Smelt Spears: Nothing Traditional or Fancy


Ironwood

Ironwood

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Maritimes, Canada
Hey y'all

My buddies and I are in the middle of making a smelt shack to put out on the ice. My buddy is the carpenter and I have been charged with making the spears as I like sharp pointy things. And was told that's right up my alley.

I found a design on another blog/forum and gave it my kick at the can.
I was going for function over looks. They ain't pretty, but this whole operation is on the cheap and a la trailer park boys style.

1) I used bamboo stocks over 6 feet for the shafts.
2) Inset and glued Sheffield micro files for the points.
3) Handle material from some old home depot buckets to make the bendy tines.
4)Small pipe clamps to get a good fix.
5)Heavy gauge galvanized wire to wrap it all up.
6)Construction adhesive to weather proof and sure it all up.

We'll see how they work. May have to make some adjustments to the receiving area where the tines meet the point. There is a sweet spot where the smelt will fit in but won't slip out and be held in place by the tines. That's an easy adjustment I can make in the field.

If anyone has made something similar feel free to chime in if there are obvious improvements that are needed.

I feel a connection to the Mik'maq natives. The spear design reminds of their fishing spears.
Hope they work.

Before the wire and adhesive
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Very resourceful!

Please post pics of their maiden voyage, so to speak. I'd love to see how well they work.

You'll be using these down through the ice? How would you select where to set up? Do smelts come in to the shallows to breed or do you set up over deeper water?

Please give an overview of how this process works from start to finish.
 
Sandcut said:
Very resourceful!

Please post pics of their maiden voyage, so to speak. I'd love to see how well they work.

You'll be using these down through the ice? How would you select where to set up? Do smelts come in to the shallows to breed or do you set up over deeper water?

Please give an overview of how this process works from start to finish.
Click to expand...

From what I know, you have to get the good intel. from local fishermen. The shacks are put in bays and estuaries where the salt water meets the fresh. From what I understand the smelts are running all the time coming in and out with the tides etc. You cut a large hole in the ice and use rolled oats to attract them.

This whole operation is more for sh!t's and giggles and be part of an old east coast tradition than a serious harvest. But we do expect to at least see some smelts from the local intel we have gathered. If you wanted to take a closer look through google maps you could look for Covehead Bay, Covehead PEI Canada. Its the hot spot.
 
grew up eating a lot of smelt(mmm...deep fried smelt with really horseradishy cocktail sauce... got to get me some smelt now)... my dad and uncles would net them by the bucket full up around Pulaski, I think... never would have thought of spearing them... sounds like a blast
 
leaf and lightning said:
grew up eating a lot of smelt(mmm...deep fried smelt with really horseradishy cocktail sauce... got to get me some smelt now)... my dad and uncles would net them by the bucket full up around Pulaski, I think... never would have thought of spearing them... sounds like a blast
Click to expand...
It does sound like a blast. Its new to me. I always heard tell of the smelt shack idea and that they net, spear or use small fishing rods to catch them. The spearing thing is what sold me on the idea. And the laughs from the stories of the old guys we got coming out to play poker and shoot the breeze will be worth the cost of admission of setting the thing up, making the spears, and enduring the cold. figuring out where to get the bendy tine material took some thought. Was going to go with 1/8th threaded rod, but this stuff from bucket handles was the bees knees. Stiff, ridged and lighter, dirt cheap I had old buckets with holes in the shed. :18::18:
 
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