip.

That's your basic tackle.  Other than that, you'll need an ice chipper or
auger to cut the holes, bait, skimmer, comfy chair or bucket to sit on, ice
shack to stay warm, and lantern for nite fishing.  Other necessities (as
DonMac will agree) are food, brewsky for warmth, propane heater/cooker to
cook smelt, vension, or steaks, a 5th of JD for warmth, portable boom box
to listen to the Celts/Bruins, and lifejacket ... just in case.  If you do
fall in ... more JD to warm up.

I forget anything, Don?

Good Luck!

-HSJ-

    Based on the advice in -.1 (thanks...) I made a trip to the locall 
    FAIR last night in Milford.  I bought the last three rods for $1.99
    each.  They also had rods for $3.99 which were already strung and
    included a slip bobber...but for the extra $2, they didn't make much
    sense...they also had boxes of hooks (both 10's and 12's) for $.75 ea.
    
    Now it looks like somestuff is going to "step" on my trip, but at
    least I'm all set for gear...(that had to be the CHEAPEST trip I've
    ever made for fishin' stuff...)
    
    Jim

    It looks like my weekend is going to be open after all, so I started 
    exploring the possibilities of "expanding" the trip for some of the
    folks in here who have asked about going along.
    
    I talked to the Smelt camp (ice is good, smelts are running "REAL"
    good) and they are all booked for tomorrow night.
    
    So I'm thinking that next week (after getting the "lay of the land"
    maybe we can put together a trip to take place in a couple of weeks,
    providing the smelt are still running.  That would give everyone enough
    time to plan, and we could reserve a couple of the larger shacks and
    arrange transportation.
    
    I'll let you know how things went on Monday...
    
    
    Jim
    

Your right, it's dirt cheap to get start smelt fishing. But just wait until
late some night when the smelt aren't biting, the wind is whipping down the 
river and your sitting on a bucket freezing your butt off, and you can hear 
and smell some venison cooking inside a toasty warm shack - after that it
may get a little more expensive...

re: I forget anything, Don?

nope, you wrapped it up pretty well... although typically we spare the 
boom box, and seem to drink more pepsi than booze these days 

    
    We hit the camp at 3:00pm, after stopping at the Kittery Trading Post
    to make sure we hadn't missed any "essentials".  After stopping by the
    trailer to pay our $16 and pick up our "Bag O' Bait" we were in the
    the shack with all our gear by 3:30.  Travel to/from the shack was
    treacherous due to heavy rain creating about 6" of standing water on 
    top of the ice.  Fished until 8:00pm, caught about 60 between the 
    two of us.  Not a "slaying" by any means, but considering it was our
    first time out, we were content.  Left at 8:30pm to get a bite to eat,
    and take a nap.  Went back out around 3:30am, fished until 8:30am,
    caught 80.  Again, not a killing, but we did as well as anyone else,
    and better than most.
    
    Here's some more details for anyone who hasn't done this before and
    wants to try it out (BTW, this is the most fun you can have with your
    clothes on, WITHOUT a boat, in the middle of the winter...)
    
    We did not use the house lines.  These are lines suspended from a
    square pole near the roof of the shack.  There are about 8 lines 
    consisting of 100# (that's right, 100#) test braided line with what
    looked like a 4-5oz weight on the end.  We took the approach mentioned
    earlier ($1.99 a rod, 4lb mono, #10 and #12 hooks).  We started by 
    proping the rods against blocks so as to see the "action" better.  This 
    method got revised and the end impementation was placing the rods up on
    the pole so that the tips extended slightly out from the pole.  This
    eliminated having to reach down for the line/pole when we saw a nibble.
    We could just reach out, grab the line, and give it a yank.  At fist we
    would pause after the yank to see if we had "hooked up", but you soon 
    learn to sense the extra weight and if it's there on the first yank,
    you just keep pulling.  We fished a total of 5 lines, and while the
    action wasn't anything we couldn't handle, it was certainly enough to
    provide one hell of a good time.  Also, we cut the seaworms into the
    smallest peices we could still handle, all you need is enought to cover
    the barb on a number 10 or 12...(We heard yelps/curses from the next
    shack from people getting "bit" by the seaworms, we just chopped the
    heads off first thing and threw them in the holes, made handling 
    easier...the other folks never did figure this out...)
    
