Got confirmation from the MNR today that it's permissible to catch alewife and use them dead as bait. Not allowed to net them though and not allowed to transport live or use live.
They have that tantalizing silver flash to them, that I'll bet will work amazing for bait! I caught my first ever real fish on a small dead minnow, and it was a huge pike. So I have a soft spot for small silvery baitfish
When we were fishing for the Alewife, there were Pike in the evening. There was so much bait around that they did not care to chase any lures. Yes, we did try to fish for them. They all looked to have fat bellies. Why would the Pike chase lures when they can simply cruise along bottom and pick up all the dead Alewife on the bottom?
Now...using an Alewife later in the season when they haven't seen one in months...or fish a large whole dead Alewife in the fall when forage is limited and fish are fattening up...