Where are they?

[Vexilar Prowler]

where would you start looking for whitefish in a lake?  I have never caught one, but I have ate them and they are really good.  I just dont have a clue where to start.  The lake I will be fishing is really clear and max depth is about 135 ft.  Thanks!

[Drifter_016]

where would you start looking for whitefish in a lake?  I have never caught one, but I have ate them and they are really good.  I just dont have a clue where to start.  The lake I will be fishing is really clear and max depth is about 135 ft.  Thanks!

Got a map of the lake?
Let's see it. 

[hillmann]

My expereance with netting them is durring sponeing, which around hear(northern WIsconsin)is form a week before christmass  up untill about the end of January.  During the day we find them in about 20 feet of water within a couple hundred yards of the deapest part of the lake which is about 100 feet deep.  Just before dusk and all night untill after sunrise they start milling in on the sand bars about ten feet deep they expessealy like being right next to the weeds but still in the sand. That is where we find them the thickest.  But they will also mill ofer weeds that are about 1-2 feet tall in water as shallow 5 feet.   After January you can drill a hole just about anywahre within a mile of the deapest part of the lake in less than 20 feet of water and if you watch all day long you might see one huge school of thousands of fish that take 15 minutes to pass and then you wont see them agen in that hole for maby a couple days.  It is real hard to catch them on purpous when they are like that. 

[Vexilar Prowler]

Thanks for the help!! Here is a map of the lake.
http://www.dnr.state.mi.us/SPATIALDATALIBRARY/PDF_MAPS/INLAND_LAKE_MAPS/ROSCOMMON/HIGGINS_LAKE.PDF

[hillmann]

        I would try the sand bar southwest of the 135 deep area on the line marked 3/10 look for a spot between 15 and 25 feet on the sand near a drop if you are fishing in the day.  If you are fishing at night I would fish in the same area but head farther to shore to find an area about 5 to 12 feet deep idealy in sand next to a weed edge.  If you cant find an area like that for night fishing find a spot whare the weeds are about a foot and a half tall an five to eight feet of water between the top of the weeds and the ice. Although I want to point out that all the information I am giving you is based on two lakes near me that I have spent thousands of hours watching whitefish through the ice on. They may not act the same on your lake, the biggest problem will be finding the three to four week time span when the will be spawning, around hear it starts the week before christmass regardless of weather or ice conditions, some times it is still open water and other times we have 10 inches of ice at that time of year but like I said that dose'nt bother them, they start running right around the week befoer Christmass. 

       I have heard that up north farther there are some lakes whare they spawn near creek and stream outlits all winter long, but Ihave no first hand Knowalage of that. 

       Good luck, hope you can find them.