    Bottom line (no pun intended):
    
    If your hand is twitching or your jigging in the bathtub and you need a
    good, cheap, fix....THIS IS IT.  Don't expect the Hilton, take along
    some "antifreeze" if it's your pleasure.  The shacks are plenty warm,
    we ended up propping the door open most of the time, and we were in 
    shirt sleeves.  Also, each shack has a wood floor so your not on the 
    ice, the "holes" on the two man were about 5' long, and 12-14" wide,
    and ran along each side of the shack.
    
    Bad News:  We asked how long the season ran, and they replied that they
    were HOPING to run through the middle of Feb.  That's only another
    3wks, so if you're interested in going, make your plans NOW...
    
    
    Jim
    

    Could someone give me directions to Sawyers? I'm getting ready to
    try this smelt ice fishing thing. Also, what does Sawyers offer?
    shack rentals? Bait? tackle?
    
    How is the ice up there now?
    
    Does sawyers carry NH licenses?
    
    			Robert.

    Sawyers tel is (603) 659-3336, give them a call for direcs and info.  
    I kind of doubt they carry licenses, haven't in the past.  But the 
    hardware store in downtown newmarket does.  Saywers is a farm house, 
    they sell bait out of their kitchen, just a small family operation.  
    When you call they'll just say hello, it's not a buisness phone.
    
    They sell bait, tackle and rent shacks.  Haven't heard any news 
    on the ice this week.  
    
    May head up friday, haven't made it up there yet.
    
    -donmac
    

    
    
    	Some folks from Trade shows and Customer Serv. are putting
    	together a trip on Feb 5th to James Eddy...Tentative plan:
    
    	High tide is at 12:30pm, and 1:30am Saturday morning.
    
    	Current plan is to leave the MR/NR area at 7am.  Fish the
    	first tide till about 6:30pm, break for a bite to eat, maybe
    	a nap in the car, then fish the 1:30am tide till around 8:00am
    	then get some breakfast and head home.  This should put folks
    	back in the MR/NR area around 1pm on Saturday.
    
    	I will be making reservations this Friday at Noon, so if anyone
    	is interested, send mail to MR4DEC::FBUTLER (297-2603).  Once we
    	get an idea of headcount, we can figure out the rides.
    
    	Cost is $15-$16 per person, which includes bait.  As mentioned 
    	before, house lines aren't that cool, so a couple of smelt rods
    	is a pretty good idea...
    
    	This is a great way to get rid of that twitch in your wrist, and
    	falls between Superbowl weekend and Valentines Day weekend, so
    	the timing seems good for most folks...
    
    
    	Jim

    I've been reading this notes file about smelt and did I miss something?
    From what I read you fish from cabins that are on the ice but yet you
    talk about high and low tide. I'm all confused. ARe we talking salt or
    fresh water and where? 

    The shacks are placed on tidal bay/river waters, the ice they are on
    moves up and down with the tidal flow.
    
    	jim

    The DES has been asked by the DMF to investigate areas of the Merrimack 
    River this spring in search of smelt-spawning habitat and to make
    general estimates on the number of eggs found there.
    
    My own guess from time spent on and in the Merrimack River is that
    there is not a lot of smelt-spawning areas there (below the Essex dam).
    
    Can anybody here tell me whether they have caught smelt in the
    Merrimack? Or heard of anybody doing so? If yes, where?
    
    Thanks.
    
    John H-C

I haven't personally heard of anyone fishing or catching smelt in the Merrimack
However, I read a report in the Fisherman from Surfland that the seals in the
river have been coming up with mouthfuls of the little critters.

You May want to contact Kay at Surfland on Plum Island, She would know what it
happening.

