For many of Maine’s fishermen, the much anticipated first outing of the winter is for the state’s smallest game fish. Hand-lining for smelts is as much a tradition as any style of fishing and has been taught and handed down from generation to generation of Maine’s sportsmen for more than a century.

Although smelt season carries on through the winter, the fastest, most dependable action takes place for two or three weeks right after the ice forms. Jigging pieces of cut bait in a lake with a healthy smelt population offers a simple style of ice fishing that’s great family fun, action-packed, and inexpensive.

In Aroostook County, hand-lining for the small silver darters is so popular that five lakes in various locations throughout the Crown of Maine are open to smelting as soon as a safe layer of ice forms – until March 31. During a normal year, freezing temperatures have buttoned up Pleasant Lake in Island Falls, Spaulding Lake in Oakfield, Umcolcus Lake near Knowles Corner, Big Machias Lake near Ashland and Squa Pan Lake near Mapleton by Christmas.

Between the Christmas and New Year holidays when the kids are out of school, the ice surfaces of these popular smelt waters are really bustling. Dozens of other popular smelt lakes dot the upper half of the state, and even if you have to wait for the regular ice fishing season to open, find one close to your town and give smelting a try.

Dig around a bit in your summer tackle box and most of the gear needed for jigging smelt can be found. If not, a quick trip to the local sporting goods store and a $5 bill will generally buy a season’s worth of gear. A spool of 8- to 10-pound monofilament can be cut into 30-foot lengths for lines, and each one can be wound onto a plastic spool or a six-inch length of wooden lath. Cold-fingered adults and excited children tend to fumble and drop smelt rigs and invariably they find the fishing hole. But when attached to a plastic or wooden holder, they float, and can be easily retrieved.

Small, sharp hooks are a must, and sizes 8 or 12 are excellent for smelt, and will hold a larger game fish too, if one should happen to grab the bait. My personal idiosyncrasy is using gold hooks, which invariably catch more fish than black hooks, and I swear it’s the flash and shine as the gold hook is jiggled. I’ve even caught smelt on a bare gold hook, – with witnesses – so buy gold hooks if you can find them and prove it to yourself.

A small, split-shot sinker attached to each line about eight inches above the hook will keep the line straight and tangle-free, and get the bait quickly down to fishing depth. A plastic gallon milk jug with the top half cut off makes a great creel, and an empty two-gallon bucket with a cover will hold all the gear and serve as a seat when empty.

An ice chisel or ice auger will be needed to open up a fishing hole. Dress warmly in layers, use a hat that can cover your ears if necessary, and wear boots and gloves that are waterproof and warm, and you’re rigged for smelting.

Hard-core smelt anglers build their own smelt shanties, put them on a favorite lake and use them several times a week. Smart smelters who don’t own their own smelt huts, or visit a lake other than where their shanty is set up, rent one. On most of the well-known smelt lakes, some businesses and many local anglers have shanties to rent by the hour or by the day. Prices are very reasonable and you can’t beat the comfort and convenience of a cozy smelt hut on a cold, windy day.

After the first few weeks, smelt fishing can be spotty, with the best action occurring at dawn or throughout the evening hours. Without a smelt shanty to provide warmth and light, the best fighting hours are missed. A hut also allows two or three anglers to share the fun and camaraderie, and for each fisherman to put out more than one line, which isn’t possible when hand-lining one 10-inch auger hole outside.

Another convenience of a portable smelt hut is the opportunity to fish one lake for a couple of weeks, then load it onto a pickup or trailer and move to a newly frozen waterway where the smelt are just beginning to get active. It’s a bit of work, but fast fishing may be enjoyed over a longer period. A shanty also allows the ice fishermen to put down a couple of live-bait lines as well as a smelt line, and try for larger game fish on days when it’s not feasible to fish outside. I’ve seen plenty of 2- and 3-pound trout and salmon caught through the hole of an ice hut.

A few little tricks will increase the action for novice ice anglers. Using a silver or pearl spinner just above the hook will attract fish to the flash when the line is jigged up and down, and when the smelts get close, the smell of the bait will do the rest. The best bait to catch smelts is other smelts.

Once the first fish is caught, it should be filleted into two strips, and then each filet is sliced into chunks. Be sure there is skin on one side of the piece of bait, and put the hook through the tough outer skin so the biting fish won’t be able to pull it off the hook. One piece of bait can catch several smelt when properly hooked up. To catch the first smelt use a piece of hot dog, shrimp, Vienna sausage, bread or marshmallow on the hook.

Although one angler can use up to five hand lines for jigging smelts, when a school is biting it’s difficult to take care of one or two lines. A productive method of landing more smelts is to use three hooks per line. The hooks should be a foot apart and attached by 4- to 6-inch dropper lines. This allows an angler to offer baits at three depths and have more chance of locating smelts passing at different levels.

If you’re going to let lines hang from nails in the shanty, since you can’t hold on to more than one, double half-hitch a wooden kitchen match to the line. By tying a match a foot above the water level, any line movement by a smelt eating the bait will cause the match to twitch. Plenty more unique smelt-jigging techniques are used, but experience and trial and error are the best teachers.

Smelt fishermen are a fairly gregarious sort and most are willing to recommend productive lakes and discuss methods and results. Ask some questions at the local sporting goods store or the town fish and game club.

Find a smelt lake near your hometown, put some gear together and give Maine’s biggest little game fish a try. Always be sure to carefully check the ice thickness before venturing onto a lake, and don’t forget that you need a new license for the New Year. Oh, by the way, as much fun as smelts are to catch, they are delicious table fare as well – another good reason to go fishing.