Smelt Fishing - What's with the name?

Rick, Doug, and I went smelt fishing in Maine on Saturday.

I have no idea what Smelt taste like. The name “Smelt” doesn’t seem very appealing. Who picked that name anyway? Rick said “You fry them up.... fabulous!” I guess I will find out!!

We are going to the River Bend Smelt Camp in Bowdoinham, ME. It’s about 2 1/2 hours north of us. The camp supplies a fishing hut, wood/stove in the hut, and bait. We will fish the incoming tide. Saturday low tide is 8 o'clock AM. Our thought was to be up at 4:30AM and on the road by 5:30AM. Doesn’t everyone do that on a Saturday?

Rick called the camp to find out more. They said we don’t need to get on the ice until 11:00AM. It takes that long for the tide to come inland to where we will be fishing. Rick brought venison stew. I brought the coffee pot.

We were in Hut 7 which was a 3 person hut. It was set up well with the stove on one wall and the ice channel on the other. There were 14 lines with a double hook set-up above the channel. We changed many of the hooks, put a piece of worm on each hook and lowered the lines. We started to heat up the venison stew and put the coffee on. The wood stove kept us very warm.

What depth do we drop the lines? How do we know when a fish is on? Do you set the hook or just keep pressure on the line when pulling the fish up? We had no idea. It seemed like we had more luck when the bait was closer to the bottom. When a fish gets hooked the line starts moving in a circle. We lost several fish pulling them up as they shook loose.

Smelt are schooling fish so you would think when one is hooked you would catch a whole bunch. They say that does happen but we were only catching one at a time. The guys in the hut not far away caught 100 fish. They were using jig poles with different set ups.

We fried the smelt we caught right on the wood stove with flour, salt, and pepper in a hot skillet with some oil. So here goes! The name “Smelt” does not sound very appetizing but to my surprise they were excellent (similar to haddock or cod).

It would be a lot of fun with families and kids. Next time we will set up jig poles as well.

Kennebunkport, ME Vacation - 2012

We were off to Kennebunkport, ME for a week of vacation.    It’s a family tradition.

The house we rented last year worked out well so we rented the same one again.  There is lots of space, large rooms, private (on 3.2 acres), quiet, half mile from the ocean, backs up to a golf course, etc. 

I have a “Type A Personality” when we go on vacation and “I NEED TO DO STUFF”.  The others are much more content and happy going to the beach a lot, resting, etc.  I can do the beach a few times but I like to explore and lucky for me, Pam gives me the opportunity to do that.  Whew …

We loaded up Saturday morning and headed out.  Once settled in the house we relaxed.  The weather for the week turned out to be perfect.  Sunny and in the high 80’s most days, low humidity, and low 50’s at night. 

My first little adventure started Sunday morning.  I missed church as I was on the road early heading north to check out the Barnyard Firecracker 4x4.  http://actionshotsnh.blogspot.com/2012/07/barnyard-all-terrain-park-firecracker.html   It was fun.  I saw a nice barn on the drive and had to stop for a picture.  Kevin and Kate said they want to go next year.  The others went to church in the morning then headed to the beach. 

Being an early riser (even on vacation) I was up between 4:00AM and 5:30AM each morning.  One morning I headed out at 4:30AM to see the sun rise.  I ended up at Cape Porpoise and took a few sunrise pictures.  I had another sunrise experience at Perkins Cove too.

We walked down the beach to the jetty and the cove at Gooch’s beach several times.  We walked through the shops in town and found a new homemade ice cream place.  We played on the rocks at spouting rock.  I saw this person painting the “Dark Shadows” house.  It recently had new shingle siding installed and a garage addition.

Kevin brought 2 of his RC cars (e-revo and rock crawler).  The house has a long driveway and rock ledge in front so he had fun with his cars.  He also tested his skills on the rocks near spouting rock which was challenging. 

We went to Ogunquit and walked Marginal Way.  One day the kids had fun at Ogunquit beach riding their boogie boards up the channel in the strong current as the tide came in. 

I used my GPS to drive the back roads during the week and went to Perkins Cove, Moody Beach, Wells Beach, Drakes Island, Parsons Beach, Kennebunk Beach, Kennebunkport, Cape Porpoise, Goose Rocks Beach, East Point in Biddeford, continuing to Old Orchard Beach, etc.

