Are the smelts running yet in the kennebec? (home, weather)

[ribbets]

Always seem to miss the early runs, and was hoping someone here would know.

[elston]

For some reason this question brought back an old gene autry song to my mind.

"When it's springtime in the Rockies
I am coming back to you
Little sweetheart of the mountains
With your bonny eyes of blue"

....and now with apologies to Gene Autry "the singing cowboy"....a 1 and a 2 and a 3 take it away boys:

When the smelt are running in the kennebec
When there's open water too;
When the smelts are in the kennebec
I am coming back to you.

When the fiddle heads are peeking
From the braken and the goo;
When the skunk cabbage are growing
I'll be coming home to you.

Little sweetheart of the river
with your bonnie eyes of blue
When the smelts run in the Kennebec
I'll be coming back to you.

Get the skillet good and greasy
get some flour and pepper too;
For your Maine man's caught his limit
And he's coming home to you."

[ribbets]

I Like It:

[elston]

I think the verb should be "dipped" rather than "caught"

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Not how they do it on the Kennebec. They catch em down in lower Maine.

[msina]

I love it elston!!

[mainebrokerman]

the smelt shacks were on the kennebec in randolph a few days ago,,and i ran into one fella who said they are running (smelts)...

[Unhappycamper]

Some of my friends went smelting last night.

They caught 2.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

If this weather keeps up, not only will the smelts be running, the shacks will be running too.

[hozer61]

The smelts are thick in the kennebec right now. I hit front street in augusta just before first light. The smelts are jumping on the surface as far as the eye can see. Bring a light pole with 3 or 4 small treble hooks, 6 to 8 inches apart with a heavy sinker on the end. Cast in the water and you can catch your 2 qt limit in no time and the smelts are huge sometimes, I have caught many over a foot in length. they taste wonderful....good luck