Where do they catch smelt in winter?
The size of the smelt is small. The small fish prefers to gather in schools that move in the water column. Their total mass can reach several tons.
There may be several schools, so it is useful for the fisherman to know the fishing spots. In winter, the fish are in a semi-anabiotic state, but the smelt is active. Fans of ice fishing enjoy fishing in the White Sea. The taste of fish in winter is good because the diet of smelt changes during the cold season.
To determine where to drill holes, you should focus on other fishermen. A school of fish is located where fishing enthusiasts are grouped. There may be several hundred of them per square kilometer, but each one will catch several kilograms of smelt.
The fish prefers to stop in places where rivers flow into larger water arteries. She remains active throughout the winter. It goes to small rivers to spawn, choosing estuaries as stopping places. Here it prepares to lay eggs, which is why the river mouths attract many fishermen.
Smelt lives in places where the bottom is flat, and other fish try to go to greater depths in winter. They hide in holes, so it is difficult to lure them out. In small rivers, smelt lives at a depth of 4-8 m. In deep water bodies, fishermen get it from a depth of up to 20 m. Fishing is popular on the Verkhnetulomskoye Reservoir.
Catching smelt in winter is carried out in the bottom layer. The bait is lowered to the bottom and then raised 1 m. By playing in this way, fishermen attract a lot of fish. Bites occur in this layer of water; less often, smelt accumulate in other water horizons.
The catch is affected by tidal currents and tides. Smelt react differently to currents, making it difficult to accurately predict the size of the catch.
In which winter months are smelt especially active?
The behavior of the fish is not affected by weather conditions, so it is caught throughout the winter. At the beginning of December the fishing is good, but at this time you can catch small specimens.
In winter, the inhabitants of reservoirs spend time in wintering pits, but smelt behaves differently. She constantly moves in search of food, swimming with her mouth open. Along the way, she grabs everything that can be used for food. It is necessary to take into account the activity of the fish, so in January fishing with a jig will be effective.
Preparation for the pre-spawning run begins in January, so in February the smelt travel to the river mouths. It is best to catch it in mid-February. Fishermen go out onto the ice of rivers and get smelt from a depth of 6-12 m. Most of it is in bays and places with holes.
The fish bite not only during the daytime, but also at night. For night fishing you will need a generator to generate electricity. When darkness comes, smelt reacts more actively to bait; it strives for a light source. To activate the bite, it is useful to direct rays of light into the water. You can remember the time when the bite intensified, and then use these observations.
The activity of the fish depends on the density of the school. If the flock is numerous, then it constantly moves around the reservoir. The bite may decrease and then increase again.
Tackle for smelt - Sakhalin needles, fryers, wipers for winter fishing for smelt and navaga
Many people have probably heard about such gear, but have never seen it, and if they have seen it, they have not tried it.
I will share with you my knowledge and a little experience (1 season) of using this gear in fishing.
Let's start with the mat. parts. As the name suggests, all types of such hooks are made by Sakhalin craftsmen. “Needles” or “Needles” are hooks made from surgical needles. Their distinctive feature is the presence of an ear. Just like everyone else, they are equipped with flies of different types and colors.
“Windshield wipers” are the same hooks made from car windshield wiper blades. If you disassemble the windshield wiper, you will find a stainless steel plate in it, from which the so-called “wipers” are made. There are different types of execution. They are also equipped with flies of different colors.
“Sakhalin Roasting” are hooks made of wire (mesh for products) from conveyor frying lines of canneries. Later they began to use stainless wire, but these hooks retained the name of frying. They are also equipped with flies of different types and colors.
“Garlands” or “Weights” are ready-made tackle for smelt, knitted from these types of hooks. 4-6 hooks are tied on leashes of 1-2 cm and the distance between the hooks is from 25 to 40 cm. The large distance is due to the fact that they are caught mainly at depths of 6 m with this tackle.
This is what I knew about them at the beginning of last season. Below I will describe my experience of using this type of gear in our Kamchatka conditions.
