Yes I know they were abused badly ,hell my uncle used to get them by the 55 gal barrel full so he could smoke them and give them away to customers at his barber shop . I also know that until the lamprey program they were still plentifull and you could walk on them in the creeks !!! viable fish ,how many millons were spent in NY on lanters ,boots and nets ,gas for the lanterns and cars ... Face it ny has a joke of a dec program they never get it right either over manage or undermanage but never right ... dont believe it look at how many deer a farmer or vinyard owner can kill for the hell of it and its all legal ..those that dont wish to smelt should stay home and drop the i dont do neither should you even if its legal dont do it .. hell stop running your boat on the lake and polluting it then fish from shore .. just a thought good day all ..