Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Smelt Fry - a Wisconsin favorite

The smelt run is on in lakes Michigan and Superior. My wife and I have taken advantage of it and have two fish fry's under our belt.

Another fish fry coming up tomorrow night.

Anyone else enjoy Smelt?

I'd like to try it.
How would you describe the taste?

One year a couple of us went up to Two Rivers to try our hand at catching some.

Lack of proper equipment relegated us to the bar for the weekend....

Love em. We used to fill up a 5 gallon bucket. Fun to dip but a pain to clean.

Wabigon, tastes like Lake Michigan water. Seriously, they have a mild fishy taste. Have only known a couple of people who did not care for them.

$9.99 for all you can eat. Coleslaw, rye bread and tartar sauce.

Wouldn't know a Smelt from a Mullet...

pics are required...

Damn, I miss it! Nothing like freshly melted ice over the top of the waders to wake a feller up. Phillips Blue 100 antifreeze helps with the cold.

A seine at the mouths of the Brule River, Reefer Crick, Fish Crick, etc. would yield a lot of buckets full. Deep fried Beer Batter smelt, or even just dredged in seasoned flour & pan fried was some good eating, for sure.

We used to catch "Hooligan" (Eulachon) in Alaska, which are a close cousin to smelt.
Cut the head off, slit the belly open and remove the guts, soak in a mild brine for about an hour, then hot smoke on racks (~200F) with alder for an hour.

You stick the tine of a fork under the skin just above the spine, slide it back towards the tail, unzipping the skin. he whole filet will then slip right off of the bones, flip it over and lift the other filet off.

The "Hooligan" we used to catch ran 8" to 10" long and about 1.25" deep, and about an inch thick.

I love it on buttered toast with a green salad and a good white wine.

Ed

Opening fishing there usually is a big Smelt fry in Crivitz.Them suckers are like eating popcorn.They are easy to clean.just slit the belly and pull the guts out with a finger.Don`t need to take the head off.A bucket of those fried up and a pitcher of beer to wash them down with its better than your first orgasm!!!

And schitt like a goose tomorrow.....

Dang straight - and there's very few things better IMHO. The local American Legion holds one every year - usually about a week or 10 days from now.. Last time, IIRC, they went through more than 5-600# of fish....Not bad for a teeny burg of under 3K..

I have about 5 pounds of smelt left from 25 lbs that i got this time a year ago ...I love them... I will have to buy some more here in a bit. http://www.lakesuperiorfish.com/order_smelt.html

When we lived in the U.P., dad used to get them by the bucket full on the Escanaba near the dam. Literally one dip would fill a bucket when the run was on. He and his buddy filled the back of a pick- up with buckets one night. He was up cleaning fish all night until he had to go to work in the am. Used Ma's sewing shears. We ate what we could and he gave the rest away. It was the last time we had smelt - don't know if it was his or her idea to quit or both, but it ended right there.

I used to dip the Cedar River at the mouth.Same deal for catching them.I would aways freeze a bunch whole as they are a dynamite Northern bait for tip up fishing!!!

Hundreds of different species/subspecies of smelt around NA... Like Ed said Hooligan are the standard here, but the surf smelt spawning on fine gravel beaches with clear, clean water around Kodiak in the dark of the moon in October really get the connoisseurs out.

From long distances you can hear the Kodiak bears eating them, along with the gravel sticking to them... It is not uncommon to see dozens of bears on a single beach just digging them up like clams.

Actually, I find filleting them is easier to clean them for deep-frying. Two very quick strips with a very sharp knife and a twist at the end of the second is all it takes. The bones disappear when cooked.

I would love to attend one of those

FWIW, methinks the quality of a smelt fry is 99% positively correlated to beer consumption.

And the brand of beer doesn't matter...

I LOVE SMELT!!!!

They ice fish smelt here all winter on the Kennebecasis & St. John rivers where the salt water tides mix with the fresh. These fish are very good eating. Huge villages of fishing huts out there every winter full of retired guys, families, kids, wives, husbands etc. One spot has a patch of ice cleared for skaters & playing hockey. Always lots of people out there.

Try cooking your smelt on a cookie sheet after coating in shake and bake or similar coating. 425deg oven for only about 12 min. Make sure your fish are all about the same size so they cook the same. Way less greasy and just slide off the pan. I'll never fry smelt again.