I need advice !!

[ledy]

So I have been fishing for rainbows in this spot on Winni for about 10 years and it has been productive. Its shallow about 2' to 3' deep with sandy bottom. I have had most of my success with salmon eggs with an occasional power bait bite. Over the years when I cleaned out the fish the stomachs would be full of salmon eggs. Well this year things are different and I'm not sure what is going on. To start me and my friend have a combined 10 days with 1 rainbow on the ice!! The last 3 days I fished I haven't even got a flag which is way out of the norm for this spot, because this place has produced for years. There is one big difference this year than in any year in the past and that is the presence of loads of smelt under the ice in the area I'm fishing. Every whole I drill has a schools of smelt below them, I could literally take a net and probably scoop them up. I have never seen this in the past 10 years in this spot, and I think it's definitely affecting me catching Bow's!! The couple fish that have been caught by us and neighbors were full of smelt and no salmon eggs. I know that should be no surprise. These fish won't touch salmon eggs or anything. I'm hesitant to use smelt because I figure there are hundreds if not thousands under the ice already so what are the chances they would eat the one on my hook? Anyway, I'm totally frustrated  and basically don't no what to do other than to move my shanty to a new location. Has anyone ever seen this before and have any advice?

[TheOutdoorsman]

It wouldn't hurt to try smelt.  A smelt on a hook acts different than a healthy, free-swimming smelt and looks like an easier-to-catch meal.  You've fished enough days without success using your current baits, so switch it up!

[fisherhawk55]

Over abundance of food my guess .also smelt attract bigger predators such as lakers pickerel that drive off bows and the like you can try jigging or moving on until conditions change try going deeper for bows or just under the ice in another area ,in my opinion hope this helps out

[Dispy]

Rain run off as well as snow melt off does affect inlets.......recall, captive smelt cannot run-away when flushed

[Rando5512]

I would use smelt. I am having a similar issue. A lake I had success with salmon eggs last year is producing bows with smelt this year. The fish are much higher quality and significantly bigger. You will have slower action with the smelt but most likely higher quality fish.

[DovaIceFisha]

I fish on winni for mostly rainbows. This year i have noticed the exact same thing(but i always have smelts). I have also noticed an abundance of smelt under the holes when i look to check my eggs. I usually out eggs in every hole under 5 FOW, i have not seen 1 egg disappear this year. We have caught a few bows, and their stomache contents were 100% smelt. So what ive been doing is moving my holes where there are dozens of smelt underneath, and move it a few feet away.

[vtpike]

It wouldn't hurt to try smelt.  A smelt on a hook acts different than a healthy, free-swimming smelt and looks like an easier-to-catch meal.  You've fished enough days without success using your current baits, so switch it up!

x2

[coldsteel]

i have fished spots similar on different lakes that i have had smelt in the holes but i have always had great luck with PB pink and orange are the colors that work best for me. while smelt are a GREAT way to catch bows i never use it always big boy salmon eggs and use a small enough hook that i can fit it inside on egg and PB not the nuggets tho the stuff you mold yourself. Good luck

[AQUAASSASSIN]

You are not alone, the egg bite has been non existent on holdover bows this year. Last year eggs were my go too bait, this season I have not caught a single big lake trout on them or seen one eaten.

Make the switch to smelt, a rainbow can still key in on it. The majority of the time the smelt you put down a hole is bigger than what is swimming. It is for me anyway I run big baits. That along with the fact when a big bow comes in and that school scatters and your bait doesn't go anywhere will make it stand out.

I agree with fisher hawk that jigging could also be your answer after you get that 1 trap out with a smelt on. I disagree that a laker or pickerel will drive off a rainbow. Maybe a tiny 10" stockie ? I've watched lakers and bows feed in harmony many many times from down the holes in shacks. Seen it with picks as well but only a couple times. That is just because it's not great pickerel habitat I fish.

[meatandmetal]

Wow I thought it was me with the non egg bite. I would try the smelt too and give PB a try. Try a red egg on the hook and then hook a larger smelt through the mouth so that the red color will make it stand out in a crowd. It has worked for me in the past.

[winnisquamtrout]

Winnisquam has been the same way for bows this year. Wont touch any eggs PB etc....... Night Crawlers on the other hand they have been smoking for me.

[Surfcaster]

I was using smelt on Winni yesterday and lost a nice one at the hole....the eggs i dropped were still there a while later....

[fisherhawk55]

In my defense aquaasasin i fished deeper lakes areas had traps go off for bows pull the line in only to find it bitten in half .this only happened in laker places.any how i don't know for sure it was a laker

[nixstyx]

Just curious, does anyone know what this means for the smelt population, if anything?
Are they just holding in different areas? More of them this year? Or, just coincidence? There must be some larger lesson here 

[NH Trout Fisherman]

You are not alone, the egg bite has been non existent on holdover bows this year. Last year eggs were my go too bait, this season I have not caught a single big lake trout on them or seen one eaten.

Make the switch to smelt, a rainbow can still key in on it. The majority of the time the smelt you put down a hole is bigger than what is swimming. It is for me anyway I run big baits. That along with the fact when a big bow comes in and that school scatters and your bait doesn't go anywhere will make it stand out.

I've also had the same experience this year. I use eggs alot to try to locate rainbows. I'll use smelt on my two lines and then drill as many holes as I can and drop eggs. If the eggs start to go missing? I'll switch a line over and start using the jig rod. Last Saturday I drilled close to 50 holes in a couple areas I've done well with Big Bows in previous years and emptied 3 jars of eggs... not one went missing. 