Gordon

	About 10 years ago I caught a bunch of smelt in mid-October in the Plum
Island basin from my boat.  Other then that I've never tried to fish for then.
I'm sure that smelt venture up the Merrimack to spawn just like most of the
other major rivers in New England.  Sorry but that's all I know on the subject.

Batimaster

	In mid Nov of 91 I was out with my son on the Merrimack and we counted
	over 50 harbour seals.  Wish we had a camera!!!  Anyway we didn't
	catch any fish but once when my son reeled in he had a snagged a
	sand eel or smelt??? caught on his hook.  I believe it was a sand
	eel about 6 in long very thin light brown back silver/white under.
	Fish head with eel like tail.

	I was getting a lot of marks on the fish finder but as I have
	never fished for smelt I wasn't trying to catch them.
	I'm wondering if some of my fish marks were smelt.  The River was
	clogged with marks and those harbour seals were having a feast on
	either the sand eels or smelt maybe both???

	-< Tuna Tail >-	PS: The sand eel was released :-)

    Thanks for the feedback!
    
    Dick, where were you when you saw the seals feeding? Salt, brackish, or
    fresh water?
    
    Thanks.
    

    I just talked with Sawyers - Ice is NOT safe at Sawyers, it is however
    safe at the treatment plant (yuck>) and 'behind the mills'.
    
    Also, The woman at Sawyers said they are no longer renting shacks
    
    Thier hours are 7:30 AM - 8:30 PM for bait etc...
    
    			Robert.

re: .63

	The sand eel/smelt? had a tail like a cusk.  Or a ")" instead of "<".
	Between the very light brown color and eel like tail I guess that's
	why they refer to them as sand eels?  IMHO :-)

	The 50 + harbour seal were feeding inside the Merrimack R 
	adjacent to the "toothpick" by Salisbury State Park boat ramp
	right in the channel.  They would just move away as boats would
	navigate the channel.  Although in mid November there weren't many
	nut's like me out there ;-)

	In years past I have seen maybe 2 to 5 of them but it was something
	to see having over 50 of them surrounding the boat.  To this day
	I regret not having my camera aboard :-(  I haven't launched the boat
	without the camera aboard ever since :-)

	-< Tuna Tail >-

    wouldn't worry too much about the fish around the treatment plant, it's
    not like these fish stay there all year
    
    exeter river is still safe, sorta... my neighbors brother went swimming
    there last week... went all the way under... came back up in the right
    spot luckily and folks were able to pull him out with some rope...
    
    this cold snap should put a couple more inches on the water...
    
    -donmac (who hasn't been ice fishing yet this year, but has had some 
    	     fresh smelt thanks to his neighbor)

    I'm a bit confused about the NH limits on smelt - does the 2 Qt. limit
    apply when ice fishing out by Great Bay? I've read notes of people
    taking ~100 fish around there - seems like alot more than 2 Qts!
    
    
    				Robert.

 It's a 10 qt limit on saltwater smelt.

 Freshwater, lake run smelt have the 2 qt limit.

	re: smelt from the treatment plant area

	Think of it this way, the smelts are already marinated...
	just heat and serve ;-):-Q

	Ken

    Looks like a go for tonight. I'll probably be trying 'behind the Mills'
    (where ever that is!). If anyone wants to join me, give me a shout by
    2:00 today.
    
    I'll give my report on Monday...
    
    			Robert.

    I managed to get up to Newmarket Friday night and fished behind the
    mills from about 5:30 - 10:00 P.M.
    
    Ice was approx. 5 inches thick there - the guy at Sawyers said they
    were starting to put shacks out by his place - though still not really
    safe.
    
    Fishing was a bit slow for smelt. I managed to put an even dozen in the
    bucket. Only saw one white perch on the ice - guess they haven't
    started to run yet. TONS of tomcod.
    
    The weather was pleasant for the first half of the night, about 30
    degrees, no wind. Then, at 8:45 the wind came up, and the temp dropped
    a good 10 degrees.
    
    
    			Robert.

	How about a report on the trip to James Eddie late week?  I was thinking
of heading up this weekend and I'd like to know how the fishing is......

