Wikipedia says that Smelts are a family, Osmeridae, of small fish common in the North American Great Lakes, and run in large schools along the coastline during their spring migration to their spawning streams.
It is one of the few fish that sportsmen are allowed to net, using dip nets, either along the coastline or in the streams. Smelt are often fried and eaten whole.
Yep, french fried and eaten whole, bones and all. Yeah, the heads and guts are gone, but that's it. You get a plate of smelt, cole slaw, beans and a roll (I think that's in case you get the bones caught in your throat, but I'm not sure.) They sell tap beer (Miller Lite) of course and some other beverages. All of the picnic tables that filled the fire station were full of locals, enjoying this delicacy.
I found this picture on another blog on the internet, it's sort of weird to think that more than one of us are writing about smelt, isn't it?
After the meal, an auction of donated items is fun. I won 2 home made bird houses, 2 pints of home made salsa (and a bag of chips), and a sweatshirt from a local bar. I was bidding like crazy on a beautiful quilt, but once the bid was $250, I bailed out. It was a beauty and probably worth much more than $250, but my wallet was having a heart attack, so had to quit.
Sure was fun, oh, and I am not supposed to say that Lois and I stayed out until about 1:30 a.m. We ran into 2 of her classmates and their wives, visited until the fire hall was about empty and then decided to stop downtown at The Hog for a nightcap. I was glad to have a Coors Light to wash down all that other stuff.
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