After a short 2021 season, smelt camp operators and fishermen hope for a strong season, following a blast of ice-making weather earlier this month across the region.

Maine smelt camp operators experience worst season ever The head smelt biologist for the state said it’s not clear why the season has been so poor for smelt fishing this winter.

Maine smelt camps having bad season Along the Kennebec River, operators report an inexplicable shortage of the once-teeming fish species.

Mike Baker has offered shacks for rent on the frozen Kennebec River since 1976, where residents of Maine 'drink and swap lies' together while fishing for Rainbow Smelt. Guests pay 10 a tide for ...

Deep freeze good news for Maine smelt fishing camps Ice on rivers comes sooner than it has for quite a few years, allowing commercial operations to get the season started.

The warm winter weather in Maine is affecting more than just the ski slopes – after having a great season last year, some smelt camps across the state have closed-up shop early for the season ...

McPherson has run Jim’s Camps in Bowdoinham for over 45 years. In that time, he's seen several other camps go out of business, as he watches the smelt fishing season get shorter and shorter.

Smelts are popular in Maine among winter ice fishermen, who flock to smelt camps where fishing shacks lines rivers and coastal streams, and as a battered fried treat.

Maine is making it more difficult to fish for smelts in an effort to help the wriggling fish rebuild populations that have plummeted in the state and elsewhere in New England.