Last year I came across photos of roasts. As a lover of something new, of course I ordered a couple of dozen hooks of different designs to try, especially since I had a machine at home and my hands were itching to tie something. The hooks differed in profile (square, twisted polish) and size (smaller fives, larger sevens). I tied the first flies on them, they differed only in different colors, the stakes (aka garlands) I tied the first hook 15 cm from the load according to our classic scheme, the distance between the next ones was 20 cm, the leashes were 3 cm, 4 hooks in total. In the first tests on local reservoirs, the fish bit mainly on 5s, but the difficulty was that when you bite, you start choosing a bet and when you cling to the ice, it’s 100% successful. Next time I changed the bets. I made the distance between the hooks 30 cm and left 2 hooks. This led to a minimization of crashes and, most interestingly, an increase in the number of bites. In the same way I made garlands with 7s. Things got more fun, then I started selecting the colors of the flies, and this already depends on the taste and color, as they say, markers are different) Perhaps if you shorten the leashes to 1 cm, then there will also be fewer hooks on the edge of the ice, but I don’t know how it will affect the bite... I’ll have to check .
I tested these hooks on all local reservoirs, I caught them everywhere and did well. On Kalygir, the supply of hooks was small, I cut off 2 stakes on the first day, or rather didn’t cut them off, but the kunja gobbled them up mercilessly. It was a pity, but oh well, next time I’ll tie it on a thicker fishing line, but while the gear was intact, the fish were biting very happily. In Oktyabrsky there are also 2 hooks on the big one and I didn’t let go of this fishing rod the whole fishing trip, if there was a fish it bit as well as those sitting next to me. And of course Uka, they had no equal there. 7s worked for 5+, but I would even increase them for this reservoir, such is the fish there :)
That's all. Maybe my modest experience of fishing with this gear will help someone. Maybe there are people here on the forum who have experimented with these hooks, their opinion would be interesting :) Below are a few photos of what I fished with.
Gear for catching winter smelt
The fisherman must have gear for catching smelt in winter, which can be simple. Beginner fishermen need to choose a rod and line. Smelt comes in the following types:
- European (smelt);
- smallmouth;
- toothy (American).
When fishing, the fishing rod should be close to the hole; the nod is made of a twisted spring. Nodding tackle has proven itself well, but you can also catch smelt using a float rod. If the fish are inactive, then a float rod can bring a big catch.
Fishing is difficult because in winter you have to change bait often.
In the spring you can fish with net screens, they are also called scarves. According to the rules, one fisherman can have no more than 5 screens. They are installed near the shore, nets are placed in the same way, or they are lowered into the river from bridges. Sometimes smelt got caught in nets set for larger fish.
Tyrants
If a fisherman is going to catch smelt with a tyrant, the hook should be decorated with a colored rubber band, making feathering. The number of bites will increase sharply, small fish will actively hunt for the bait. Colored threads work well for this. When the work is completed, the hook will resemble an artificial fly.
Samodur is a piece of fishing line with a sinker at the end. Several hooks are tied to the fishing line, so the tyrant is effective when fishing. The equipment must be of high quality. When going out on the ice, it is necessary to have several tyrants, then the fisherman will not have to tie his gear in the cold.
Jigs and spinners
The fisherman must have spoon bait, the bait should be prepared in advance. Small jigs are widely used when catching smelt. The best option would be products no larger than 4 or 6 mm. Using larger baits leads to a decrease in bite.
It is useful to have jigs of different colors; silver and gold models have proven themselves well. It is worth having a copper-colored jig. The fisherman will determine which of them will work better on the spot after immersing the bait in the water.
If the bite is bad, you can lure smelt with glow-in-the-dark bait. The game must be right. To do this, you should select a suitable nod for the jig.
Smelt rig
Let's move on to the elements of rigging a fishing rod for smelt.
Fishing line for smelt
For the main line: Akara GLX Premium Yellow 100 m or Akara GLX Abrasion Resistant Brown 150 m; for the leash we use fishing line: Akara GLX ICE Clear 30 m
When fishing for smelt, there are very specific requirements for the fishing line..
Now we are talking about smelt fishing in our region, this is, first of all, the Gulf of Finland . Fishing takes place at a depth, usually from 10 to 25 meters , so the fishing line must be quite stiff, quite thick, otherwise it will simply get tangled. The second point is that the fishing line must be noticeable in order to be comfortable working with it. I settled on a dark colored line and a bright colored line. The dark one is good because it will be visible best in the snow, but if the ice is already the last, gray, then the bright line will be more noticeable.
The diameter of the line for catching smelt is somewhere between 0.27 mm – 0.28 mm – 0.3 mm.
Basically, fishing line of this diameter is used for smelt. I would not recommend using a fishing line with a thinner diameter, this will make fishing much more difficult - it will get tangled more often.
