Fish and Fishing 



many anglers enjoy catching this gamy little fish; 

 outside the sport of landing them, they are much 



coveted as a pan fish. In flavor the 

 to'Pisli P or g v ' ls surpassed by few other fish on 



the coast, although its superabundance 

 causes it to be under- valued; the smaller ones 

 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 



ice is out, smelts appear in 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. 

 114 



