Smelt Fishing in Great Bay Ice fishing Access???

[oddfish]

for Great Bay that is correct. However, there are many smelt outside the in the ocean in dec jan feb march and some in april, so it is a good be that they are also esaward of the said bridges in the winter. Yes NH has some crazy laws.

Anther exampe if I am reading the law right is that you can fish with small mesh gill nest out to 3 miles as long as you are not targeting groundfish. So if you are gill netting for Macks you can use a 3" mesh, and gill a lot of small cod and other ground fish, but as long as you throw them over you are fine. I am in the process of confgirming this one, but that's the way I read it and one ex-game warden says he thinks that's the way it reads.

On a brighter note with the license you can also fish for trout and other things like pike through the ice. You can,if you like to hunt get the combo license for 46$ I think, a good deal if you like to eat game.

Oddfish

[multicast]

Thanks. I don't hunt or fish freshwater. Believe or not, I am basically a vegetarian, not that I am against killing animal for food, I prefer not to eat meat because it makes me feel more comfortable and save me lot of time to cook. I eat a little fish occasionally mainly because my family wants to have some fresh seafood from time to time. I love to go out so it is a great excuse for me to fish.

[Coalman]

Great Bay Smelts 09/06/08

[HarryG]

I remember you posting that before..I like how he has his socks on

[multicast]

Does this mean the smelt fishing will be very good this winter?

[oddfish]

It means that socks make good smelt baitb s.gif.

Oddfish

[Coalman]

The socks were used to protect his feet. We were standing in an oyster bed.

Smelt fishing on the Squamscott has been good for years. It is all about ice conditions and tides.

[47onthewall]

I will stock sandworms in the shop when the ice will support shacks. I have lots of smelt tackle for you noobies; that will go up on the shelves in December after deer season. You arrest any deer yet, Coalman? Scottymack registered a nice 8 point here yesterday. I'm still deer free.

[SudsNSoda]

Originally Posted by HarryG

I'm not going to burn anyones spots but think outside of great bay and more along the lines of rivers feeding the bay. I use to deliver pizza to guys ice fishing for smelt along rt 108. There should be plenty of hints there for you OD. You know where I lived. Pull up a google map and see what you can find.

to answer your question.... right now the bay is hot! you want to go to Lenny Thomas' Property... which used to known as the "Great Bay Retreat" it is located on 349 Newington Road. It is only a mile and a half down the road from our store. If you have any trouble finding it... just pop into the store and I can show you everything you need to know about the bay for smelt fishing and how to get there.

When you go to his property most people are dropping between $2 or $5 donations for parking on his property... it is much appreciated because he is the last access point on this side of the bay for quite a while.... unless you want to pay Dave Emery $100 for a season pass to park at his place.

But everybody is urging people to be respectful of Lenny's property.. if you have trash take it with you! You don't want to ruin a good thing. Basically don't treat his property as many guys treat "River Road" it is not a town dump.

Then the other access point is River Road which should start hitting the serious numbers of smelt in about a week and a half from now. Right now they are averagin' less than 20 fish per tide. The bay right this minute is averaging anywhere from 9lbs to 40lbs+ per shack. Big difference.

[oddfish]

escuse my ignorance, again, but I am assuming that the smelts bite better on an incoming tide. Is this correct?

Oddfish