When the smelt used to run in Lake Ontario and I was a teenager (late 60's ) smelt fishing was a rite of passage.
Every year we had to bring along the new guy...becasue tradition had it the the new guy's mom's kitchen was where we cleaned the smelt.
We would fill a clean garbage can (with a drum liner in it) to the top with smelt in an hour or two .
Cleaning that many smelt in a someone's kitchen was kind of a mess. Roe and eggs (they are sticky) everywhere. Combine that with 5 or 6 teenage boys working in a fishery assembly line and you can imagine the mess.
One guy cut off the head and did a thumb run gut, the next guy really washed out the smelt, the next guy patted it dry and dipped it in pepper and flour .The last guy put a dozen into plastic bags with a bit of water and then they were ready to go into the freezer.
Smelt and eggs for 2nd breakfast after we came in from a November morning duck or goose hunt. A great memory from my youth .