Champlain Smelt

[gogetthegaff]

Anybody catching smelt on Champlain? Been to Basin Harbor twice now and absolutely nothing happening. Have electroncis too and have moved around a lot and even tried it at night but can't seem to find any. What about "Swifts"? Anybody fishing up there?

[Champlaingler]

From what I understand the smelt are all but missing on Champlain. I catch a few every so often in my deeper perch spots, also see a few spit up by perch.

[RipSomeLips22]

yeah pretty much smelt are non existent on lake champlain, mostly because of the alewives

[Champlaingler]

Alewives are not what we're looking for, stinky f@ckers! 

[iceman11]

Newbie here, why u catching smelt?

[dylan8351]

Newbie here, why u catching smelt?

Why not!?!? They taste good and make for good bait!

[gogetthegaff]

If I was catching 'em I'd be frying them up and the ones that just refused to die would magically make their way back into the lake on the end of a hook, to be eaten by something big. That's if I could catch some.

[iceman11]

Catching some would b nice

[cbice]

I'm afraid the once abundant smelt population is a thing of the past.  I haven't caught one in champlain since 2005.

[Champlaingler]

If I want masses of buttery fish sticks I go to chazy lake. 

[Champlaingler]

I got into them today on Champlain, hog perch and Cisco out of the same hole.

[mroy44]

I got into them today on Champlain, hog perch and Cisco out of the same hole.

A cisco thats awsome!  Probably a question that I already know the answer to, but can you use ciscos as pike bait?

[Champlaingler]

In NY they're in the other category, no limit, I'd use em for bait

[mroy44]

Ive heard they were good pike bait.  Also seen the crew on in fisherman use the fillets with two treble hooks in it

[finlessbrown]

A cisco thats awsome!  Probably a question that I already know the answer to, but can you use ciscos as pike bait?

we can't even use gills anymore. i asked a warden and he said not even as cutbait in the summer for cats

[mroy44]

Pretty soon we are going to have to use gulp alive on the end of our tip ups. lol

[fishstalker]

I got into them today on Champlain, hog perch and Cisco out of the same hole.

Ive also caught a dozen or so ciscos this year. All in the broad lake, all about 12"

[Percheye101]

Pretty soon we are going to have to use gulp alive on the end of our tip ups. lol

They will have that outlawed before you know it!

[Troutmagnet]

They will have that outlawed before you know it!

Be sure to never tell anyone the stuff tastes real good cause those bureaucrats will add a meals tax on it!!!!