Who plans on hitting the Bay for whitefish this season

[JigginRod]

LSG you said the truth better than anyone! LMAO!

[wipike]

Great line.  I'll have to swing past for sure now.

Gillfisher -  I've got a 24" Iceblue I usually use for pannies, I'll just make sure it's got enough line on it and call it good - unless I can somehow get a new Meatstick home without Momma knowing about it. 

[littlesturgeonguy]

Great line.  I'll have to swing past for sure now.

Gillfisher -  I've got a 24" Iceblue I usually use for pannies, I'll just make sure it's got enough line on it and call it good - unless I can somehow get a new Meatstick home without Momma knowing about it.

Do yourself a favor though and get your minnows elsewhere!

[Bennettc]

I would start out in either Little Sturgeon, Rileys Bay or Sand Bay.

How deep do you usually fish in early February?  How far from shore do you have to go?    Are roads pretty well marked for getting out?

Thanks!

[Gillfisher]

We usually fish in about 40 ft of water, you want to look for sharp breaks with rocks on them. The paths out from those areas are well traveled so you wont have trouble getting out to the area. You will see the line of shanty's along the break, try to stay away from the crowds. Just line yourself up with the line of shacks and adjust deeper/shallower from there. Another thing to be aware of is the current that runs under the ice, you can have 18" of ice in one spot and 6" 20 yards away. We only take our 4 wheelers out there or walk when it is real iffy. It's probably a mile or so out to the break-line.

[teamlund]

Roger talks like a s**t salesman with a mouth full of samples! Never believe a guy that sells bait for a living. Hope i did not offend you i just know him really well.

yup, dont believe a word he says. He is an absolute fool and will say and do anything to sell bait. If he knows you came there to fish he will sned oyu out onto 1/2in of ice just to sell bait. Get what you need from him and leave dont listen to a word he says. 

If you ask him the perch are always biting and you need LOTS of bait.

[Siebold]

IMO a medium action rod is to heavy.  We got a shack rental from Brett Alexander last year and we used his rods but I brought a ultra light rod along for the heck of it.  All day using the medium actions we were catching very little. Towards the end of the day not thinking anything of it I rigged up my ultra light and i was pulling them in as fast as i could get the bait down.  I dont think you can feel the bite on the heavier rods as well and if they are biting light good luck.  Also if anyone is interested on a hot tip.  Alot of guys use a slider hook.  Instead of a slider hook I started using a Custom Jigs and Spins motor oil colored ratso with a waxie and that seemed to outfish the plain slider hook with a waxie by quite a bit.  I think that immitates a baby goby and thats what the fish are feeding on.  Also I dont think depth is that important.  Whitefish are in all different depths.  Last year we were walking out to 20 feet and slamming them while others were going way out to 40-60 feet of water. 

[littlesturgeonguy]

IMO a medium action rod is to heavy.  We got a shack rental from Brett Alexander last year and we used his rods but I brought a ultra light rod along for the heck of it.  All day using the medium actions we were catching very little. Towards the end of the day not thinking anything of it I rigged up my ultra light and i was pulling them in as fast as i could get the bait down.  I dont think you can feel the bite on the heavier rods as well and if they are biting light good luck.  Also if anyone is interested on a hot tip.  Alot of guys use a slider hook.  Instead of a slider hook I started using a Custom Jigs and Spins motor oil colored ratso with a waxie and that seemed to outfish the plain slider hook with a waxie by quite a bit.  I think that immitates a baby goby and thats what the fish are feeding on.  Also I dont think depth is that important.  Whitefish are in all different depths.  Last year we were walking out to 20 feet and slamming them while others were going way out to 40-60 feet of water.

I agree, I have caught them from 6'-50'+.

[North]

All right, all right... you've talked me into it.  I've been wanting to do this for years and never have.  I think this year will be the year.  I'm not looking for anyones honey hole by any means, but do you generally fish the southern part of the bay closer to Green Bay, or further north by say Marinette?

[JigginRod]

IMO a medium action rod is to heavy.  We got a shack rental from Brett Alexander last year and we used his rods but I brought a ultra light rod along for the heck of it.  All day using the medium actions we were catching very little. Towards the end of the day not thinking anything of it I rigged up my ultra light and i was pulling them in as fast as i could get the bait down.  I dont think you can feel the bite on the heavier rods as well and if they are biting light good luck.  Also if anyone is interested on a hot tip.  Alot of guys use a slider hook.  Instead of a slider hook I started using a Custom Jigs and Spins motor oil colored ratso with a waxie and that seemed to outfish the plain slider hook with a waxie by quite a bit.  I think that immitates a baby goby and thats what the fish are feeding on.  Also I dont think depth is that important.  Whitefish are in all different depths.  Last year we were walking out to 20 feet and slamming them while others were going way out to 40-60 feet of water. 

I'll 2nd all this.

[oldfisher68]

All right, all right... you've talked me into it.  I've been wanting to do this for years and never have.  I think this year will be the year.  I'm not looking for anyones honey hole by any means, but do you generally fish the southern part of the bay closer to Green Bay, or further north by say Marinette?

Whitefish are very numerous, up and down the shoreline. I would recommend starting at Little Sturgeon area. Follow the crowd, then get off beaten path to a quiet area. Whitefish spook easy, with surface noise. Most of the other fisher's will help you get started. Perch gear will catch catch plenty of whitefish. After you got the hang of it, then explore new area's.
Good luck

[Gillgrabber]

I attended one of Sand Bay's ice walleye schools a couple years ago.  It wasn't a bad deal when you considered the sponsor goodies they gave you.  I think the cost to attend was something like $340 but they probably gave us $150 worth of gear.  It included 2 nights lodging, 2 breakfasts, and 2 dinners.  The walleye fishing was a little slow but my buddy caught a 25" fish.  Around mid day we went out to try the whitefish and did really well.  I'm thinking of going back this year.