Rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) is a saltwater, freshwater, brackish species recorded in the United States. It is found at depths of 0–425 m.
Scientific name: Osmerus mordax · Water: Saltwater, Freshwater, Brackish
Size: up to 30 cm
The rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) is a small, slender osmerid of North America with a silvery pale-green back and iridescent purple, blue and pink sides over a light belly, reaching 18–23 cm and about 85 g when full grown, though individuals over 30 cm are known. It is an anadromous spring spawner that prefers clean streams with light flow and siltation, feeding aggressively on small fish and zooplankton while being preyed on by walleye, trout and other large fish; being weak swimmers, smelt struggle to pass dams and fish ladders, and erosion and damming decimated populations in the 1980s. Its native range covers Atlantic drainages between New Jersey and Labrador and Arctic drainages, and it has been introduced into many US states — the Great Lakes watershed was invaded after eggs from Maine landlocked stock were planted in Crystal Lake, Michigan in 1912, with fish spreading through Lakes Michigan, Erie, Huron, Ontario and Superior. In the United States rainbow smelt are fished during the spring spawning runs in coastal New England streams and through the ice in the Great Lakes and inland lakes, taken on tiny jigs, Sabiki-style rigs and dip nets, and they are eaten fresh or used as bait.
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