Baitmaster

    
    
    I've been meaning to enter it, just been swamped with stuff the last
    couple of days...so forgive the tardiness, here goes:
    
    
    High tide was at 12:45 on Friday.  5 of us met up at Cuzzin Ritchies
    truck stop off RT 95 in Portsmouth, N.H. at about 10:30.  One peice of
    gear that went on this trip was a 28' motor home.  An expensive peice
    of tackle, BUT it sure came in handy.  Arrived James Eddies at about
    12:30, started fishing right off.  Had the first smelt in about 5min,
    and they came through in waves about every 10 - 15 minutes after that. 
    I fished three lines, the total between all 5 guys was 11 - 12 lines.
    We caught 120 on that tide and quit at about 7:30 (they were still
    hitting, but the lights flashed on and off about 4 times, so we figured
    they were giving us a hint...).  We retired to the camper, put the
    chili on the stove, got the blender out (alot of margurita drinkers in
    the crowd...) and the guys decided that they'd like a taste of what
    they caught, so we fired up the propane heater outside and proceeded to
    cook some up, probably about 30->40.  They all loved 'em.  Had a few
    drinks, took a nap, then got up at 2am for the next tide.  That's when
    the BAD news hit (at least for some of us...).  The reservations had
    gotten fouled up and they didn't have us listed for that tide, but had
    us on the list for the Sat afternoon tide, which was too late for us. 
    Upon hearing this, some of the group was bummed, a couple were glad to
    go back to bed.  Don't know how folks did on that tide...
    Also, we had a 6 man house for the five of us, which worked out great. 
    Not that much extra cost per person, but it was nice having a little
    extra space.  We all used our own gear with #10 & 12 hooks on 4lb.  One
    of the guys fished a "house" line, and I think he caught 1, maybe 2
    fish on it.  Most of the fish were good sized (meaning small) with only
    a couple of "turbosmelt" in the lot.
    All in all, we had a great time, took some pictures of a suprise guest
    named "Ziggy" that I won't talk about here.  First time I've
    cooked/eaten smelt and drank beer at 10 below zero, but I'd go back
    tomorrow if I could...
    
    MAKE SURE YOU VERIFY THE RESERVATION.  I'm sure it was an honest
    mistake on their part.  The strange thing was that when I called to
    make the res, it was originally for SAT, but she said they were already
    full.  we went back to friday after that, so I don't know how we got on
    that list, but we sure weren't on the 1:30am list.  

Anyone have directions to the bait place near the river in down town exeter?

-donmac

    
    
    Thought I'd stuff a note in here to update the "action" at James
    Eddies...
    
    It can be summed up in one word...
    
    
    
    
    	YYYYAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!
    
    Went up Friday night with a friend, high tide at 5:00pm, fished until
    ten, caught 11.  That's right...eleven (no typos here.)  Seems like the
    smelt run is just about over.  Is this normal?  Most of the other
    shacks caught < 5, one camp caught 25, but they were fishing around 20
    lines.
    
    Still had a great time...
    
    Jim

    	Finally made it up to the Lamprey on Saturday night with about the
    same results. I heard that conditions were supposed to come together to
    make for an extremely high tide this past weekend. Not sure if that had
    anything to do with it.
    
    	Weather-wise, looks like this may be the one and only trip this
    year. Looks like we're in for warmer days (40's). It doesn't take to
    many of those to make that brackish water ice go out.
    
    	RAYJ

    Well I went up to northern Maine on saturday to net my quota but it was
    a pretty disappointing evening. The smelting had gone by, if it wasn't
    for the 18 moose that we saw on the way up and back it would have made
    for a long ride.
                            JP

    
    Last weekend there was ~5" of ice behind Sawyers and people are
    starting to catch smelt.  My neighbor brought home around 100 one 
    night.
    
    -donmac

    
     Behind Sawyers is salt walter isn't it? If so, no licence is needed;
    right?
                robin

You need a license.  NH is not so generous, like MA, "Up to the first bridge". 
NH says so many feet or something from the shore.  Anyway, you need a license. 
I've been checked about 20% of the time I've been there.  If the fishing has
been good, the warden will be there.  If the warden doesn't show up, it's
because the fishing has been crappy.

