the story of the Bomoseen smelt

[tracker one]

If you want the  story of the Bomoseen smelt restoration, read Donsreelsports in "Sams Good News" that comes out tomorrow(Tuesday 2/25/14)

[dave bartlett]

        Don't know what his real story is but i wrote to the Fish and Wildlife last year and posted the true statement from them and again this year wrote a comment on here about it.I will read it though.

[tracker one]

Dave, this is just more info in addition  to what you have already said

[thebigwiggle]

Thats Awesome i will definetly pick up a copy . thanks for the heads up .. cant wait to read it..

[dave bartlett]

        Thanks tracker,I will read it

[dave bartlett]

      You can read the article from Don Cioffi in the sports @. samsgoodnews.com    Click on sports then dons reels and its at the bottom of the article.

[thebigwiggle]

great article. i read it..

[dave bartlett]

     This is the article in Sams Good News by Don Cioffi.
I want to take this opportunity also to give a tremendous WELL DONE to our Vermont Fisheries personnel for yet another successful venture. It might have been a well kept secret up to now, but slowly the word is getting out that our F&W Department has been stocking fertilized Rainbow Smelt eggs into Lake Bomoseen and guess what? If you stock them----they will grow! And they did! And they are BIG-----and tasty. It has been a long, long time since I have had as great a time as I did recently through the ice. In years past, up at the Champlain Bridge on Lake Champlain, we used to do quite well targeting Smelt and every once in a great while we would get a bunch that we called "Dog Smelt" due to their nice size---up to 10 or 11 inches long. Most of the fish we caught recently were ALL that long----and, like I said, very tasty! They are NOT that easy to catch, and it certainly is NOT like fishing in a barrel, but if you are patient (not always my best virtue) you can be successful. Chet McKenzie, fisheries biologist with the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, right here in the Rutland office, went through the process of gaining state approval for introduction of Rainbow Smelt from Silver Lake into Lake Bomoseen some three or four years ago. Smelt eggs were first harvested on burlap mats laid on the spawning stream bottoms in 2011 and transported to Lake Bomoseen, where they spawned out pretty well. There had been a full year with three different biological disease testings of the Silver Lake Smelt to insure that there were no adverse environmental traces in these fish before their eggs were transferred to another location. Silver Lake was picked primarily because of the very limited boat traffic and therefore limited chances of fish contamination. In 2012 there was major flooding and possibly an effect on the hatch, but in 2013 mats were again successfully laid. Last year the sampling showed pretty good growth and this year it is even better. The Dept. hopes that after another year of transfer, there will be enough natural reproduction in Bomoseen to sustain the species---Rainbow Smelt---the same Smelt that are in Lake Champlain. Congratulations, again, to Chet McKenzie and all his Fisheries guys for a real great job on the re-introduction of this species. Great baitfish----great mealfish---great sporting opportunity---job well done. A note of caution!!!! The reason that the Smelt in Lake Saint Catherine disappeared is because of the introduction of the Alewife----a very competitive bait species--and a non-native species, as well. If this should happen to Lake Bomoseen, it will also kill off the Smelt---so let's be very careful not to let this happen----follow the bait rules----PLEASE.

[flagfishon]

     A note of caution!!!! The reason that the Smelt in Lake Saint Catherine disappeared is because of the introduction of the Alewife----a very competitive bait species--and a non-native species, as well. If this should happen to Lake Bomoseen, it will also kill off the Smelt---so let's be very careful not to let this happen----follow the bait rules----PLEASE.

I have read many threads on this forum criticizing F&W about the bait laws.  Many say that they are too strict and unnecessary.  This cites an important reason for us all to follow these rules despite our perceived knowledge or good intentions.  I have never caught smelt and look forward to coming down to Bomo in years to come for some great fun.  Lets protect this great fishery.

[deepwaterdan]

I think the F&W should be putting a limit on smelt for a few years. If people are going home with 50-60 smelt it will not be long before they are history once again. Fishing on Bomo has finally started to come back, lets not get to where we were the past years.

[Will Vaughan]

I think the F&W should be putting a limit on smelt for a few years. If people are going home with 50-60 smelt it will not be long before they are history once again. Fishing on Bomo has finally started to come back, lets not get to where we were the past years.

X2

I've seen people coming off the lake with 5 gallon pails full. Maybe in a few years, but right now while the re-introduction is still relatively new it'd be wise to hold back or we'll be right back where we were.

[pikeaddict]

X2

I've seen people coming off the lake with 5 gallon pails full. Maybe in a few years, but right now while the re-introduction is still relatively new it'd be wise to hold back or we'll be right back where we were.

x3

[DunmoreFAn]

I heard a rumor they are being caught in Saint Catherine again!

[legend]

This will be short...my grandfather wesley leigh merriman  and father harry elliot merriman planted champlain smelt in many lakes from champlain to st cathern in about 1930 something. my dad was a lad of about 9-10 and they filled milk cans up at champlain, drove a buckboard the whole distance with my father dipping the water in the cans to put air in the water. bomoseen was one(pencil mill), and st cathern was another that the smelt really took off in. i can remember catching smelt they stocked in pencil mill in the 60s during the spring run. it took them a couple days by buckboard.   I thought you might like to know.              leigh merriman gillette wyoming             

[finlessbrown]

I heard a rumor they are being caught in Saint Catherine again!

there was 1 caught last winter during the frosty derby. that was one of maybe 10 in the last 10 years

[tracker one]

This will be short...my grandfather wesley leigh merriman  and father harry elliot merriman planted champlain smelt in many lakes from champlain to st cathern in about 1930 something. my dad was a lad of about 9-10 and they filled milk cans up at champlain, drove a buckboard the whole distance with my father dipping the water in the cans to put air in the water. bomoseen was one(pencil mill), and st cathern was another that the smelt really took off in. i can remember catching smelt they stocked in pencil mill in the 60s during the spring run. it took them a couple days by buckboard.   I thought you might like to know.              leigh merriman gillette wyoming             

Now that's a story I hadn't heard before,   Awesome!

[DunmoreFAn]

I have heard of some being caught this year..... anyway im gonna try for just a small batch for a little meal next week on Bomo..... been a while sense i had smelt for dinner!

[trophy11]

I heard a rumor they are being caught in Saint Catherine again!

 I jigged up six two weeks ago... nothing great but they are in there

[wmhunts]

Bomo is not the only lake that has had an abundant smelt resurgence. I'm reluctant to name this fishery its small and when I was a kid there was a shanty town near the boat launch. Something happened to the smelt and they disappeared. Well they are back in full force and big to, we call them jacks. I wonder if the F&W stocked them here to. Perhaps the conditions have just been right for some good spring spawns. I know of a Nh lake that has a fluctuating population. some years boom some years bust