Smelt for trolling salmon?

[centerspin]

Anybody tried it? Is it productive in the spring/summer? What is a setup, and how do you cure your smelt?

:0)

[Disco]

I tried it. I brined them and used whole bait heads. For the big smelt I cut a fillet off and brined them but the really big ones fall apart even after brining.

I used fire brine.

[sdcaller]

Years ago on Lake Ontario I used frozen smelts from the grocery store and used a "teaser" head behind a flasher.

Haven't thought about using it on GB.

SDC

[sabmgb]

I salt my left over minnows, they last about 2 months in the freezer, wonder if that would work on smelt.

[centerspin]

THX guys, gotta give it a shot, see what happens. Disco, appreciate the comment about the big ones falling apart. Sabmgb, I salt mine using a 4 step method - brine/ dry cure/ wash with brine/ dry and vacuum seal with a papertowel backing- they come out very shiny and last about a year this way.

[Jesse]

The price of anchovies at the bait shops is getting ridiculous this is a good idea as well as buying bulk packs of frozen sardines at the grocery store

[sdcaller]

If you are looking to buy bait like this, think of Centra in Barrie. It is an Oriental grocery store and they have all kinds of fresh and frozen fish

SDC

[centerspin]

THX SDCaller, my friends just bought some there recently.
I catch my own

[centerspin]

It looks like a thing to do is to add a wire to the baitholder head to give the body a proper curve

[Krawler]

Have you seen the new bait heads from Davey's baits? They are basically a bait head but smaller in size for smaller strips or smelt or smaller artificial strips. Cant wait to run them on the bay this year. with our main forage being smelt, i think these new heads will work well. coupled with the right flasher, the salmon dont stand a chance. Also be on the lookout for new flashers coming out this year. They were around a few years back but they will be coming out again this year under a new brand/owner. I've had a sneak peak at the colors/patterns and they are near perfect for GBay. both flashers and new bait heads are Canadian companies. for more info, follow Kings on the Bay FB group. i post regularly on there with all the new up and coming trolling products. I also encourage trolling reports, with one rule in mind, locations are not allowed, only Home port if you wish to share that. And just to add, 2 new Canadian spoon brands being released by Summer, specifically designed for trolling on the Bay. Also im testing 2 new trolling baits this summer and will post my findings on the group. Last year one of these baits took 2 fish within 20 min of dropping lines on one of my last trolls of the summer so im hopeful they produce again this year. Sorry i went off topic. Smelt would work for sure however the brine is in question. Something else im testing this year too.

kris

[centerspin]

I ordered some sardine teaser heads from BC already.
I took a look on Davies flashers, they repeat some hotfish patterns, whish is good. How far do you run a flasher off the ball Krawler, and do you go slower?

[Krawler]

minimum 50ft
usually 75

in the clear water i like a stealth approach, meaning i want the flasher and meat head to run independently from other distractions such as cannonball. during stager season you can run closer to the ball.

I also like a 6-7 ft lead between flasher and head and i prefer an 8" flasher but again its personal preference. also less flash for me. I vary my speed based on fish behavior, i like to speed troll so high 2's but majority will run 2-2.4 at the ball. We have caught fish running 3.5 at the ball but thats when they are really active

[centerspin]

THX!