Emeralds vs smelt question

[Sawyerjosh]

Headed up north in a couple weeks for splake and salmon. The lake has smelt. I think the emeralds are a little more hardy and since we don't have power for a bubbler just wondering if anyone has an opinion if emeralds will work just as well or should I go with smelt?  Hopefully I can hug up enough smelt when we get on the lake for most of our bait but I don't want to bank on it

[gamefisher]

Headed up north in a couple weeks for splake and salmon. The lake has smelt. I think the emeralds are a little more hardy and since we don't have power for a bubbler just wondering if anyone has an opinion if emeralds will work just as well or should I go with smelt?  Hopefully I can hug up enough smelt when we get on the lake for most of our bait but I don't want to bank on it

Smelts are pretty cheap right now.  I would go that route, bagged with O2 and buried in the snow bank in coolers, you won't have any problem keeping them.

[Scalloper]

What are the smelt prices?

[gamefisher]

What are the smelt prices?

I think I paid $6 last time I went north.

[jamison1]

What are the smelt prices?

I know right?! I can bet they aren't $4/ dozen like the emeralds I can get for that price. and ive had really luck with emerlads this year in places that have smelt. IMO I would get emeralds... much easier to keep alive

[fishon--fishoff]

You know what I'm going to say just like I always have said, which was installed in my memory bank by a great fishermen " If you want to increase your odds you need to match the hatch" meaning use what's in the lake for your bait.. But I have heard of browns being caught with 20lb mono with a size 2 hook and enough weight to drown a cat, so what do I know.. 

[rude the dude]

What are the smelt prices?

i just paid 8 a few min. Ago

[nbourque]

Jack traps had em this morning for $8 a dozen. Emeralds were $6.

[mussburger]

Back in the day when I thought ice fishing was my job, if we couldn't get smelt, we would get emeralds. Their the closest to matching smelt & 100x hardier for sure. Get a share of each . Emeralds could be your stand-by bait. $8, me thinks, is statewide for March as usual. Good luck

[woodchip]

I'd take up Emeralds  and get a doz. of smelts use emeralds with a fresh piece of cut smelt to tip the hook . They will take the bait thinking they are getting Smelts ,That way a doz smelts go a long way.

[PerchPro113]

Smelts are 6:00 a dz where I get mine.

[SPE2007SC]

Not sure about what works best in that lake but good smelts packed in O2 will stay alive a long time. We buy bait on a weds or thurs on our trips up north and still have live smelts Sunday when we leave. 3dozen per bag fits in a bait bucket pretty good.

[lobsterman]

if anyone knows where to get emeralds in york / cumberland county send me a pm thanks

[Sawyerjosh]

Thanks all. Cost doesn't really matter, we only need a few dozen, I was worried about keeping the smelt alive. I'll prob bring both just in case. I can usually jig up enough for bait if I find em. I don't want to get on the ice with just enough to start and then not find any to jig up

[Wolley]

I get 2 dozen smelt and 2 dozen shiners in one bag with oxygen when i go north for a long weekend. Usually 2 people fishing for a day and a half. i do not use any bubbler. i never get any die off as long as you keep them from freezing solid. Just burying them in snow  over night will keep that from happening.

[hardwaterslaughter]

Lobsterman, sent you a pm.

[sbwright74]

Anyone know of a place in Southern Maine (Buxton area) that bags and O2's bait?  Have a buddy down there that is looking.  Thanks for your help!

[MEhunter]

I'd take up Emeralds  and get a doz. of smelts use emeralds with a fresh piece of cut smelt to tip the hook . They will take the bait thinking they are getting Smelts ,That way a doz smelts go a long way.

I've asked this question before, why do fish go after one bait over another, is it smell/scent or profile?

[fishingsurveyor]

I've asked this question before, why do fish go after one bait over another, is it smell/scent or profile?

My guess is profile and preference
Like making a decision on Lunch Mickey D's or Subway

[MEhunter]

My guess is profile and preference
Like making a decision on Lunch Mickey D's or Subway

Yeah just always wondered what is it that differentiates the preference for them. Is it all profile or what? Especially down close to the bottom or in low light conditions. That's why I always leaned more towards scent. For salmon up top I could see where profile was a big factor. Liveliness, death twitch? What causes a fish to strike one bait over another! Wish I knew.

[GasBlaster]

I've asked this question before, why do fish go after one bait over another, is it smell/scent or profile?

Sebago Bait !!!

[Wolley]

Another thing people should be wondering about if they are in fact purchacing real Emerald shiners or they are a getting a bait fish that is being mistakenly called an "emerald shiner". It could be just a mental game. You think you have real Emerald shiners, but you actually have some lame regular old shiner. you may catch more fish on your "emerald shiners" since you have more confidence in your presentation. , mental, mental.

So who actually has the real Emerald Shiner, Dags?

[Sawyerjosh]

Jack traps has em

[Dags Bait Maine]

...nobody. Emerald shiners have yet to be found in Maine.

-Dylan

[jrelaxin]

I figure its like taking out a blonde or a brunette.............. ..one is unpredictable while the other can weather any storm.............

[Loves To Fish]

I've asked this question before, why do fish go after one bait over another, is it smell/scent or profile?

I really believe it's what they are use to seeing and feeding on. If they're use to seeing lots of smelts, then smelts are the way to go. That doesn't mean that they wouldn't take an emerald shiner. They are opportunists just like most fish and animals are in the wild.

Also, it's been mentioned on here that there are no emerald shiners in Maine. What the bait shops are currently calling "emerald shiners" are actually "eastern silvery minnows". I don't care what they call them, they are a very close second to using smelts in my book.

[MG39]

http://www.pressherald.com/2011/12/10/even-bait-fish-ignite-the-thrill-of-the-chase_2011-12-11/

That's a good article.   How true about bait fishermen. A close friend makes it his living & other than one night smelt trip with him, he never mentions where he goes.

[gamefisher]

Here is my take - two guys fishing exact same area, same depths, same bait, etc.  One guy checks his traps religiously, moving bait up and down in the process, replaces as necessary.  The other guy only looks at the flags that pop.  I believe the guy that checks his traps out fishes the other guy 80 percent of the time.  It's action / movement.

[saltyshores]

...nobody. Emerald shiners have yet to be found in Maine.

-Dylan

Dave Boucher, who is the IFW Fisheries Mgt Supervisor in the Augusta office, told me this winter that most of what has been called emerald shiners in Maine, are actually Eastern Silvery Minnow.

Here's some pictures of Eastern Silvery Minnow:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/48031086@N05/14206962298/

http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?speciesID=546

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/pdf/delriver/artdel_sp_east_silvery_minnow.pdf

http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Fishing/Fish_species/fish_conservation_profiles/silvery_minnow.php

[cap]

So all that hoopla about Notropis a few years back was all just a bunch of bull?

The fish were not Notropis but actually Hybognathus?

Whatever.....(shaking head in dismay).....