Tim

	A friend and I went up to Dresden ME last Wednesday and fished James
Eddies.  We fished from 6PM to Midnight and caught ~170 smelt between us.  The
action was slow for the 1st couple of hours but picked up when we finally figured
out that the smelt were deep, just off the bottom.  They had about 12" of ice and
the place was sold out.

	Now what do I do with more frozen smelt - I'm still eating the ones that
I caught last year???

BaitMaster

    	Went up in back of the treatment plant last night (Newmarket) and 
    the action was pretty slow. Got the usual "Should'a been here yesterday" 
    line. Only picked up about 40 between a friend and I, and we kept 4 white
    perch too. Hit the tide wrong. Probably try this weekend again.
    
    	FWIW - Smelt seem to keep exceptionally well in the freezer. I have
    some from last year too and they are still fine. I seem to forget about 
    them after the winter, but they don't go to waste.
    
    	RAYJ

If you wrap them well, they do okay.  I double wrap them in plastic wrap and
then place them in plastic bags.  They come out pretty good even a year later. 
Of course, once you freeze them, they taste considerably less good than fresh,
even if they are only frozen for a week.


Tim

(I can only go a few times a year now.  Once I hit it good, I'm done.)

    	Didn't get to make it this weekend. Anyone else go ? The tide and
    the weather should have been pretty good.
    
    	Since more than half the fun is in just getting up off the couch
    and getting out there, I usually don't even try to limit out. Many
    people just don't realize how many meals you get from half a 5 gallon
    bucket of smelt. There's so little waste, 1/4 bucket of smelt is more
    meals than a whole bucket full of white perch.
    
    	That's the beauty in fishing Newmarket vs. Exeter. If the white
    perch are running, you can catch them by the bucket load and not worry
    as much about whether you have too many. They also keep very well in the
    freezer, though not as good as smelt.
    
    	RAYJ

    I actually prefer the white perch.  Probably because the wife and
    kids prefer the fillets.  
    
    -donmac (who hasn't been able to get out on the ice yet)

<aOf course, once you freeze them, they taste considerably less good than fresh,
<even if they are only frozen for a week.

Tim,

   how do you cook them???

Al

    	Since you were asking, one way is to just coat them with flour,
    seasoned to your tastes (i.e. salt, pepper, garlic powder, parsley) and
    pan fry them in either oil or butter, or drop them in a deep fat fryer
    till golden brown.
    
    	The only way the wife and kids will eat them is if I butterfly
    them. I basically run my thumb nail up both sides of the back bone and
    pull it out. I also pull off the small underside fins (dorsal ?). 
    
    	I know it's easier to pull the back bone out after you cook them,
    but the wife and kids won't go for it. They want to be able to eat them
    with a fork. What's a father to do ;-)
    
    	Ray
    	

    I use the same method as Ray, just shake them in a bag of flour and
    spice, then fry them up.  Never tried butterflying them.  I'll try
    that and see how the family likes it.  
    
    I don't even pull the backbone on the little ones.  Fry `em up crispy
    and chomp them down.
    
    -donmac

      Anybody else ventured up to Dresden lately? I've never fished
    saltwater for smelt only freshwater in Lake Champlain. These don't see 
    the saltwater. I've got some genuine smelt hooks (#8 offsets) that 
    need a bath. That couple with cabin fever, I'd say it's time to give it
    a shot. Only been working on the saltwater stuff for about four years,
    so I'm still a novice yet. Don't know where any of these places are you
    guys talk about but I've studied the directions for Dresden pretty
    well.
    
    	John

    
    
    	Well John, get your stuff ready and we'll take a ride down this
    weekend.  I'll check with Kevin on what the tides are doing and we'll
    go.  There's a couple shacks I have access to, not to mention my own if
    you wanted to give some night fishing in.  Sounds like we won't need a
    shack this weekend with the warm weather expected but we may need some
    ice.  The ice on the rivers disapears quickly.
    
    Bruce