Do you like Smelts? (Casco: buy, high school, live) - Maine (ME) - City-Data Forum

Maineah · 02-11-2008, 10:59 PM

An icon of the Maine winter, the lovely little Rainbow Smelt. It's been a good season for them this year. A fish that smells like fresh cucumbers! Really! We like them just pan fried in a little oil. They're tasty and being a small fish you don't have to worry about mercury content and all that. I have a shack on and like to spend a few nights a week staring at the Coleman lantern lighting up the race hole looking for just a little movement in the lines.
In past years the fishing has been much slower. Then there's the lack of ice in recent years that really put a damper on things. This year has been a different story. I've pretty much saturated friends and family members with the little darlings. It's kinda like zucchini... everyone loves one or two but when it becomes a bi-weekly delivery folks start locking the door!
In fact I have even put some smelts at the end of the road with a "Free Smelts" sign on several occasions this winter. My son ribbed me when I first started doing it saying "no one is going to stop and pick up those fish" I told him to never underestimate the power of a "Free" sign.
The first day they were gone in about two hours. Now they're gone in 20 minutes or less. It's fun. People have left notes in the cooler thanking me and I even had a lady track me down and leave a message on my answering machine thanking me for giving them away....that was pretty nice of her.

island mermaid · 02-12-2008, 05:21 AM

I've never actually cooked them and eaten them however have been the "lucky" one to have brought the first one up thru the hole and been forced to bite the head off. Not pleasant, but a long time tradition. Now tell me how many of you haven't done that after a long day of 'ice drinkin'? C'mon....

mainebrokerman · 02-12-2008, 05:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maineah

An icon of the Maine winter, the lovely little Rainbow Smelt. It's been a good season for them this year. A fish that smells like fresh cucumbers! Really! We like them just pan fried in a little oil. They're tasty and being a small fish you don't have to worry about mercury content and all that. I have a shack on and like to spend a few nights a week staring at the Coleman lantern lighting up the race hole looking for just a little movement in the lines.
In past years the fishing has been much slower. Then there's the lack of ice in recent years that really put a damper on things. This year has been a different story. I've pretty much saturated friends and family members with the little darlings. It's kinda like zucchini... everyone loves one or two but when it becomes a bi-weekly delivery folks start locking the door!
In fact I have even put some smelts at the end of the road with a "Free Smelts" sign on several occasions this winter. My son ribbed me when I first started doing it saying "no one is going to stop and pick up those fish" I told him to never underestimate the power of a "Free" sign.
The first day they were gone in about two hours. Now they're gone in 20 minutes or less. It's fun. People have left notes in the cooler thanking me and I even had a lady track me down and leave a message on my answering machine thanking me for giving them away....that was pretty nice of her.

i use to go blue-fishing and striper fishing alot(ocean- fishing) and if we didnt have a boat, id join the hundreds down along fort popham, near popham beach (mouth of the kennebec river) and we would cast out chunks of mackerel, and just let them sit on the bottom, and then set your surf-casting fishing rod in the sand and hope for a "bite"
and if you did have a bite, or a fish this was fun, because bluefish could be anywheres from a few pounds to 15 lbs, and stripers, can grow up to 100 lbs

my point is, we would use frozen mackerel that had been in the freezer for a while and after it thawed we'd string it on a big hook, and it worked just fine!

you'd think all those smelts could be used for bait in the spring, somehow,,

or

i see many stores that use thier lobster tank in the wintertime as a bait tank,,,id call around,,with all the ice-fishing going on,,im sure they'd be a store that would buy them, id call "days" general store in belgrade, ask for kerry, he has a few tanks holding bait right now, and there are huge pike out in the belgrade lakes. its worth a shot!!

McMar · 02-12-2008, 06:29 AM

Anybody watch CBS Sunday Morning? I think it was Bill Geist that did a fun story on Smelt fishing in ME a few weeks ago. Looks like a blast, though I'd probably be more of an observer, and beer holder for the fishermen (and fisherwomen, to be PC)

. I couldn't get past the traditional biting off of the fish head, Ft. Lauderdale. You are more woman than me!

ribbets · 02-12-2008, 09:22 AM

I prefere the sea run to the freshwater ones but both darn good

CapeCodder · 02-12-2008, 12:46 PM

I don't think I've had a smelt. Have I? I don't think so...does it taste "fishie"...I don't like "fishie". Are there little bones? I don't like little fish bones. =)

Maineah · 02-12-2008, 12:51 PM

The ones we catch are tidal smelts. No I can't say I've ever bitten the head off of one though I have seen it done. We used to nail the first one caught to the wall and just leave it there for the whole season. It would stop smelling as it dried out. We don't drink much anymore so a lot of the things we used to do as "traditions" look a bit different through sober eyes.
As for bait I do plan to freeze a bunch to use as bait in the summer. The family has a cottage on Casco Bay and we like to use star traps to catch crabs. We pick out the meat and make crab rolls. We use chicken in the traps most of the time but smelts would probably work better.

moughie · 02-12-2008, 08:51 PM

Smelts are quite delicious

boonelsewhere · 02-12-2008, 10:04 PM

I like them the same way you cook them, the one we got are previously frozen from Michigan or Canada. any one know spot in Downeast to catch them.

Quote:

An icon of the Maine winter, the lovely little Rainbow Smelt. It's been a good season for them this year. A fish that smells like fresh cucumbers! Really! We like them just pan fried in a little oil. They're tasty and being a small fish you don't have to worry about mercury content and all that. I have a shack on and like to spend a few nights a week staring at the Coleman lantern lighting up the race hole looking for just a little movement in the lines.

Maineah · 02-12-2008, 10:35 PM

They do a lot of fishing for them in Dresden. That's not too far Downeast though. I took an old High School buddy of mine down fishing tonight and caught another 120 smelts. It sounds like a lot but it's only eight or nine pounds of them. I usually cook 50 or more of them when I feed four of us. He was pretty tickled to catch so many. He remembers many nights of staring at the hole with not nary a smelt in sight. It was fun. He'll be the one delivering the smelts to his family tomorrow!