Each year, more than 250,00 Michigan anglers eagerly await the warm spring days and rainy evenings that trigger rainbow-smelt spawning runs. Like salmon, lake-dwelling smelt ascend tributary streams to spawn over gravel beds. Spawning runs begin in early spring, soon after the ice disappears, and extend over a 3-week period, as long as the temperatures stay in the low to mid--forties.

What you need

During the spring spawning run, people dip-net them from the streams by the thousands, but remember, keep only those you intend to use. It's easy and it's fun. All you need is a valid Michigan fishing license, a net and bucket, some warm clothes, dry waders, a personal floatation device (life jacket) and a flashlight. In some areas, especially where the current is strong and the water is deep, a long-handled dip net comes in mighty handy.

When to go

Depending on where you live or plan to travel, prime dipping season is mid-April to early May--earlier in the Lower Peninsula, later in the Upper Peninsula. Note that prolonged cold temperatures generally make for later smelt runs - ideal stream temps are 42-44 degrees. Precise predictions of just when and where the smelt will run are nearly impossible to make. And, as with all fishing endeavors, great success can't be guaranteed.

For more information about smelt, read the Fishing Guide. The Department of Natural Resources Fishing Report line is open 24/7 and will be reporting when the smelt are running. Call 517-373-0908. The best smelt-dipping hours are between 10:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. each night as the smelt spawn.