cisco/ lake whitefish discussion from jeff. co big water.

[fishman79]

to sum up...

someone asked about the presence of whitefish and/ or cisco in chamount bay...

others posted pictures of both and we've been discussing ID differences, moved from big water reports to here.

I stand corrected on the cisco, I've handled and Id'ed them and I still had a brain fart on the adipose fin. both cisco and whitefish do have an adipose. 
Acording to C. L. Smith's inland fish's of NY  both species are similar, with the whitefish having a subterminal mouth (snout protrudes past the mouth opening) while the cisco is terminal (lower jaw is longer than upper jaw and opens past the snout). whitefish tend to be larger than cisco as well, but size is a poor factor for identification.

If you fish in water's that have one or both, you should check out the pictures on the Jefferson county big water report page and familiarize yourself with them. If you keep a cisco expecting it to be good eats you will be disapointed.

thanks for the reminder on the genus, my brain gets rusty in the winter months.

[FROZENGOOSE]

what makes them taste bad, do they naturally eat diffrent foods of something.

[harrops26]

Are white fish the same as white perch? As a kid ice fishing on Pillar Point I remember occasionally catching what my dad said was a white perch but all i can remember is that they were silver colored.

[Somers]

White perch are actually temperate bass related to striped bass and white bass.  No relation to ciscoes and whitefish. 

[Jigolo J]

Thanks for starting the thread? Please post catches here of Cisco and Lake Whitefish from Jeff.Co Thank You, J

[fishman79]

what makes em taste bad...  they are very bony, and are a form of a herring, so I suppose if you like herring have at em.

not the same as a white perch, different family alltogether.  cisco and whitefish look like a giant version of a pike minnow, white perch are silver, and shaped like a perch with lots of spiny fins and rays. if you fish open water in lake ontario in the spring you often cant keep these guys off your lines. lots of guys catch em thru the ice in chaumont as well.

[Walleye_Whisperer]

what makes em taste bad...  they are very bony, and are a form of a herring, so I suppose if you like herring have at em.

not the same as a white perch, different family alltogether.  cisco and whitefish look like a giant version of a pike minnow, white perch are silver, and shaped like a perch with lots of spiny fins and rays. if you fish open water in lake ontario in the spring you often cant keep these guys off your lines. lots of guys catch em thru the ice in chaumont as well.

this past spring we got into a mess of white perch. heres a nice pic of what we ended up with and you can see what they look like.  most ive ever caught through the ice though is one,, but in the spring the bite is intense when im crappie fishing, we never actually try to catch these fellas, but like you said fishman79 you just cant keep em off!

[Walleye_Whisperer]

oh and i do believe a way to tell the difference is by the stripe along the side, and correct me if im wrong but if i remember correctly the white perch have a single blackish stripe down their side, while the silver bass has two or more.

[youngblood]

I found this about Lake Ontario Whitefish, cisco, and walleye stocking for Lake Ontario. Hopefully we will be catching more.http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50C11FC345F10738DDDAE0A94D9405B8185F0D3                                                                                         

[Huntyeraws]

I found this about Lake Ontario Whitefish, cisco, and walleye stocking for Lake Ontario. Hopefully we will be catching more.http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50C11FC345F10738DDDAE0A94D9405B8185F0D3                                                                                          

Did you actually read the article? LOL!  It was published: January 27, 1891    

[youngblood]

I did read it but I didn't see the date at the bottom thanks.Sean

[Huntyeraws]

I did read it but I didn't see the date at the bottom thanks.Sean

The fishing was probably good until 1905 or so!   

[fishman79]

quite a mess of white perch in that tub... nice catch. I've never tried eating em. but they are a great fish to go after when you're taking kids fishing, especially in black river bay, or even up in the villiage april through june.

[steelheader]

Caught this morning , in lake ontario , figured I would share .

[Jigolo J]

Nice fish steelheader! Where can I go to try to land one? I will only be around for a few days at the end of the month like the afternoon of the 27th. If you ever head to Buffalo I can put you on some steelhead through the ice... Any info would be great. PM if you want. thanks again, J

[northernmaddness]

There is a real lot of white perch in the barge canal. Have caught many through the ice. When you get into a school of them its very easy to catch 30 or 40 of them on tip-ups. They drive me nuts because they always swallow the hook deep and clamp there mouth shut after being caught

[fishman79]

that's a beautiful whitefish stealheader, congrats. smoke em up!!!

[Jigolo J]

NICE CISCO

[nyiceman23]

I caught a Cisco in Sandy pond today.  First for me.   Never seen one before til today

[tshawytscha]

Out of curiosity, anybody catch Cisco out of Sandy Pond in the last few years?