Author Topic: Saginaw Bay Whitefish (Read 6787 times)

Adam Bomb · « **on:** Feb 19, 2009, 10:04 PM »

Heres a few whitefish i caught on the bay while walleye fishing. Good battles and great eating...Love these things...need to learn more about them and target them more often.

Caught on a BPS Flashy Times spoon

5# 8 oz. caught on a 1/16 oz Northland fireball jig tipped with a 3" shiner

4# 9 oz. caught on a #1 Chart/Silver Do Jigger tipped w/shiner head

fish_finder · « **Reply #1 on:** Feb 19, 2009, 10:56 PM »

Wow those are some beautiful whitefish! Im suprised you guys get them on spoons, here the only way it seems to can catch them is with small hooks and bait on bottom, and i have yet to catch one...might have to change tactics see what happens

Adam Bomb · « **Reply #2 on:** Feb 20, 2009, 07:18 AM »

Well, i know we have allot of them in here in the winter months, noone targets them though. Ive caught them out there in the past, but theyre always incidental catches. Buddies see allot of them vaccuuming minnows off the bottom with their cameras. As you can also see, we have a ton of walleyes, which is the main reason noone targets whitefish here....If i had to guess i would say that i catch the super aggressive ones because i have many fish that come in, but wont raise off bottom like the walleyes do to chase...which i suspect are whitefish and often confirmed by those with cameras...when not, theyre usually carp,catfish, or skidish walleyes.

Two of the ones i caught came up off bottom and tonked the daylights outta my spoon. The one i caught on jig also hit very hard, but only after some serious finessing. I gently pounded the mud with the jig. I swam it up gently a couple times and the fish would disappear. As soon as i set it back on bottom it was there again...I had that fish down there for at least 2 minutes before it hit...When it did it hammered it!

So, with that said, since we have good populations of them in the bay, i thought it would be a good idea to target them more. Seems we get em right together with the walleyes. So, with their belly hugging, minnow vaccuuming habits i think ill set up a rod with a speader rig. Maybe ill pound the mud on occassion to stir up silt and get their attention.

fish_finder · « **Reply #3 on:** Feb 20, 2009, 08:33 AM »

Sounds right, a couple of my buddies fish them hardcore, and one of thier fav techniques is if the whitefish wont hit to gently lift it a foot of bottom for a few secs then lay it back down on the mud. They hit very light most times and ive yet to have the patience to sit there and try to get one to inhale it while i could be catchin somthin else, could all depend on the lake, your area u said they feed on minnows, i know here from gutting fish that come from nets that they are usually full of larvae and snails and only occasionally minnows

blacktrap · « **Reply #4 on:** Feb 20, 2009, 09:24 AM »

Nice whities. Must be nice to catch those big huge ones. We have lots but they dont get much bigger than 20-23 inches or so it seems. Do you like catching walleyes or whities better?

Adam Bomb · « **Reply #5 on:** Feb 20, 2009, 01:25 PM »

The whitefish are pretty spunky once you hook em up....at least in my experiences with them. I enjoy catching everyone that i do....which is why i really do want to learn more about their seasonal movements, feeding habits and how to consistantly find and catch them....Not to mention theyre pretty darned tasty!!!

But, walleyes sure are fun too. The hunt to find the roaming schools on the big water is one part of the chase i really enjoy. And the rewards once you find them are just outta this world. Compared to whities, theyre certainly more aggressive. And getting them to chase and smash your presentation is quite a rush. Love seeing the red blips come together on the vex then the slam of the rod tip! Then they have thier days when they really test your wits/skill as an angler. It seems i have an ongoing chess game with them that never gets old.

Having very limited white fish experience, and thousands of hours on the ice/water working for charters, tournament and fun fishing i would have to say that walleye fishing is more fun at this point. Simply because ive chased them for so long and have caught thousands of them over the years...The walleyes have brought me allot of great memories over the years....Love them things, they turn my crank!!!

Adam Bomb · « **Reply #6 on:** Feb 21, 2009, 09:46 PM »

Had another great day on the water. Killed the walleyes and got another whitefish. Caught it on the same spoon as pictured above, but in a yellowtail pattern. Think i had a few down there this evening. Shoulda broke out the spreaders i just built.

