There starting to frustrate me

[lotwfisher]

I have loved catching whitefish for a while now but not untill this year have I really tried to target them..I think I am gonna go back to accidently catching them cause I cant seem to get it right. I can mark them and get them to chase and no matter how small of tackle or how light of rod I am not getting hits. I think I haved tried everything in my tackle box twice and even somethings that i tried to make up. Anybody got any ideas on what I can try next. I will try any opinions even if it means fishing on my head!! haha thanks for any ideas.

Robin

[Whitefish Slayer]

where are they in the water column when u target them. They are a very finiky fish.  They all act like WOMEN!! fussy as hell.. Keep on them it took me awhile before i really started to figure them out.   We fish on bottom here and they the bite is so light a small sponge  bobber barely moves on the surface u gotta have patience for the buggers!!

[lotwfisher]

I fish them on bottom too. The few I have got have been very light hits. But when I am trout fishing and get them they seem to hit like a tank...And they sometimes chase to the surface also.....Thats what is boggling me so much.

Robin

[PGKris]

Figure out what caused them to strike at your trout presentation with force and incorporate that into what is already bringing them in.....?

[Whitefish Slayer]

that's why i like fishing them so much ya never know from one day to the next
when they tap tap tap the bait everytime they tap it bring it up about 6 inches off bottom and let it flutter back down. I do this and soon as it hits the bottom they will strike hard.  Another thing i do when they bite is pull it up 6" and drag it over the opoosite side on the hole and when it settles and start going across the hole they will hit it then.  Don't know if theres anything to this but it works for me.  what size hooks and what bait and how big are u using?

[colfax]

This year was my first attempt at targeting whitefish. The first trip my buddy caught a couple jigging a small spoon with waxies. I got one on a Genz worm with waxies.
Our second trip, there were 3 of us, we caught 11 14- 18". Did the best on the Genz worm. I think the vertical jigging was the ticket. Hook size was critical, we lost 8 fish using too small of a hook about a size 8 worked pretty good.  We are fishing on the bottom in 82 feet of water and the heavier baits help with getting down and bite detection. I am hoping to get back out this weekend and try it again, it a 70 mile drive.
Oh Yeah how many of you guys are using a spring bobber on whites. It works good if they pick up on the bait!

[Whitefish Slayer]

my fishing partner uses the spring bobber but i prefer to have on slip bobbers
i make sure the bobber is somewhat straight so when he picks it off the bottom the bobber will lay flat across the hole!!
then u can set the hook

[lotwfisher]

I am gonna be trying everything in my box again this weekend. I like the bottom drag idea. Maybe looks like something swimming across the bottom. I use a spring bobber abit and I have used the normal ice bobber too. I have also tried those rocker board cause then the whole rod moves both ways also. I guess I will just have to keep putting in hours of time till I find the right combo.

Robin

[Longwooddrive]

Thill makes a nice little bobber(slip), and I actually found this in the fly tying section.  It can be used for fly fishing or ice fishing.  There only about the size of the tip of your pinky finger but seem to work great in shallow water less then 25 feet.  They are very sensitive to light strikes.  If you are exposed to the elements, and the wind is heavy.  I find they freeze up and detecting strike can be difficult.  No problems, if you are in a hut.  If you're fishing any deeper, you may want to go a little bigger, also take into consideration the size of the whitefish you'll most likely catch. 

[scuba]

My suggestion is to fish aggressive with jigging spoons tipped with power bait. One thing I like to do is to jig then as a whitefish comes in on the sonar I start to reel the spoon up, pausing every couple of feet to jig it. When they hit as you are reeling up hang on because there will be no tap tap Using the same set up you will also catch alot of tullibees as well. With a good flasher fish the whole water column. Start looking for whiteys in 30-50 feet of water. LOTW is full of them

[ice man]

I fish alot in Diefenbaker Lake in Sask. and there alot of whites in the winter, I always had trouble catching, I always seen alot on camera but they were always coming and leaving just as fast as they came. Started using some plastic green leaves on my camera cable and around the camera itself. I put them on about 8 ft. up the cable. I can catch them now, not consist but way more than I used to.

[Snakehunter]

I second the jigging spoon idea. I use a swedish pimple style with a minnow and jig the entire water column from the bottom up. When everything else fails I find this still produces. I also use small Cleo's. Anything chrome/silver or bright and flashy.
LOTWfisher - How are the crappies in Nestor Falls? I usually head down there later in the winter and sled out from the highway spot.
Take care,
Glen
PS - I wanted to go out for whities this week but the temps are so low with windy conditions it verges on suicide. I don't have a hut or I'd go.

[scuba]

Hey Snakehunter,I have a hut Maybe we will have to meet out there sometime.                                     

[Snakehunter]

I was going to go today but my daughter is home sick. Sunny and clear with not much wind. Minus 25 though
I got the itch to go after driving into town yesterday and catching all the sunshine.
Now I have to work from tomorrow through Sunday. Oh well!!
Hopefully this deep freeze we are in will let go by then. Man it has been exceptionally cold for nine days now.

Scuba and lotwfisher - drop me a line if you want to hook up. I work shifts and get days off during the week and some weekends. I am always up for fishing (and scuba diving). I have a snowmobile and sleigh for those back-country lakes.

Regards,
Glen

[lotwfisher]

The crappies in Nestor have been good. Some other people are fishing different spots and doing great with some great size. I have some pics I will try and put on, but I am no good with the picture posting.

Robin

[scuba]

LOTW Fisher, what kind of access is there at Nestor for vehicles, or would you say a sled would be better? What would you say be the prime tim during winter to fish there for crappies?

[lotwfisher]

There is an ice road that one of the locals maintains. I think he charges like 8 bucks a day to use it. Its like a 4 lane highway on ice. I have been driving my Jimmy all winter on the ice. The ice is like 26" thick on LOTW and there is very little snow cover cause the wind has blown alot of it off. I like fishing for crappies early in January but the last few weeks has been really good if you just get away from the crowds and drill some holes.

Robin

[scuba]

Hmmmm looking like a Nestor swap for whiteys might havet happen

[colfax]

Fished Saturday on Whitefish lake, Sawyer county, WI from 9am-3pm, man was the wind brutal in that cold. Two of us caught 3 Whitefish all 17-18". It was pretty slow. Marked about 1/4 of the fish we did a few weeks ago. Hoping when the weather warms some that the fish will pick-up.