[Retroboy]

The "gold standard" at Dominion and Renforth seems to be prawns. Some suggest they're a little stinkier than smelt (I can't tell the difference) and my own luck has been a bit better when I've used them.

It's hard to be certain though because when they're biting, they're biting ANYTHING, and sometimes one hole will produce very well while the one a couple feet away produces nothing even when both are using the same bait.

I combine two baits and often have better luck than those around me although again that's not consistent. Thin strips of beef from an old freezer-burned steak in a baggie, frozen with a few prawns to transfer the scent, cut into small cubes, and then alternate those two baits on the hooks on each line to maximize attractiveness.

 

[Retroboy]

sdavis I've tried the 1.5" chartreuse gulp once over at Renforth and it didn't do me much good. The smelt there are just too small to bite it up to the hook and beyond. But I'm going to put one or two on at Dominion just for sh*ts and giggles if I can find 'em somewhere. I imagine they'd stay on the hook much better than anything else, and mixing baits on the same line at Dominion works much better I generally find.

After all, what popular restaurant has a menu with only one item?

 

[Retroboy]

You just got to be lucky when they come in the tide.

This also depends on where you are fishing. At Dominion yesterday in Saint John, action was the best shortly after high tide, but it was still fairly steady through the rest of the morning. Didn't get as many, but didn't get zero either.

I find smelt are also quite 'territorial'. Heard and seen numerous cases, and been the victim of at least one, where one hole is quite productive and another less than two feet away gets almost nothing, and yet both are using the same basic fishing bait and approach. I'm told by the veterans that if the holes are stable such as in a shack, the next week it could be the exact opposite situation.

 

[Retroboy]

> The best bet to have smelt near your hole is to stay away from the pack (but still in the cove/bay etc and in the right depth) and chum.

Yes to the chum, and absolutely yes to freshening the bait. Fresh bait is impregnated with the scent and I find holds onto it a bit better so it's preferred over dipping it unless you're nailing the right attractant or maybe there's some oil in it to help it adhere. I've heard sardine oil is a good one for this purpose.

But I haven't seen that staying very far away from the rest of the shacks has much to do with levels of success. With the exception of being in the middle of a village that is filled with active fishers with their own chum and bait that is keeping them at the outside edges, or someone's doing something annoying like running a generator and distracting you from light bites, I haven't found or heard anyone say this. Most of the time the people that I've talked to that set off to a nearby spot a bit further away from the shacks actually have less success than the ones that are near the main concentration (although perhaps not in the middle of it).

I have heard multiple times that certain underwater features like trenches or inlets can increase the odds, and some people that are "in the know" place their shacks as close to these as possible. Perhaps that has something to do with it. Not sure if the mix of light and dark squares that's above the water and casting shadows helps or hinders too.