What happened to the smelts

WayneChristie · #1 03-07-2012, 07:51 PM

Used to get big smelts everywhere, never saw any as small as they are selling now, these are only minnows compared to what we used to get. I see the odd bigger one around, but most are only good for walleye and perch now.

vcmm · #2 03-07-2012, 07:54 PM

Differant cultures have different tastes. Go to an Asian market.

chubbdarter · #3 03-07-2012, 07:54 PM

just hook on the whole blue cooler

pickrel pat · #4 03-07-2012, 07:57 PM

you werent there first and the bigger ones are being picked up before you got there?

pickrel pat · #5 03-07-2012, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pickrel pat

you werent there first and the bigger ones are being picked up before you got there?

or........ smelt fishermen are keeping all the large breeding females and now we are stuck with small smelts?
to the guys who catch smelts for us weekend fisherman............ please release some of the bigger ones so our kids and their kids can use large smelts when they fish for generations to come.....

WayneChristie · #6 03-07-2012, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pickrel pat

or........ smelt fishermen are keeping all the large breeding females and now we are stuck with small smelts?
to the guys who catch smelts for us weekend fisherman............ please release some of the bigger ones so our kids and their kids can use large smelts when they fish for generations to come.....

thats gotta be it. personally I throw back all the small ones and keep the big mamma breeders.

chub I left some with my host that weekend and brined the rest. should be slaying walleyes for years now! Just have to catch a couple flats of Kokanee to fill the blue cooler

BTW I never throw Kokanee back, although they get recycled pretty quickly!

Lefty-Canuck · #7 03-07-2012, 08:10 PM

I would post pics of the smelts I caught in K Country but the gills were bleeding and the jaws were popped so I don't want to start a controversy over it......

LC

chubbdarter · #8 03-07-2012, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WayneChristie

thats gotta be it. personally I throw back all the small ones and keep the big mamma breeders.

chub I left some with my host that weekend and brined the rest. should be slaying walleyes for years now! Just have to catch a couple flats of Kokanee to fill the blue cooler

BTW I never throw Kokanee back, although they get recycled pretty quickly!

hahahaha...you need another lucky cap?

WayneChristie · #9 03-07-2012, 08:16 PM

the way Ive been slaying hogs this winter, might need a whole truckload of lucky something! except the beer, they named it Lucky because if you drink a dozen you will be lucky to wake up again!

chubbdarter · #10 03-07-2012, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WayneChristie

the way Ive been slaying hogs this winter, might need a whole truckload of lucky something! except the beer, they named it Lucky because if you drink a dozen you will be lucky to wake up again!

WC call the Esso in vulcan im sure i saw some huge smelt there, ask who the distributor is. If i make it saturday i'll bring you more lucky caps.

WayneChristie · #11 03-07-2012, 08:25 PM

I have a friend in Brooks who orders them by the case when he can get them, but they seem to be pretty scarce. almost time to give up on the pike baits and start drowning minnows for sturgeon again

calgarygringo · #12 03-07-2012, 08:29 PM

They are not monsters but crappy tire is where i get my large smelts. For bigger than that my partner goes to T&T and gets some kind of strange real big size as well.

WayneChristie · #13 03-07-2012, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by calgarygringo

For bigger than that my partner goes to T&T and gets some kind of strange real big size as well.

I heard some of those girls are a pretty good size

vcmm · #14 03-07-2012, 08:36 PM

Chub and Wayne try Albion Fisheries in Calgary. They should be able to get some or let you know where.

JETDUDE · #15 03-07-2012, 08:38 PM

Tung Lam supermarket in Edmonton has all kinds , much cheper than the Bait freezers and the sports stores / service stations

97 st and 108 ave

calgarygringo · #16 03-07-2012, 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WayneChristie

I heard some of those girls are a pretty good size

Some of them he even fillets them to open them up for smell etc and they seem to like them a lot. One even just had the skeleton part of it that was lost earlier in the day in its belly when I had caught it 4 or 5 hours after it stole it off his line. All he had was skeleton and no meat on either side.

wallycranker · #17 03-07-2012, 08:49 PM

spotted mackeral at tnt supermarkets. There huge!!!! Picked up another 12 trays of herring at superstore they average around 8 to 10 inchs but there all fat! 7 bucks for a tray of aprox 15-20 cant go wrong.

anthony5 · #18 03-07-2012, 10:25 PM

Wayne, Chubb, bought up all of the large SMELTS here so look elsewhere

TEE HEE

Wes_G · #19 03-07-2012, 10:47 PM

Can buy bags of pretty good size sardines and even sticklebacks at Walmart and Save on foods. They range in size from about 6-8". for $4.99 you get 10

marlin1 · #20 03-07-2012, 10:55 PM

bought my last big smelts at mohawk in montgomery , paid way too much though

Kevwood · #21 03-08-2012, 12:49 AM

Not sure if city Sobeys stores carry smelts, but for years we have been getting them from our local Sobeys.....a few smaller ones in the pack, but usually around 30-40 4" smelts for $2.00-$2.50...beats paying 6-7 bucks at the bait shop or gas station...
smelts.JPG

HunterDave · #22 03-08-2012, 01:21 AM

I think that it should be allot easier and everyone should be able to buy trophy smelts! Thirty years ago it was allot easier to get trophy smelts and now you hardly ever hear of anyone finding trophy smelts. The only places that you can find any are away too far to go to.........we should be able to get them right close to where we're living.

We should lobby F&W to open some "quality" smelt shops throughout the province, close to the cities, so everyone has access to trophy smelts. It's just not fair I tell you.......not fair at all!

BeeGuy · #23 03-08-2012, 02:04 AM

Were fishing our way down the food chain dont you know.

Soon were all gunna be trying to thread plankton on a hook.

ogre · #24 03-08-2012, 02:48 AM

LOL. Many good responses. I got a few chuckles in, and got some good information too. Good thread Wayne. I remember the time when the Superstore smelts were no less than 5".
@ BeeGuy: At the rate the PCR walleyes are getting stunted, plankton might eventally work because they would have ate up everything else.

Kim473 · #25 03-08-2012, 05:20 AM

Try superstore.

ricky8fish · #26 03-08-2012, 05:35 AM

Have you not heard the fisheries had placed a SLOT SIZE on smelts .

WayneChristie · #27 03-08-2012, 06:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HunterDave

I think that it should be allot easier and everyone should be able to buy trophy smelts! Thirty years ago it was allot easier to get trophy smelts and now you hardly ever hear of anyone finding trophy smelts. The only places that you can find any are away too far to go to.........we should be able to get them right close to where we're living.

We should lobby F&W to open some "quality" smelt shops throughout the province, close to the cities, so everyone has access to trophy smelts. It's just not fair I tell you.......not fair at all!

X10 lets start a petition! write or phone your MLAs too!
not looking for them now, I am just curious why they are so much smaller now! Maybe the water is colder so they have shrinkage?