|
Post by Oldstar on May 13, 2019 10:13:08 GMT -6
We started at the beach Sat. the waves were brutal and we only got about a gallon. Then Barney Fife from the Duluth DFD came down trying to get everyone to put the fires out. These guys are a joke, I guess those pimple face pukes don't have anything better to do. We moved on to the Lester and got a nice batch. Definitely still plenty of males, I think the run the run will last at least another week. I even saw some daytime action yesterday! Attachments:
|
|
|
Post by smelt007 on May 13, 2019 22:44:58 GMT -6
Season winding down. Tried a few spots along the beach. Was slow all over. Each pull was zero to a dozen. Putting away the net and waders.
|
|
|
Post by Oldstar on May 14, 2019 6:42:52 GMT -6
Season winding down. Tried a few spots along the beach. Was slow all over. Each pull was zero to a dozen. Putting away the net and waders. I think a lot of the smelt avoided the beach and the ice. There was only 1 great night at the beach this year. They are still running the rivers. I think a higher percentage spawned in the rivers this year compared too most. There was still some daytime action on rivers up north yesterday.
|
|
|
Post by thedeceive on May 14, 2019 9:10:27 GMT -6
Lester is still running.
|
|
|
Post by smelt007 on May 14, 2019 11:59:39 GMT -6
The run was disappointing this year on the beaches. Hope the run next year will be even better. 365 days to go....
|
|
|
Post by Oldstar on May 14, 2019 12:36:48 GMT -6
The run was disappointing this year on the beaches. Hope the run next year will be even better. 365 days to go.... I was even more disappointed that the idiots from the FD were down there bothering people......
|
|
|
Post by dominodaves on May 14, 2019 12:41:57 GMT -6
At least we had the opportunity to use the beaches this year. It was looking like we had no options there at all until last week! So be happy for that.
Smelt are a very adaptable species! My personal opinion is that they adapted this year from the ice covered beaches to shallow rocky shorelines along the north shore this year. The dark rocks absorbed a lot of sun energy and warmed up better than the sands and lured them in! It seems a bit weird this year that the smelt are coming to the Lester in droves but not filling the river. At least not when I've been there...and most reports have been around the mouth or near it. And the seiners have done well even a hundred yards from the mouth. So one could conclude that the whole shore has them on it. But the river above the mouth was pretty slack in flow, so maybe there little to entice them further than the mouth.
It will be interesting to see how this years hatch success effects the next couple years of smelting. Clearly, the weather has led to less than ideal conditions to spawn in. Hopefully we will be okay. But if the numbers drop drastically...we can easily conclude 2019 was hard on them.
|
|
|
Post by dominodaves on May 14, 2019 12:51:02 GMT -6
Oldstar, the FD comes down there every year! Sometimes multiple times a night. They threaten to ticket....all the usual stuff. The last few years they have been putting up a sign about no fires on the beaches due to dry conditions! Those ice piles could ignite at any moment you know there eh!!!!
I just try and be respectful, let them have their show, and go catch more smelt! The fires all seem to get relit after they leave....I guess they need more sand and water next time!
I think the local home owners get a bit tired of the smelters on "their" beach and use the FD to retaliate....who knows. I try and remind myself that I'm there for the smelt and hanging out with by buddies! I don't need a fire to have fun...but they are nice!!
|
|
|
Post by jg010682 on May 14, 2019 13:12:02 GMT -6
The run on the beach wasnt as good as ive seen it in the past but it was still pretty good we filled coolers no problem
|
|
|
Post by Oldstar on May 14, 2019 14:02:58 GMT -6
Oldstar, the FD comes down there every year! Sometimes multiple times a night. They threaten to ticket....all the usual stuff. The last few years they have been putting up a sign about no fires on the beaches due to dry conditions! Those ice piles could ignite at any moment you know there eh!!!! I just try and be respectful, let them have their show, and go catch more smelt! The fires all seem to get relit after they leave....I guess they need more sand and water next time! I think the local home owners get a bit tired of the smelters on "their" beach and use the FD to retaliate....who knows. I try and remind myself that I'm there for the smelt and hanging out with by buddies! I don't need a fire to have fun...but they are nice!! You got that right! I gave them a good ear full. Seems they would have better things to do.....Sure is nice when your wet and cold to have a fire going! I watched them leave on Saturday and many lit back up. I'm sure your right about rich home owners. We actually burned a ton of garbage and debris near us this year.
|
|
|
Post by Done on May 15, 2019 2:43:41 GMT -6
The run is on at the lester
|
|
|
Post by tw on May 15, 2019 5:37:58 GMT -6
Has anyone noticed that this year's smelt is diseased? I've noticed that quite a few of them have bumpy white spots on them. Does anyone have an answer on this? Not a disease..theyre males
|
|
|
Post by Hunterfishguy on May 15, 2019 7:17:27 GMT -6
No more updates?
|
|
|
Post by Oldstar on May 15, 2019 8:22:12 GMT -6
Beach is dead. Rivers are still running. Not much else to say......
|
|
|
Post by Smelt nerds on May 15, 2019 11:02:03 GMT -6
Was at Tot lot last night and got four buckets. The water was very calm. Wish it could of been a lot better.
|
|