Throughout the week I saw seals sunning themselves on the rocks, heron, other birds, and lots of pretty skies.  I saw fishing boats, sail boats, lobster traps, pretty beaches, neat houses, a couple barns, and nice winding back roads. 

One of our traditions is to have pizza on the beach for dinner on Friday.  It’s our last beach experience before we head home the next morning.  We had everything set up and ordered our pizza to be delivered.  We had teams playing “ladder toss” when former First Lady, Barbara Bush, stopped and watched as we played.  I talked with her briefly.  She seemed well and said her husband was doing well also.  I told her I had seen her earlier in the week driving the Bush #41 golf cart around Walker’s Point with a sign that reads "Property of #41 Hands off!” 

We packed up Saturday morning and headed home.  Before we left we reserved the house again for a week next year even though it’s for sale (for $2 million).  We were making the assumption or hoping no one will decide to empty their piggy bank and buy the place.  Once home we unpacked only to get ready for the NASCAR LENOX Industrial 301 race.  http://www.actionshotsnh.blogspot.com/2012/07/nascar-lenox-industrial-tools-301-2012.html

My vacation started with 4x4’s and mud … beach, sun and driving … ending with NASCAR speed … Great family vacation.

NH Ice Fishing Derby - Lake Winnipesaukee 2011

Rick and Steven stopped by my house on Friday to pick up fire wood.  They were staying at David's over the weekend.

I would head up with Kevin early Saturday morning and meet them on the ice.  Kevin had been out of school and running a temperature so he ended up staying home.  I planned to be on the road by 6:00AM.  I woke up at 4:30AM (no idea why!).  I loaded up, stopped at Dunkin Donuts for a coffee, and headed north. 

Jed, John and their crew were going to Spindle Point.  I met Rick and Steven just after the bridge on Moultonborough Neck. 

I parked off the road. I was hesitant to drive my truck on the ice although there were other trucks out there.  The morning temperature was 6 degrees.  The sun came out briefly but was blocked by clouds much of the day. 

Steve and Rick were set up when I arrived.  They had just finished drilling the holes in the ice and the tip ups were out.  Steve made his famous breakfast sandwiches on the grill.  We had lots of food in case others showed up. 

We met Chris and his son David fishing next to us.  They had come up the night before and set up.  They were sleeping in an ice shanty with -40 degree bags and a propane heater right out on the ice.  If you have the proper equipment it would be fun.  They caught several cusk and some perch but none big enough for the board.  Rick caught a very nice salmon that he quickly released as salmon are protected this time of year. 

There were some interesting ice houses on the lake.  As usual, the game warden stopped by to check licenses and the number of traps we had set up. 

Enjoyable afternoon.  It warmed up to 31 degrees however, the wind picked up so it felt much colder. 

Late afternoon I ended up driving my truck on the ice.  As I parked I was talking to Chris and David and the ice made a huge popping noise.  I remember long ago what Doug said "If we go through the ice just follow your bubbles!!"  David said that was the ice settling.  eek ...

One truck on the ice got stuck near us.  The driver was trying to keep up his momentum as he passed us but the back end of his truck started bouncing around as he passed by.  As the truck continued to bounce the ice around us started to move up and down also.  That was a very strange feeling.  We ended up pushing him to get him moving again.  Many of the houses near shore had their docks raised so they wouldn't be crushed by the ice. 

There wasn't much fish action for us.  We packed up around 4:15PM.  Rick and Steve headed for David's house to start making their big spaghetti dinner.  The crew from Spindle Point was joining them.  I couldn't stay so I headed home.  Hopefully the gang will have better luck Sunday.  Rick said they may fish near One Mile Island tomorrow. 

I stopped at the board on the way to look at the fish that had come in for the day.   There were some big fish in each category.  The rainbow trout were very colorful.  There were lots of ice huts, people, snow machines, and ATV's on the ice.  They had helicopter rides also.  It would been fun to take Kevin up so we could see the lake and Red Hill from the air.

Ice Fishing is relaxing and fun especially with friends and family. Get out there and take your family fishing ...

Search Blog Archive: February 2012, January 2010 & February 2009 - for more Winnipesaukee Ice Fishing.