Ice fishing for Smelt
Complete guide — gear, lures, season and tips.
Gear
- Rod
- Short ice rod, 30–50 cm
- Mainline
- Mono 0.10–0.14 mm
- Hook
- Mormyshka 2–4 mm or a small jigging spoon
Lures / bait
- Mormyshka tipped with maggot
- Small silver jigging spoon 5–10 g
Season
January–April (pre-spawn run)
Time of day
Daytime
Pro tip
Ice fish shallow 2–5 m near river mouths and shorelines ahead of the spawning run. Big shoals once you find them.