Herring vs Smelts.
 

Hi, I was wondering who prefers to use smelts to catch ice gators and who prefers to use herring?.

My personal preference so far, is smelts. I have always had great luck on smelts. This winter I decided to switch to herring. As soon as I switched to herring no pike would hit the tip ups or jigs I was using.:mad0030:

I switched back to smelts and am now catching pike like crazy again.:sHa_shakeshout:

I like to have a decent sized herring on one line, and a good sized smelt on the other, I have been catching them about equally on each, if it slows down I like to use a small smelt on the second line and stay with the herring on the other. This last 4 days I believe I got a few more on the herring.

I'm a smelt guy. Just personal preference I suppose. Lots of guys use anchovies and catch on them too so...

i like herring onthe tip u and jigging with a smelt but usalualy i use those jumbo smelts at cast away sports

i've found different baits are preferred one over the other in different bodies of water. always a good idea to have a smorgasbord of herring, smelt, chovies, and a couple different sizes of minnows on hand, experiment and see what works best at the different lakes you fish. best success for me on big northerns has always been using herring. i like to think bigger bait, bigger fish?

Perhaps the herring that was sold to me went bad.

LOL. Funny.

Nothing worse than a herring gone wrong !:sign0080: if they are just kissing your bait, I go as small a bait as I have, which is why I messed up today. :sign0176:

if they still kiss or lick it-its not the bait......wait what are you guys talking about

big fatt shiners work too havent seen a pike pass one up in winter for awhile now....