332 
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
Reuter said that the “Siniaisia,” or very young fry, in Finland were salted and 
prepared and eaten as caviar, and Day remarked that it was said by the French to 
be a good bait for eels. 
John A. Thomas, of Reading, Pa., writing concerning smelts (Thomas, 1876), said 
that the best he had ever eaten, and he had eaten them from the extreme east to 
Jersey, were on the south side of Long Island and from the Passaic River. He said 
these smelts were always small, with the tenderest bones, and having the most per- 
fect cucumber flavor. He said that the best smelts were the “young yearlings” that 
sought the spawning places for the first time. “There is no other fish,” he said, 
“that would give the same untiring luxury as young smelts”; but when large he said 
that “they are tough, swift fish, and only fit to boil in a coarse cloth and be eaten 
with drawn butter.” 
Hallock (1893) must have had in mind the small fish to which Thomas referred, 
when he wrote: 
They are much prized for the table, and when cooked and served the backbone cleaves to the 
flesh unbroken, and all the little bones are chewed up and swallowed incontinently, while a fresh 
cucumber flavor lingers in the mouth in a grateful sort of way which epicures appreciate. 
Also, “ Grif ’s ” experience seems to be in accord with that of Thomas, for he 
wrote (1900) concerning large fish, 15 inches long, weighing 14% ounces, “This 
large fish proved very rank and oily on being cooked, and bore out the practice of 
fishermen here, who prefer the smaller to the larger fish for home use, claiming they 
are much sweeter.” 
The American smelt, large or small, when perfectly fresh is one of the most 
delicious of pan fishes. It possesses a pronounced odor that in this country does not 
appear to be objectionable, judging by the esteem in which the fish is held. The 
usual method of cooking is by frying, after rolling the smelt in corn meal or cracker 
crumbs. However, if smelts become stale, or if they have been frozen and thawed 
and have not been cooked immediately, they possess a rank oily taste. Large 
smelts, if fresh, are no more likely to be “strong” than small ones, but many persons 
do prefer small fish to very large ones, claiming that they are “sweeter.” 
It has been claimed that the salt-water smelt is superior in flavor' to the smelt 
of fresh water, but according to the present writer’s experience this is not true. In 
fact, he has thought at times that the fresh-water form was the better, but not hav- 
ing compared the two at the same eating the apparent superiority may have been 
due to appetite. 
In preparation for cooking the smelts usually are eviscerated but often the heads 
are left on. Some eat them, heads, bones, and all, but unless very small the writer 
prefers to remove heads, viscera, and tails. By cutting nearly through from just 
behind the head, ventralward, then pulling forward with the flat of the knife, the 
viscera are easily drawn out. Any remaining portion may be removed by squeezing 
along the belly when washing the fish. When served, they may be laid open along 
the back and the entire backbone removed. 
Locally in Maine smelts are sometimes dried, or used to be. They were usu- 
ally salted over night, entire, then strung on a slender stick, which was thrust 
through the eyes from side to side, and hung in the sun. Having been sufficiently 
