I've never heard of ice fishing for smelt. My father used to go up to Pulaski NY to catch smelt in the Salmon River in the spring, usually in the creeks that ran into the river. He used a dip net at night with a lantern and would come home with hundreds of them, five gallon pails full of them. The little fishes were 6-8 inches. Take the heads off, gut them, dust them with flour, toss them in the deep fryer. Eat them bones and all. They were delicious. I haven't heard of anyone going since the early '90s. Don't know if it just isn't as popular as it used to be, or if there just isn't that many anymore.