It is better to use fishing line with increased wear resistance . Akara GLX brand fishing line , a line with fluorocarbon coating, which also increases its wear resistance. This will be the main line (Akara GLX Abrasion Resistant Brown 150 m).
For leashes, I will use a line of the same type (Akara GLX ICE Clear line 30 m), only transparent and with a diameter of 0.2 mm . I probably wouldn’t recommend using thinner line for leashes either. I had experience when I tried to use a thinner line of 0.12 mm, because... Smelt is not a large fish, so why use a thick fishing line? But it ended with me losing 4 jigs on one fishing trip. Moreover, for completely unknown reasons. There was a bit of a bite on the fishing rod, then the biting stopped, I pulled out the fishing rod - there was no jig there. Somehow, I don’t know, maybe the pike perch took a bite, but this is unlikely, I have never felt this when hooking.
With a thin fishing line, jigs will be lost more often, and most importantly, jigs on leashes will be more likely to get confused with the main fishing line . Those. if the main line still has a certain rigidity, then the jigs are less likely to get confused with the main line, this is important.
Sinker for smelt
A bell-shaped sinker is preferred: a bell weight.
Since our fishing line is quite thick, there is no point in wasting time with the weight of the sinker. I chose two sinkers.
It is better to use a bell-shaped sinker; they will sit quite comfortably on the bottom and will not roll around like a pear-shaped one . Weights with a hole with an eyelet so that they can be changed if necessary.
The weight of one sinker is 43 grams, the weight of the second type of sinker is about 28 grams.
Depending on where we will catch smelt, I don’t know, but at great depths and in strong currents it will probably be more convenient to use a heavy sinker, and at shallow depths it will be possible to use a lighter weight if necessary.
Nod to smelt
A spring nod allows you to change the stiffness.
There are countless nod designs. But I prefer, based on experience, a regular spring nod . Pretty tough. It is convenient because you can adjust its length. And if you pull the nod out halfway, then the rigidity will be quite noticeable, and if you pull it out almost all the way, then the rigidity will be less. Absolutely sufficient for smelt fishing needs.
It is important that the ball is quite bright and large, then the bite will be noticeably easier, without having to strain your eyesight.
I won’t use any options with other nods for now, I think that these nods will be absolutely enough for me.
Jigs for smelt
Soldered jigs: Spider P Smelt drop with an eye for a long glow Spider P Smelt drop with a hole Spider P Smelt drop with an eye
Mormyshki - the topic is also quite extensive, the field for experimentation is huge, and there are a lot of options. I’m not ready to plunge headlong into these wilds yet, so I’ve essentially prepared for myself three types of jigs that I’m going to use – all phosphorus jigs.
These ones - darker green in color - are phosphorus jigs with a fairly long glow, i.e. after lighting the jig, it will glow for 10-15 minutes and quite intensely.
Phosphorus jigs are lighter, they may shine a little brighter, but their brightness disappears faster, and they already glow more brightly in the water for 2-3 minutes, and then noticeably dim.
It is unknown what the fish will like, so we will experiment in this regard.
And different ways to attach jigs. In one case, the hole for tying the jig goes through the middle, and in the other case it will be tied by the eye protruding from the outside.
The jigs will be positioned differently on the line, maybe some will be more tangled, some will be less tangled, maybe it will be more convenient for the smelt to peck on some jigs, maybe the execution of bites will be different. We'll see this on the ice.
All jigs of the spider brand are made on fairly high-quality Japanese hooks from Maruto.
Hooks
The sharpness and overall quality of the hook is quite important. Because at great depths, due to the stretching of the fishing line and great depth, the hooking is not very pronounced , and if your hook is dull or of poor quality, then the effectiveness of the hooking will be much less. You need to pay attention to the quality of the hook. Maruto hooks meet these requirements, so we shouldn’t have any problems in this regard.
Maruto hooks in the catalog of the online store Rybolov.ORG.
Assembling float gear for smelt
You need to go out on the ice with a supply of jigs; you need to have from 2 to 15 products with you. A flywheel for winter fishing will help.
It is best to buy a classic jig; a shot or a drop is suitable for catching fish. Tungsten models are of high quality and last a long time. It is necessary to have other gear for smelt in winter.
Rod and reel
To catch smelt, you can use different fishing rods; homemade products have proven themselves well. Homemade lovers can easily make a fishing rod out of foam plastic; it will turn out warm and light. This is how it differs from the factory models.
