Looking for a smelt fishing guide, Have been searching for years

Hey guys, I’ve been searching for a smelt fishing guide for many years. I’ve googled and asked around but no news.

Do people even guide for smelt? I know it’s seasonal, but dang.

Thanks guys!

Where are you located in Ontario?

They are plentiful in most cottage country lakes. I believe the next three weeks is when they run up here, still a tad early. But it’s different in each lake, the timing is like a progression from north to south. Need to start going out around 9pm and looking for a couple hours… see nothing then try again couple days later. Also keep tabs on the next full moon. Look for public access near creek mouths and sandy beaches. I always seem to miss it, so don’t take my word for it lol. Or go for drive at dusk and see if guys are setting up in the “spots”.

Thanks, I’m not trying to be that a###### who steals a spot, so I don’t mind paying a guide.

To be honest, the thing that sparked my interest in smelt was that I was ice fishing lake Joseph, did great on lake trouts, but I was always marking these tiny fish, I didn’t know what they were, there were like dozens and dozens of marks all the time, and what ever it was, it was nibbling ever so lightly at my lures.

Well I got back to Toronto and cut open the lakers, and there they were, jammed packed with smelt,

So if I had a sabiki rig or tiny hooks, I’m pretty sure I could have ice fished the smelt. And loaded up on them.

Toronto, so they why I can’t really take the time to scout up north, and that’s why I’d be willing to pay, and make it a once a year adventure up north. I don’t mind driving 2-3 hours once a year!

As a kid, we went to Wilmot Creek at night to get smelts...so many that it made be nauseous thinking about them. No exaggeration. We literally grabbed them with our hands and it was kind of disgusting because the females would be spewing eggs and the males would b spewing their stuff all over us as we grabbed them. No nets needed. Filled a black garbage bag - then the cleaning (it's fast for each smelt but with so many, it took hours). Haven't done that in a few decades nos so have no idea if they still run that Creek (probably but not in those numbers I would guess). After all that and the constant smell afterwards (esp. for kids), I never wanted to eat another smelt for a long time - probably a good thing since they were coming from Lake O (and during a pretty polluted period). Then many years later, while ice fishing, I caught a bunch of large ones while fishing fro perch and tried then again and wow, they were good! The Sabiki rigs are great for smelt but I usually cut the long line of hooks down to about 3 or 4 hooks (plenty to handle on an ice rod). Each time I see exactly what you have described on the sonar and tiny bites, I switch up and can catch a bunch before they move on. They are always the most liked fish for eating when I return from a fishing trip with smelt in the cooler.

Does anyone know why the smelt population crashed?

Maybe from guys taking full garbage bags of them home 🤷🏼‍♂️

Maybe from guys taking full garbage bags of them home 🤷🏼‍♂️

Yea that’s what I suspect too, and I can kind of see why. It’s a free resource and if you don’t take it, someone else will. That’s the thinking now adays.

My parents told me about the smelt runs back In The day, and I just get jealous. I’m not trying to take buckets back. Literally just enough to have 2 good meals LOL

Can't really guide for smelt you take one guy out and show em the spot the next night he shows up with 10 of his buddies and cleans it out. seen it with other species when a guide takes a guy out. There are people who hire guides just for spots and intel and then the go there on thier own with thier posse

Acid Rain

Amen
I was biting my Tongue not to say that. I always seem to be to blunt then Knuguy ridicules me

Huh? Did I ridicule you?----didn't mean to, sorry if I did. I was prob joking around a bit. Or are you just yanking my chain??

Ahh that makes sense. Sucks for everyone I guess

? Sorry don’t think we’re talking about you. We’re referring to “other” people that will clean out a spot and leave nothing.