Very cool...have a few at home that have been retired from use that look a lot like some of the ones depicted. Spearing...second only to open water walleye fishing in my book. Thanks for sharing.
Grindstone Lake between Hinckley and Sandstone MN has a smelt run. I have not been there smelting in 9 years so you would have to do some checking on when there running up the river. The most common place is from the public access and there are usually a few people there.