If you wish, you can install a mount on the fishing rod, then it will be possible to fix the reel. Another option would be to cut a reel into the rod.
Line and float
To catch smelt, they use homemade spoons. It is best to make models with a silver or golden color; large fish bite on them. When hunting for smelt, there are some peculiarities that fishermen should pay attention to. The spoon for smelt should not have grooves on the hooks, then the fish will be easy to remove.
Smelt fishing is fast, so the right lure is important. If you choose a fishing line of minimal thickness, you will get a good catch.
Mono lines give good results. For winter fishing, fishing lines with a diameter of 0.15 to 0.2 mm are suitable, but many fishermen choose a thinner line. In this case, it is worth buying products with a diameter from 0.08 to 0.12 mm. A small jig on a thin line increases the number of bites.
Correctly chosen fishing line does not twist. It is best to buy a product of a dark color, then the fishing line is clearly visible on the ice.
You make your own jig or buy it ready-made. When purchasing a product, you need to ask the seller how long the bait will glow in the dark.
The shape of the float does not matter, but it must be light. Fishermen choose small-sized products, paying attention to their carrying capacity. In this case, you should take into account the depth from which you will have to get the smelt, as well as the strength of the current.
Leashes and hooks
The length of the leash depends on the depth of the reservoir and the speed of the current. If smelt are caught on a float, a leash is not always used. Standard length is from 10 to 30 cm.
The leash should not be visible in the water. You can buy a product made of fluorocarbon.
You can catch smelt with a jig or use hooks with a long shank. Products No. 14−18 are suitable.
The jig acts as a sinker, so no weight is needed when using it. If you plan to fish in places with strong currents, attach a sinker to the end of the fishing line. Above, leashes with hooks covered with bait are placed.
You can fish in the following ways:
- in active mode;
- passive mode.
First, the fisherman chooses a place, then makes holes, placing them 1.5 m from each other. The number of holes depends on how many fishing rods the fisherman has prepared, but rarely exceeds 7-10 pieces. Beginners should take no more than 4 fishing rods, then they will quickly learn to detect bites.
When the holes are made, you need to take a jig and string the bait onto the hook. It is lowered into the hole, and the fishing rod is stuck into the snow nearby. There is another way to fix it. For example, a fishing rod is mounted on legs.
When choosing an active fishing method, make from 2 to 4 holes. The jig is lowered into the water. The fisherman begins to play, sinking it to the bottom and then slowly pulling it into the upper layers of the water. The fish actively reacts to the baits used at the moment when the bait rises.
Fish can move in different layers of water, so the fisherman must “probe” them with bait. It’s easy to notice a bite, because the nod will tilt down.
If the fishing spot is located at the mouth of the river, holes are drilled in a checkerboard pattern, positioning them against the current. You need to have replacement weights with you. We need products weighing 20 and 30 grams; they are used when fishing conditions change. If the current is strong, the fish will bite actively, so you will need a heavy sinker.
When fishing in winter, remember that the bait should not lie on the bottom. The immersion of the jig should be stopped when 5-10 cm remains to the bottom.
Gear for catching smelt in winter
Date: January 21, 2021 | 012
Winter fishing in the Far East, of course, is marked by smelt fishing. This small fish is very tasty. But many Primorye residents catch it not only and not so much for gastronomic reasons. Here, as they say, the main thing is the process! Catching smelt in winter , from under the ice, captivates more and more people every year. So, I think many people will find useful information about the gear used for winter smelt fishing. I'll tell you about this now.
Smelt is a very small fish. So, the gear for it is very delicate. Catching smelt in winter is based on both the principles of using artificial baits and fishing for profit. Let's consider what types of smelt winter gear there are. If we summarize everything that we have seen on the ice and used ourselves, these are four main directions: tyrant, swingers, float and anchors. Those. three normal directions and the last, semi-poaching one. One way or another, let's look at all these gear in more detail. Also, I will tell you how to tie smelt tackle with your own hands.
Tackle for catching smelt on a tyrant
The basis of the tackle is the tyrant, a typical equipment for sea fishing, only in a very elegant design. Now I will briefly tell you how to knit a simple tyrant on smelt.
Take a piece of the thinnest winter fishing line with a diameter of 0.06-0.1mm. The length of the segment can be different, 1m and 2m. It all depends on those places, those depths where smelt fishing will take place. If there is no exact information, or you will change places, look for fish, presumably in different places, with different depths, then you need to knit short, medium, and long tyrants. In general, a lot of tyrants is good. In the cold and wind, no one bandages. If the tackle is torn, we simply take a new, pre-prepared fishing rod.
