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Ice Fishing Tips -Check your local regulations! => Northern Pike => Topic started by: legend on Aug 16, 2016, 07:20 PM

Title: smelt vs herring
Post by: legend on Aug 16, 2016, 07:20 PM

would someone please compare using smelt vs herring for pike through the ice ? im talking about dead frozen. thanks

Title: Re: smelt vs herring
Post by: UFCreel on Aug 19, 2016, 06:50 AM

Both work. So do hot dogs and brats. Some around here use mackerel. Myself I prefer small crappie. Just check local and state regs.

Title: Re: smelt vs herring
Post by: legend on Aug 19, 2016, 09:31 AM

gottcha, thank you.

Title: Re: smelt vs herring
Post by: Water Wolf on Dec 03, 2016, 04:45 PM

I have luck on both smelt and commercially frozen lake herring, also called ciscos or tullibies around here. @)

I think that the pike may go for the ciscos / lake herring first, in lakes that contain them naturally.
In lakes where there are no lake herring the smelts work fine.
Smets and lake herring /ciscos tend to float so you may need to puncture the swimbadder in order to get them to sink with out weights of some kind.

Like UfCreel said mackerel will also work. :)
Around here are generally fairly large compared to other frozen baits. They are also oily + they sink.
The type I use is called chub mackerel.

I have also caught them on regular frozen minnows, hotdogs, bits of squid as bait.

WW

Title: Re: smelt vs herring
Post by: jimyoumook on Dec 07, 2016, 09:56 PM

i tend to have better luck with smelt than herring   

Title: Re: smelt vs herring
Post by: mountana on Dec 16, 2016, 09:21 PM

 ;D

Title: Re: smelt vs herring
Post by: edscreek on Jan 04, 2017, 08:27 AM

I often wonder about that same thing. what about sardines? Are they the same as herring?

Title: Re: smelt vs herring
Post by: legend on Jan 06, 2017, 01:42 PM

thanks for this info !