The 3 fish we did catch ( 2 lakers and a rainbow) all came on smelt 2-3 ft down over 4-8 f.o.w
My buddy Bob fished the same area the next day and checked the holes I chummed the day before and all the eggs were still there.
My guess is there is a better population of smelt this year and that's what they are feeding on.

[AQUAASSASSIN]

IMO I don't think it means anything about the smelt population, I do think lakes with big trout cycle though, when the cycle years have bigger fish your smelt tend to work better than eggs and PB. Again just my opinion but look at the quality of bows posted this season, already surpassed last year, bigger trout most days want a nice big live bait or jig over a egg or PB. I think we have more numbers of a older age class this year than last.

[NH Trout Fisherman]

I agree that the age classes/bigger fish cycle in the big lake. I'm not sure for certain when it comes to the smelt situation?  But approx 3 years ago when we were  catching alot more 22-25" 4-5 lb bows approx 80% of the ones myself and a couple buddies were catching were on Big Boy salmon eggs.

[AQUAASSASSIN]

I'm not sure what it is either for certain but approx 3 years ago when we were  catching alot more 22-25" 4-5 lb bows approx 80% of the ones myself and a couple buddies were catching were on Big Boy salmon eggs.

Agreed I was fishing those areas to and had the same results

[nixstyx]

IMO I don't think it means anything about the smelt population, I do think lakes with big trout cycle though, when the cycle years have bigger fish your smelt tend to work better than eggs and PB. Again just my opinion but look at the quality of bows posted this season, already surpassed last year, bigger trout most days want a nice big live bait or jig over a egg or PB. I think we have more numbers of a older age class this year than last.

Again, I have no real knowledge of this, just speculating...  Looking at it a different way maybe what you're seeing with the size of the trout is simply a side effect of the smelt population going though cycles. If the trout have more smelt to eat, they grow larger. They're not packing on the pounds just from picking up your salmon eggs 

[AQUAASSASSIN]

That's obvious, I don't think anyone thought a salmon egg out of a jar was a staple to a trouts diet

[NH Trout Fisherman]

I had a conversation with a few NH F&G Biologists years ago in regards to this. The age class of trout/salmon do cycle. When the Rainbows reach approx 3 y.o they tend to develop that genetic urge to migrate and spawn as steel head do. If there is a river/stream where they can leave the lake they will attempt to do so.

There are other factors to consider as well such as fishing pressure,  forage, water quality etc.
I originally asked the Biologists that question because I target Big Rainbows and Browns and have caught rainbows up to 6lbs in NH but you don't typically hear of rainbows much bigger in NH Although there are the occasional exceptions like the 12 lber out of the river a couple years back. But I was curious as to where the BIG ones dissappear to in lakes with no inlet/outlet. It was an interesting conversation and something to think about.

[AQUAASSASSIN]

And that's my point, some years you get far more late bloomers than other years, what I mean by that is you will get years where you have a lot of 4-5 year old fish who have not gotten the urge to leave vs. other years where less will hang around. In part if the older fish hang around longer I think they will target smelt more often to get a more bang for your buck in the calorie dept.

I do believe whole heartedly smelt cycle as well, but I think most of our big lakes have a great smelt population either way so I tend to lean more towards some years just have a higher number of older fish that did not mature enough yet to get that migrating feeling. Which in turn will make it more of a smelt bite. There are always exceptions like that year a few years back Keith spoke about, I was there and saw it as well.

Anyways just a opinion, I'm not saying I'm right, could be completely wrong I'm not a bio and never will be. but that's how I feel.

[nixstyx]

Excellent info. I had no idea about the urge to move into rivers... learn something new on IceShanty everyday.

[fisherhawk55]

Try this ledy remove the spinner blade from and old roostertail drill a secondary hole tie that above your smelt to weight it down the movement will attract a strike when the blade flutters when the bait moves.

[pipes18079]

Lots of great info here guys this spot he is talking about is driving me nuts I have had smelt on the ice majority of trips out only one flag on smelt that ran and spit about ten minutes later I got one on an egg it was a touch over 19 inches and very plump. I under stand bow fish is a slow sport for the most part but Ledy I think it's time we move that shanty and explore some. On fish in 11 trips for our cre isn't cutting it for me lets try some lakers out maybe

[whitewing]

Fish smelt if they are there. Catch trout later. You can't beat a charge of fresh smelt!!

[Capt. Black]

I under stand bow fish is a slow sport for the most part but Ledy I think it's time we move that shanty and explore some. On fish in 11 trips for our cre isn't cutting it for me lets try some lakers out maybe

We try to have the best of both worlds. Our shack is in 50-60' of water but the shallows for bows is about 120+ yds. away. Drill some holes shallow and dump eggs and put 1 trap with smelt shallow. The rest of the traps go deep for lakers until the shallow one goes or the eggs are missing.

Great info here. Thanks for sharing it. The bows I've caught this year were on smelt just under the ice, in 18" of water, with 3-4 eggs thrown down for a buffet.

[pipes18079]

Fish smelt if they are there. Catch trout later. You can't beat a charge of fresh smelt!!

I've got to ask what do people do with these fresh water smelt. Are they food or bait they seem so tiny compared to salts smelt which are tiny enough in my eyes. But I wast trouting up on cedar before and people were going googoo over these smelt and spent all day targeting them. Are the fresh water one good to eat too?

[Swampdonkey]

I've got to ask what do people do with these fresh water smelt. Are they food or bait they seem so tiny compared to salts smelt which are tiny enough in my eyes. But I wast trouting up on cedar before and people were going googoo over these smelt and spent all day targeting them. Are the fresh water one good to eat too?

Nothin better.

[perch boy]

WHAT HE SAID!