In this article, which should be seen as a contribution to knowledge and research in the field of ethnoichthyology, the authors attempt to shed light on the cultural and linguistic dimensions associated with the catching of smelt, Osmerus eperlanus (L., 1758). The folk terminology used in this context helps enhance our understanding of how the species and its fishery were viewed. It offers an insight into how people utilised local biological resources and how they verbalised and systematised their knowledge of the biota, i.e. the plant and animal life of the local environment, and is thus a distinct expression of local ecological knowledge. Smelt became the subject of a popular taxonomy distinguishing different populations and individuals according to their size and colour. The fact that these fish are only caught for a limited part of the year, usually in the early spring, has given rise to a number of words that reflect the circumstances prevailing at the time of the catch. Oral transmission of spawning times and observations of conditions that were considered to foreshadow spawning were crucial for the success of smelt fisheries.The specific vocabulary for fishing gear also reflects the significance of smelt fishing. In addition, certain terms related to catching methods add interesting perspectives on the human–fish relationship and are therefore also considered. The study of these data offers a wide insight into people’s relationship to smelt in the past and shows how multifaceted ethnoichthyological research can contribute to a deeper understanding of the importance of the landscape and its resources for humankind.