Fish and Fishing 



many anglers enjoy catching this gamy httle fish; 

 outside the sport of landing them, they are much 



coveted as a pan fish. In flavor the 

 to"Ffsh P^^Sy ^^ surpassed by few other fish on 



the coast, although its superabundance \> 

 causes it to be under- valued; the smaller ones i 

 especially are sweet and nutritious. 



SMELTS 



There are about a dozen species of this family 

 which inhabit the cold and temperate Northern 

 seas, but they are most plentiful along the coast 

 of New England and the Middle States. The 

 Eastern smelt grows occasionally to the length of 

 a foot, but the average is about seven inches. 

 They appear to associate in vast schools, some- 

 what according to size, each school being the 

 spawn of a single fish. 



The smelt remains about the coast, in the bays, 



throughout the year, save when it ascends fresh- 



.... water streams to breed . As soon as the 



Habits . . , • 1 1 1 



ice IS out, smelts aj)pear m the brooks, 



at first in small numbers, and the run continues 



till the middle of May. They ascend usually at 



night or on dark days. They will not bite during 



the spawning season. From the latter part of 



August to late December smelts will bite with 



avidity, and the best time is at flood tide, though 



some will bite at ebb tide, and many anglers 



claim that more and larger fish are caught at 



night, especially on dark nights. 



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