Smelt hooks are strung on the fishing line. Hooks for smelt are taken small Nos. 16-18 according to the international numbering (about 2.5-3 according to the domestic one).
Buy a lot of these hooks at once, because each tyrant has 3-5 hooks, and they make a lot of tyrants themselves, with a reserve.
We string the hooks onto a piece of fishing line. We do this so that the stings are directed towards the end of the tyrant, where the sinker will be tied. This is exactly how you need to string them, so that after all the manipulations with tying, they become stings up.
Then, we grab each hook with a single knot so that the hooks are located at approximately equal distances from each other.
And then we form the leashes. Pull the line back 3-5cm and tie a double knot. This is how we get each hook on its own double leash.
At the end of the tyrant we tie a sinker. It could be a homemade sinker, a seal, a weight, or just a piece of clamped lead. The weight of the sinker depends on the presence of current in the fishing area. Since they fish, as a rule, in the lower reaches of rivers and bays, there is a current. So, you need to have weights of different weights with you. And, if it blows away too much, tie a new one.
It is better to work as a tyrant with the help of the simplest winter fishing rod. Here we wind the main line onto the reel. Its thickness can be in the range of 0.14-0.16mm. Anything thicker doesn't really make sense.
Tyrant we tie the leash to the main fishing line. You can do this with a regular double knot and trim the ends. You can use some more sophisticated knot. But in the case of such elegant and, by and large, weak editing, I don’t see any point.
We put pieces of latex or thread or wool on the hooks. The pieces of latex are small, about 4-6mm in size, sometimes smaller. They are cut either from condoms, or from special strips that are available for sale in fishing stores, especially for this purpose. Basically, green and red rubber bands are in use. Can also be used as thread. red or green threads, or. for example, lint from a tennis ball. It works very well, I must say. Sometimes you can combine elastic bands with threads on one hook. But, you shouldn’t clutter it too much.
As for the advantages and disadvantages of catching smelt with a winter tyrant.
Advantages:
— Cheap equipment;
— Simplicity of fishing is the simplest method, which can be easily caught by a completely unprepared person, without special skills and dexterity. Just periodically twitch, lower and raise the equipment;
— Ability to fish simultaneously in different layers;
— Possibility to simultaneously try different combinations of hooks.
Flaws:
— Quite a tedious process of mating a large number of tyrants;
— When hooked, not just one hook is often lost, but the whole tyrant;
— The smelt does not fall off the hook on its own, because... it has a beard on it and you have to remove it with your hands, which in the cold is not comme il faut (so, some use beardless hooks, or special ones, or grind off the beard of standard ones);
- You need to have a lot of tyrants and fishing rods for fishing at different depths;
— Due to the large number of hooks, tyrants often get tangled and torn.
Tackle for catching smelt with flywheels
Another very popular and catchy way of catching smelt in winter, from under the ice, is fishing with flywheels. The method is based on small spinners.
Lures for smelt are made from non-ferrous metals, and sometimes even from precious metals. This gives a shiny surface, with the sheen of brass, gold, copper, silver, etc. There may be some lead inside. Hook without a barb. The glitters are quite elegant and thin.
The best lures for smelt fishing with flywheels are very expensive. Especially those where real silver and gold are used. Perhaps this is the most important stopper, an obstacle to the use of this wonderful, highly athletic method.
Spoons for smelt are very small. Typically from 6mm to 10mm. If the smelt is larger, then up to 15mm.
Larger, longer spoons are used for wolffish and navaga.
A fly fishing rod is longer than a regular one. Its length is about 90cm - 1m. As a rule, this is a telescopic fishing rod with a comfortable handle. The fishing line for catching smelt with spoons is used somewhat thicker, about 0.1-0.12mm. The spoon is not tied tightly, but in a loop so that it swings more freely.
The hook of the spinner is hooked to the same thing as a tyrant - pieces of latex, rubber bands, thread. But, often, in slightly larger quantities. It is especially worth stringing more rubber bands if the smelt is large. In addition to being attractive to fish, the rubber bands form a kind of parachute that slows down the floating of the spoon as it falls.
The fisherman sits on a chair, a bucket, and a winter fishing box over two holes. And he works with two swing arms. Throws, sharply or more or less smoothly lifts the spinners, lowers them again to the bottom. This requires skill and experience.
