Do You Remember Central Minnesota Smelt Fry’s?

One of the great things about moving to a new area is getting to know the culture and history of that area. When my wife and I moved to Minnesota last September, we knew there would be so much to learn, and we’re still excited when we pick up on something that makes us feel a little more acclimated to our state. 

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While sitting around a fire over the weekend at my co-worker Lee’s house with his neighbors, we were talking about how life was when we were growing up. His neighbor Mike mentioned “Smelt Fry’s”. I wasn’t familiar with the term, and Mike’s wife Marie didn’t remember them being a prominent thing in Minnesota, but Lee and Mike did. 

They were telling me that Smelt is a fish and back in the 1970’s nearly every weekend it seemed like there was a “Smelt Fry” somewhere.  

They explained those have gone by the wayside because the Smelt aren’t as populated as they once were. I was curious about the Smelt, and what happened to them.  

According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Smelt averaged in size from six to nine inches long and occupied a larger presence in streams and lakes in the 1960’s and 1970’s.  

The population was so large, people would use nets and catch Smelt by the bucket loads, which makes sense why there were so many Smelt Fry’s back in the day. 

The D-N-R says that there is a much smaller sect of people who still seek out the Smelt, but the numbers are dramatically lower because the Smelt numbers have been reduced. 

The main reason there’s not as many Smelt around these days is the population of Lake Trout has increased greatly over the years, and there’s a predatory nature that favors the Trout.  

Other factors that led to the Smelt decline are the establishment of Pacific Salmon, interactions with Lake Herring, and a decline that is typical when there’s a big boom like the Smelt had.  

Lake Superior was a popular place for the Smelt, but it has been restored to a more “Natural Lake” according to the D-N-R which is another hurdle that could keep the Smelt from making a prominent return. 

Smelt are sensitive to light according to the Department of Natural Resources, which is why they run mostly at night in shallow water. You must have a fishing license to catch smelt and you can’t not use a light in the process of catching them.  

The law is that you must kill your smelt at the stream. It is unlawful to transport live smelt or possess live smelt in Minnesota. This is to reduce the risk of spreading diseases and so that they are not reintroduced into a new body of water.  

There are a few other rules about Smelting that you need to be aware of as well.  

They are available when the water temperatures are in the upper 40’s, starting in April each year. The most popular area is along the Northern Shore, these lakes are solid choices to try your hand at Smelting; Lester, Gooseberry, Knife, Beaver, Split Rock, Poplar, Cascade, Temperance and Baptism.  

The streams you cannot fish for Smelt in are; French, Sucker, Little Sucker, Silver, Encampment and Crow.  

Again, being new to Minnesota, this was something I was unfamiliar with, but maybe it brought back some good memories for you, or maybe you have no recollection of Smelt Frys ever happening. But either way, hopefully you, like me, learned something from this.