Hunting and Fishing

Ice-fishing for smelt

The Gulf of Finland, located on the eastern bank of St. Petersburg, is home to huge quantities of smelt. This is particularly true in early spring when massive schools of these fish travel from the open sea to the gulf. As soon as the ice melts, they set off into the waters of the Neva and other rivers where they will lay their eggs. The period when the smelt visit the gulf as they anticipate the thaw is quite short – usually from March through April - so fishermen have to act fast in order to take advantage of the situation. Each fisherman seems to have his own secrets to success and in order to better understand all of the ins and outs of smelt fishing, RTG TV’s Igor Vukolov set out for the ice-covered Gulf of Finland.

Presenter Igor' Vukolov

Year 2013

Duration 00:26:59

Presenter Igor' Vukolov

The Gulf of Finland, located on the eastern bank of St. Petersburg, is home to huge quantities of smelt. This is particularly true in early spring when massive schools of these fish travel from the open sea to the gulf. As soon as the ice melts, they set off into the waters of the Neva and other rivers where they will lay their eggs. The period when the smelt visit the gulf as they anticipate the thaw is quite short – usually from March through April - so fishermen have to act fast in order to take advantage of the situation. Each fisherman seems to have his own secrets to success and in order to better understand all of the ins and outs of smelt fishing, RTG TV’s Igor Vukolov set out for the ice-covered Gulf of Finland.

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