Adam Bomb · « **Reply #7 on:** Feb 22, 2009, 06:02 PM »

OK, heres yesterdays catch. Had a blizzard out there, so i didnt take any on ice pics. I brought in my 5 walleye and bonus whitefish. It was late when i got home, so i cleaned my fish this morning. Check out what i found in the whitefishes belly...Pretty funny since theres a thread about Whitefish intestines.

...No blood worms

, only about 25 shiners and a berkley gulp alive minnow.

...cant say i saw that coming!

blacktrap · « **Reply #8 on:** Feb 23, 2009, 07:20 AM »

Did you use the gulp? They love gulp-use it often and it works well.

fish_finder · « **Reply #9 on:** Feb 23, 2009, 11:54 AM »

Cool, i got some of those gulp minnows, maybe i should try em, suprising what they can fit in their small mouth

Adam Bomb · « **Reply #10 on:** Feb 24, 2009, 08:28 AM »

Nope, didnt use Gulp! Alive....I got it on a spoon with a minnow head. Was surprised to see it in there though!....Must work good!!!

flagguy83 · « **Reply #11 on:** Mar 01, 2009, 10:35 PM »

Nice fish adam.

Adam Bomb · « **Reply #12 on:** Mar 04, 2009, 10:55 PM »

Thank you sir...Landed another one last night while walleye fishing....4 3/4# 8)

Adam Bomb · « **Reply #13 on:** Mar 07, 2009, 06:28 PM »

Heres the last whitie i caught....Unfortunatel y itll probably be the last one until November hits and they come in again...Ice is taking a chit on us with the recent weather.

blacktrap · « **Reply #14 on:** Mar 08, 2009, 06:22 PM »

Nice fish. Too bad the ice is going bad for ya. We got 23 more days to go until the season closes. Ice will be good to go until the end.

Adam Bomb · « **Reply #15 on:** Mar 08, 2009, 08:08 PM »

Thanks. What little hope we had left got crushed today when the thunderstorms started. Just isnt going to be conducive to go out on machines any longer. Will only be able to walk out....i hope. Of course, right when fishing is getting outta this world too. We had some temendous days out there last week chasing eyes.

So you have a season on whitefish huh? We dont have one here, but maybe thats because we're fishing on the great lakes. Limit is 12 with no size restrictions. Smallest one i got was around 21" this winter, but most are around 24-25" that you catch....Enjoy the rest of the season, will be looking for pics.

blacktrap · « **Reply #16 on:** Mar 09, 2009, 08:41 AM »

Hope you can still get em by walking. We dont have a whitefish season per se, the ice fishing season closes at the end of march and open water starts april 1, even though the lakes will all still be ice covered. The stupid rules say that you cant drill a hole in the ice to open water fish or stand on the ice while fishing. Last year we could have ice fished until the end of april easily. Hopefully some day some common sense will apply and the season will just be open ice in to ice out. I was out saturday and caught 6 whities with several more lost trying to get em on the ice. They didnt bite real well, but got some to bite after teasing with several different lures. No pics, left the camera home and forgot once I got there. I'll have some more up before the end.

Adam Bomb · « **Reply #17 on:** Mar 09, 2009, 09:25 AM »

Wow, that is a rediculous rule. We have closed season on some species etc. on inland lakes. For instance, Pike and walleye season closes on March 15 here. But as far as a designated ice season, non existant and for good reason.....Never heard of that before.

Anyhow, my walk out trips around home are shot now. Check out what happened last night. This is where i normally go out of.

http://www.wnem.com/news/18885556/detail.html

Adam Bomb · « **Reply #18 on:** Mar 09, 2009, 09:58 PM »

Heres what the carnage looks like.

blacktrap · « **Reply #19 on:** Mar 10, 2009, 07:25 AM »

Wow, thats a lot of ice in the wrong place. Time to get the boat out huh. I'm glad we don't have to deal with that kind of stuff here. Only once a few years ago did a big wind take out the ice on my favorite lake-we fished one weekend and a few days later the whole lake was blown out.

News:

Author Topic: Saginaw Bay Whitefish (Read 6787 times)