Rainbow Smelt in Michigan

How to tell it: “(Non-Native Fish) The rainbow smelt is a small slender member of the Osmeridae family. Similar to trout and salmon, rainbow smelt have a dorsal fin and an adipose fin on the dorsum. Additional characteristics include teeth, as well as a long thin body with purple, pink and blue iridescent sides.”

Catching it: “During their spawning period in April, people typically use dip-nets to capture (e.g., term; "smelt-dipping) them from streams. The rest of the year, rainbow smelt school in lakes adjacent to cool, dark waters. Smelt populations in the Great Lakes are no longer as large as they once were and smelt dipping has suffered accordingly. The best smelt dipping these days is in Upper Peninsula streams. But an unusual hook-and-line fishery has developed during the winter. Using lights at night to draw smelt up from the bottom, anglers using tiny hooks tipped with insect larvae (primarily spikes and wax worms) catch smelt in a handful of inland lakes and some Great Lakes bays. The best-known hook-and-”