Click here to order with free shipping.Team Iceshanty Patches! Most iceshanty boards are represented
For some of you die hard smelters there is another option. There is an area near St John New Brunswick, Renforth where they have been doing quite well on smelts. This is part of the St John River. Its actually a lot closer for me to go there vs southern Maine. Its about 1 hr from Calais. When you get there its only 75-100 yd walk to fish. You can use your own hub or rent some shacks. The limit is 60 smelt per day. Next month the hake season is open and that's another species that they catch there. There is a post on FB "Renforth Ice Fishing" with more details.
I heard directly from James Eddy's and Bakers. Neither will be opening this season.
There's an article in today's Bangor Daily news about the smelt camps. https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/01/29/outdoors/fishing/lack-of-ice-is-killing-maines-iconic-smelt-camps-joam40zk0w/