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Smelt Fry Draws Hundreds to Columbia Falls

Posted on: Monday, 10 April 2006, 12:00 CDT

By Katherine Cassidy, Bangor Daily News, Maine

Apr. 10--COLUMBIA FALLS -- That favorite question of Mainers that always gets a good answer -- "What's for suppah?" -- drew a full chorus of responses last Friday, when about 500 people gathered for fried smelts and fresh salads.

The occasion was the public potluck and smelt fry in the community room at the town hall. It was all you could eat for $2, until the food ran low.

The Downeast Salmon Federation organizes the event, and its annual celebration of smelts makes sense according to the food chain.

Smelts are the favorite food source for hungry salmon as they come off long winters. They run in large schools at the mouths of brooks and rivers for migration to their spawning sites upstream. The salmon go where the smelts go.

The running of the smelts is a sign of spring, and now, too, is the smelt fry. "Nothing like fresh smelts" were the words of many.

"It's fun to eat, like sardines," Gerry Zegers, president of the federation's board of directors, said as he watched people flow through the door.

"You just eat the whole thing at once." Heads removed, of course.

By evening's end, an estimated 500 people had turned up -- about 100 more than last year. Individuals paid $2 to get in, and families paid $5.

Even the organizers wondered how a fish so small could draw such a big crowd. Dwayne Shaw, the group's executive director, simply looked around in amazement at the packed room.

The nearby Salmon Resource Center, a small building on the main road through town and perched on the edge of the Pleasant River, was offering tours on the hour.

Young people were entertained with a skillet toss, with the cast iron pans flying even in a driving rain. That was organized by the recreation students from the University of Maine at Machias.

Phil Harriman of Cherryfield was honored for his lifelong commitment to local salmon restoration and river protection. Area students were recognized for their salmon-themed artwork, which was displayed before being auctioned off for fundraising.

To end the evening, the floor was cleared of tables, and a local band, Live Bait, played their Celtic-inspired music. Curtis Russet and Sepp Huber of Steuben, Jim O'Neil of Lubec, Kara McCrimmon of Trescott and John Viselli of Cooper all took turns on bass, banjo, fiddle, guitar, accordion and whistles.

Since the first dinner four years ago, the event has steadily grown. By the third year, it was immediately clear that a new location was needed.

The community room is a natural, because it's within 200 yards of where Lewis Emerson of Columbia Falls and his grandson, Evan Emerson, dipped their nets, caught and cleaned the nearly 200 pounds of smelts that were served.

Last year's crowd gobbled up about 80 pounds.

Evan Emerson, 16, a Narraguagus High School student, loves taking part in preparing the smelts. He was working in a tent alongside Wade Purington of Milbridge and Muriel Gay of Jonesboro.

Emerson scooped the shiny smelts from the cooler, then rolled them in a special dusting of corn meal and flour. Gay placed them on a tray by the dozens, ready for Purington to plunge into the hot oil.

When Purington finished with the deep fry, the smelts went back on the tray for Gay to deliver around front to the diners.

"You gotta eat that tail, that's what's crispy," Gay told those who stopped to watch the process. She freely handed out still-hot smelts to those who just wanted a taste.

Many of the curious admitted to never having tried the fish, a particular favorite of locals and old-timers. Caught by hand-held nets at night, smelts are no larger than 6 inches. They are a tiny, oily fish with bones so delicate you can eat them, if you like.

No fork or knife is needed.

"You just take it, then take the bone out and eat it," Emerson said.

But it wasn't all about the little fish on Friday.

The evening was more about the plight of Atlantic salmon and the federation's efforts to save the wild species.

More than half of the federation's members used the event as a reminder to renew their $10 memberships. Others joined for the first time -- some just in appreciation of the evening's experience.

For more information on the Downeast Salmon Federation and its work, call executive director Dwayne Shaw at 483-4336 or visit the Web site www.mainesalmonrivers.org.

BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY KATHERINE CASSIDY

Wade Purington of Milbridge prepares the main dish for the Downeast Salmon Federation's annual smelt fry in Columbia Falls on Friday.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Bangor Daily News, Maine

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Source: Bangor Daily News (Bangor, Maine)

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