Maine Smelt Fishing Tips

If you are interested in trying ice fishing in Maine then read an article entitled "Some tips before, during and after smelt fishing", Seacoastonline.com, January 24, 2008. The passage below is an extract from the article - to read the full article click on the hyperlink above.

"Ocean-going smelt enter our tidal waters as early as November and December. Anglers get serious about smelting in January and can fish for them into March. Fishing can be done from a pop-up ice shelter. This means taking an ice auger to get through the ice, as well as a stove to keep the chill off, bait, bucket, rods, hooks and other tackle. Everything has to be hauled out onto the ice because the ice is too unstable to drive a vehicle. The majority of smelt anglers like to rent a shack from a commercial place where most of the items are taken care of by the proprietors. Small mom-and-pop businesses emerge each year with as many as two dozen smelt shacks for rent on the ice of tidal rivers. The cost to rent these shacks varies, with the range of price somewhere between $10 and $14 per person. Bait, hooks, lines, and sinkers are provided. There is a wood or kerosene stove in the shack to keep the occupants warm."