Smelt Egg Collection and Transfer Project 2002
By Michael Mollica
The smelt project this year has been
completed with great success. The Lake George Fishing Alliance has
obtained permits from DEC for its second year smelt egg collection and
transfer project. This year it was decided to collect smelt eggs from
Indian Lake tributaries. Indian Lake has an vast abundance of smelt in
its waters. Due to the large amount of smelt spawning in the brooks that
feed it, we have been rewarded with the collection of a guess estimate
of a million plus eggs.
 The
project planning and coordination took place mid April and with the help
of Kim Mitchell, President of the Indian Lake Fish and Game Club, we
determined the best days to start the collection from Griffin Brook on
Indian Lake. On Wednesday April 17th at 5PM we met with Kim at Stuarts
in Indian Lake. Kim Mitchell and Alliance volunteers Mike Mollica and
Brian TenYeck then accessed Griffin Brook off Route 30 and walked I/2
mile through the woods to an area which Kim has known in the past to
have had a good smelt spawn. We then placed eight 3ft X 4ft burlap mats
in the bottom of the brook and held them in place with available rocks.
Excited with the probable results we walked back out
to the trucks through briar and brush and decided we would not retrieve
the mats by access through the woods. We knew the only way to remove the
mats was to access the brook by boat so Kim contacted John Monthony, a
marina owner and friend. John Monthony donated one of his boats for our
use to access the brook throughout the balance of the project.
 Modifying
our schedule due to weather changes we returned to Griffin Brook via
boat on Tuesday April 23rd. Kim, Mike and Brian retrieved the
8 mats, folded and placed them into a large plastic container approx 3ft
L X 2ft W X 1ft H filled with water from the brook. With the mats now
ready for transfer to Smith Brook on Lake George we then laid out
another 8 mats for the collection of smelt eggs for a second brook Cape
Cod Brook. Delighted with the amount of smelt eggs collected on the
eight mats, which were innumerable, Brian and I drove to Smith Brook in
the southern basin of Lake George and placed the mats in the brook.
Again holding these mats in place with available rocks.
On Friday April 26th
Alliance volunteers Red Swinton and Jeff Johnson returned to Indian Lake
and with the help of Kim Mitchell retrieved the second group of 8 mats.
Using the same procedures, the mats were folded and placed in the large
container and transported to Cape Cod Brook in the Northern Basin of
Lake George. Many smelts eggs were again visible on these mats.
 The
burlap mats will remain in Smith Brook and Cape Cod Brook for a period
of approximately five weeks allowing enough time for the smelt eggs to
gestate. This time frame varies depending on water temperatures in the
brooks.
 The
Lake George Fishing Alliance would like to thank Kim Mitchell President
of the Indian Lake Fish and Game Club for all his help with this years
smelt egg project, John Monthony for allowing us the use of his boat
during the project, George Nemec of Nemecs Sports Shop for donating the
burlap used to collect the smelt eggs and Bill Miller (DEC Senior Aquatic Biologist) for
working with us to increase the forage base of smelt on Lake George
by issuing the permits.
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