Last night 8 of us piled into the suburban and headed south to go smelting. The neighbors & John had been in previous years but the kids and I had not.
For those of you have not been.... it's on the river, they have 2, 4 & 6 man shacks lined up. On each side of the shack there are holes (below) with multiple fishing lines hanging horizontally across a pole.
Yes the holes are big enough for a small child to fall into. Don't think Momma didn't warn the kids that they would be fish bait if they fell in.We did not go out until 7pm because it goes according to high tide. John was functioning on 3 hours sleep, he had worked night shift Saturday. We had the shack until 1 am but we headed home around 10:30. Had the fish been biting we would have probably stayed later.
This is what you use for bait, blood worms. Nasty....and they bite. Initially I would not handle them until it was dissected . I know my cyber name is Country Girl but I admit I am spleeny about certain things .
Unfortunately the fish were not running. We only caught 6 fish. A couple smelts and a few cod (I think?). One man that came over to chat with us said he had caught 100 on Friday night.
Regardless, we still had a good time. The kids got all sugared up and went back and forth between our shack and our neighbors.
Then we ended our night with a brief photo shoot. Thanks for joining us neighbors, Maybe next time we'll have better luck!
Too bad the fish weren't biting. Looks like fun anyway!
ReplyDeleteJudy
What a shame the smelt weren't running. I have been to some smelt feeds back home in Wisconsin, and everyone should go to at least one of those!
ReplyDeleteIt's neat that you could make this a real family affair!
Ooh I love smelt - they barely run here anymore... Here they dip them with nets, no limits, hmmm think that has anything to do with no smelt runs?
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures of you guys!
Sorry to hear the fish wasn't biting, but it looks like you all had a great time anyway!
ReplyDeleteToo bad the fish weren't biting but at least you still had fun though!
ReplyDeleteLook like fun. I have never done that before.
ReplyDeleteShoot...anytime out is a good time! Sounds like fun playing and staying up late and getting sugared up...that's what my kids like most of all!
ReplyDeleteOhhh....my dad's gonna be sooo jealous when he reads this!! :) Glad you guys had a good time, and look at the bright side, no fish means no cleaning!! ;)
ReplyDeleteIt's so exciting to discover you have a blog! Most of my "real life" friends just look blank when I mention blogging, so it's cool to know that someone I KNOW is into the blog world as well. I'll definitely following you from now on. :)
ReplyDelete(And I'm wildly jealous of the 100 acres!!)
That looks fun! I think it is really fun to show the kids new things and go out with good friends / neighbors... what a great way to spend a cold winter night! Talk soon!
ReplyDeleteWhat fun and great shots! I wouldn't hook a biting blood worm either, nuts to that! :)
ReplyDeleteWe did the same thing, except we lined the hole with frozen peas and when the fish came up to take a pea we hit him in the icehole....LOL!
ReplyDeletewe used to go smelt dipping in wisconsin, and we would fill up plastic garbage cans! Now that doesn't happen so much. Hmmmmm, probably not a coincidence.
ReplyDeletecleaning that many smelt would get a bit tedious, but they sure tasted great!
your family looks happy!!
I love Smelt, looks like you guys had a blast even though they weren't running. Better luck next time.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the blood worms...those things are creepy! (This from a woman who kept four worm bins running in her basement at one time.)
ReplyDeleteLooks like a fun way to spend a day. I have memories of ice fishing on Lake Erie when I was a kid. It's COLD but fun.