May. Adult smelt migrate into tributary streams or onto shoals and scatter their adhesive eggs. The eggs sink and stick to the gravel bottom. After hatching, young smelt feed on zooplankton. Adult smelt eat crustaceans, insects, and other fish. In addition to their importance as a prey fish, rainbow smelt provide excellent fishing opportunities.
Anglers catch smelt by ice fishing in the winter and dipnetting in the spring.
In Canadian waters of Lake Erie, rainbow smelt are an important commercial fish species. As with alewives, a diet rich in smelt may result in a thiamine deficiency in predators. Small prickles or spines are located behind the pectoral fin and its eyes are positioned high on the head and close together. Especially common in Lake Ontario and in waters in the Catskills and the Adirondacks, this fish is found in areas scattered across New York State. It is a bottom dweller and prefers cold, rocky streams and lakes with some shelter.