Smelt, tip ups, VHS Disease

[zwalleye]

Went up to Crystal Lake last weekend and did well on smelt.  When I got home I wanted to freeze some for tip up bait but then got thinking about the new laws concerning VHS disease.  Does anyone know if you can still use smelt for tip up bait since they are dead?  I was told by one person that you could but as we talked more he wasn't so sure.  Any input from our great knowledge base on the forum would be helpful for all I'm sure.

[ketchemall]

you can only use bait in the waters or spillways it was caught and thats dead or alive and as for the vhs it goes for them alive or dead

[wartfroggy]

no, smelt are not on the list of "prohibited species" (MDNR).
I am pretty sure they can be used as bait on other lakes. If they were alive, it could only be on lakes that also have a smelt population, dead is ok.