The caught smelt is thrown out near the hole. She flies off the hook herself and the fishing continues. The fisherman, at the same time, does not take off his mittens and does not wet his hands. This is good.
Advantages and disadvantages of catching smelt with flywheels and lures.
Advantages:
— High fishing rate;
— One of the highest productivity and catchability;
— No need to pick up the fish or remove it from the hooks;
— Minimum confusion, because one tackle is one fishing line, one spinner.
Flaws:
— High price for spinners;
— It takes time to get the hang of playing with swings;
— You need to select the horizon in which the fish is moving, because... There is only one spinner, and it does not immediately cover the entire thickness, especially if the depth is considerable.
Tackle for catching smelt with a float for bait
This method is less active, less sporty. He demands living profit. But sometimes this is the only way to catch smelt. The fact is that after activity on the first ice, smelt can noticeably weaken its activity and bite. You look into the holes. Smelt no, no, it will pass. And there is almost no bite for tyrants and makhalki. Then you need to bet on profit. As bait, maggots, colored maggots, pieces of sea worms, bloodworms, and burdock moth larvae are used.
You can hook bait on the gear described above, on a spinner bait, or on a tyrant. However, many fish with a float.
The tackle is extremely simple. Main thin line. Small float. You can attach an even thinner leash, 0.08-0.1mm thick, to the main fishing line. And at the end a small tungsten jig is tied (well, or a regular one...). She works like a sinker. The bait is hooked onto the hook of the jig. And we catch, recording bites on the float.
There are times when slightly different equipment is used. For example, if the current is too strong and the jig is carried away, then a more substantial weight is tied to the end of the fishing line, and above 1-2 leashes with ordinary smelt hooks. We make money on them.
This is also done if severe frost and ice constantly binds the float in the hole. You need to use the same equipment as in a strong current, only, in addition, make the float release larger so that it is slightly submerged. This way you can see all the bites just as well, but the float doesn’t freeze.
When fishing for bait, more often than with other fishing methods, you should resort to baiting smelt. Krill or maggots are used as bait.
Advantages and disadvantages of catching smelt in winter using a float for profit.
Advantages:
— Opportunity to catch smelt during periods of low activity;
Flaws:
— The need to tinker with live bait and bait;
— Low fishing pace.
Tackle for catching smelt with anchors
Well, and, purely and simply, I’ll mention a method like catching smelt with anchors. Starting from the second half of winter, smelt often walks in shallow waters, preparing for spawning. Those. There remains a small distance between the ice and the bottom, a few tens of centimeters. In addition, the biting activity of smelt on normal gear at this time is extremely low. And some fishermen simply fish smelt by eye. A fairly strong fishing line, about 0.15-0.2mm, is wound onto a short fishing rod. And a loaded anchor.
Fishing is done by eye. The fisherman places the anchor on the bottom. Slightly loosens the line tension. And looks into the hole. A smelt approaches and he tries to hook and hook the fish. It's quite exciting, but not sporting.
So, I don't recommend it to anyone. But it’s worth knowing what it is. A lot of fish spoil and leave wounded. Yes, and the conditions when such gear works are not so easy to guess.
* * *
If you know and practice any other methods of catching smelt in winter, or use slightly different gear, then tell us about it in the comments. I am sure everyone interested will be interested in your experience.
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Category: Winter fishing
Tags: , Winter, Winter fishing, Smelt, Installation, Tackle
Techniques and tactics for catching winter smelt on a float
No special training is required to fish in winter. If the inhabitants of reservoirs are active, one fishing rod is enough. You can increase your catch with two attachments.
Catching fish is easy. First, the fisherman finds a place, then he uses an ice drill to make holes. Crushed ice is removed from them using a scoop. No bait is needed, so you can catch fish right away.
The bait is lowered into the hole so that the float is slightly submerged. The fishing rod is secured and a bite is expected. When this happens, the float floats up. At this point the fisherman can hook.
Baits used
It is best to catch smelt in places where small rivers flow into large ones. A school of smelt stays in one place for a while and then moves to another.
Groundbait is not always used. If a fisherman comes across a place where there is a school of fish, bait is not needed. Bloodworms, shrimp, and small pieces of fish are used as bait. Smelt is a fish that readily bites on dung worms, maggots and crab sticks. It is necessary to prepare a sufficient amount of bait in advance, then you can get a big catch.
