Running of the Smelt!

"The smelt are running!" It is a phrase repeated countless times each spring in Michigan. From Lake Superior to Lake Erie, the tireless pursuit of these elusive little fish is carried out each year with amazing vernal fervor.

Experts say that relatively little skill is required to catch the smelt - cousins of trout and salmon species - and the equipment is very inexpensive. In fact, using a garbage can poked with holes may be the most popular method! The trouble is, only the smelt know exactly when smelt season will begin and end. The runs come virtually without warning, anytime from mid April through early May, and typically last only a few days in a given area.

Michigan smelt dippers go to great lengths - and in great numbers -- to capture their tasty targets. Consider that:

• Smelt are similar to salmon, swimming up tributary streams to spawn in the springtime. When they do, their pursuers scoop them up with nets (or homemade facsimiles), often dozens at a time.
• Runs can last less than a day or up to three weeks, as long as water temperatures stay in the low forties.
• More than 250,000 people eagerly await the annual Michigan smelt runs.
• Anglers in Michigan have established elaborate phone networks to "broadcast" the arrival of the first identified smelt runs in a given location.
• Telephones at Michigan DNR offices ring almost endlessly for several weeks, as smelt fishing fanatics seek some "hard science" to guide them.
• Web sites (including smelt "blogs") are in place on the Internet offering smelt fishing tips and, sometimes, real time tracking of smelt's migratory tendencies and reproductive preferences.

Michiganders love their smelt. And there are number of ways to prepare the seasonal treats. One popular dish is Fried Smelt:

Fried Smelt

Smelts when quite fresh have a perfume resembling that of a cucumber, and a peculiarly delicate and agreeable flavor when dressed.

Draw them at the gills, as they must not be opened; wash and dry them thoroughly in a cloth; dip them into beaten egg-yolk, and then into the finest bread-crumbs, mixed with a very small quantity of flour; fry them of a clear golden brown, and serve them crisp and dry, with good melted butter in a tureen. 3 to 4 minutes.

Travel Michigan can provide favorite smelt-dipping sites in Michigan, regular updates on this year's smelt runs, tips from Michigan DNR and veteran dippers, photographs of successful dippers at work, and flavorful "smelt-in-your-mouth" recipes from top chefs.

For additional information on Michigan smelt runs, please contact:

Tim Meloche Marx Layne & Co. (248) 855-6777 tmeloche@marxlayne.com