SmeltSee smelting for the chemical process. Smelt is the name of
several species of small anadromous fish of the family
osmeridae. They are common in the Great Lakes, and run in large
schools along the coastline during their spring migration to
their spawning streams. The fish usually reach only 6 inches (15
cm) and are a food source for salmon and lake trout. It is one
of the few fish that sportsmen are allowed to net, using gill
nets, either along the coastline or in the streams. Some
sportsmen also icefish for smelt. Smelt are often fried and
eaten whole. Smelt roe is bright orange in color, and is often
used to garnish sushi. The Boy's Own Book of Outdoor Sports
(early 1900s) adds: In the United States this fish seldom
exceeds ten inches in length, and the usual size is from five to
eight inches. In South America they grow to the length of two
feet, are semi-transparent, and are most delicious eating. Some
of them caught by American sailors at the Straits of Magellan
were thirty inches long by eight inche