HELP!!!!!!

[tomjohn]

I think I might have posted this last your. Oh well here goes. I was fishing for whithfish off of Garden today and like last year the whitefish will swim by and not even look at the baits I present to them. Some will come in pretty close but then they leave as quick as come in. I also see lots of whitefish in the back ground on my camera going by. It's not like I'm not seeing any to say they aren't biting because I am seeing lots of them. I tried throwing almost everything in my tackle at them but with no luck.

Help me...

Tomjohn

[Wiener]

Whitefish can be a little tempramental.

Try fishing for them without the Camera.  Just use your fish finder to let you know when they are around.

Hope this helps,

Wiener

[blacktrap]

Whitefish can be a little tempramental.

Sometimes they will make you crazy.  Try using stuff that you would use for crappie.  Very small jigs, light line and tip the jigs with waxies or small pieces of cut up shiners.

[[email protected]]

I'm set up in a dark house and rigged to spear northerns. The water is 12 feet deep. So far this season I've seen about a dozen white fish and speared four.  I usually have a minnow on a pimple dangling in near my decoy. The whitey will swim right by don't seem to be interested in hitting the minnow. But I do think the decoy and minnow tipped pimple do draw them in.

 I have NEVER heard of anyone catching white fish here in So. Dakota on Lake Oahe.  (Missiouri river)  But I'd like to do the challenge and catch some on hook and line.

  Thanks for all of your interesting posts !   

[Segrat1]

If you don't mind me asking where is Garden? There is a Garden close to me on Lake Michigan. It really depends where you are located I think. Here on Lake Superior (Munising Bay) we use single salmon eggs that have been properly treated/ prepared. The Green Bay/ Door County area they use pimples tipped with a minnow head. Its hard to believe but once you are use to it you can tell when the single salmon egg is gone. And that is fishing in 70 feet of water.

[tomjohn]

I am on the Garden Peninsula. It is between Manistique and Escanaba.

[Wiener]

Is that short for "Garden of Eden?"

 


Wiener

[Segrat1]

I fiqured that was where you were. I'm from the Gulliver area, moved up to Munising years ago. If you are seeing the whities I would try fishing like they do in door county and Green Bay area. Check the Wisconsin postings and see how they are doing it. I know You Tube has some video of them catching whities by Stugeon Bay/ door County. Try chumming a little bit. I use about a half a soup can of old salmon spawn. I lower it down to the bottom then bring it up about four feet and trip the chum can. That way the eggs spill out and settle under where I am fishing. Up here on Munising Bay the locals hate it when people come in and chum with corn and macoroni. I have cleaned fish and there would be a ball of macoroni the size of a golf ball in their stomach. You know that is not going to pass. Same goes for the corn chummers. What goes in must come out or they die if you know what I mean.

[cold_feet]

what we did when fish were around was use small jigs try perch patern like a marmooska and used plastic spike tail no bait. Bang the bottom till fish come the raise lure and hang on. Seems the whities were attracted to the little puffs of sand and silts comming off the jig hitting bottom. when they saw the bait rising the would smack it. We had some hot days doing this and for the guys who used this tactic it still works. Jigs we used were my homemade lures so I cant give you specifics and so were the tails but going small really worked.  We also used 2lb line so downsize everything if you are breaking off go to 4 lb. We didn have much problems with the 2 lb and breaking off fish either.

[Segrat1]

Another thing that a lot of people use over there in Canadaaa is wire worms. Imitates larvae or blood worms I guess. They swear by them. I can't find them anywhere so I guess I will have to try and make some.

[Drifter_016]

Another thing that a lot of people use over there in Canadaaa is wire worms. Imitates larvae or blood worms I guess. They swear by them. I can't find them anywhere so I guess I will have to try and make some.

Yep they work too.
Easy to make your own all you need are hooks, red beads and copper wire and a few minutes.

[Chris Raymond]

Are you guys using wire worm hooks as a dropper or is it the only thing on your line?  I've never really chased whitefish but want to start.  In the areas close to me that have whitefish, you're starting depth is generally in the 65' range and then goes deeper from there.  Seems like the lack of weight would be killer for deeper water fishing. 

[Drifter_016]

Yep, use them as a dropper of a spoon.

[pannyjigger]

On our recent trip to the Sturgeon Bay, WI area, we used Swedish Pimples (size 3 or 4) and Kastmasters (1/8 oz) tipped with wax worms.  Bang them off the bottom 3 or 4 times, then raise off the bottom 4 to 6 inches, pause 1 or 2 seconds, then repeat.  Often times, they would hit as you were lifting off the bottom.  I had a hard time feeling the bite without a spring bobber.

pannyjigger

[gooseblaster49707]

I am on the Garden Peninsula. It is between Manistique and Escanaba.
[/quote.
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God's country for sure.       some of the best goose hunting in the UP! ! ! !
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Blakemore roadrunner's - 1/4 oz. red/white head, chrome blade,  add 1/2 of a berkley gulp earthworm.  jig within 6'' of the bottom. 
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tasty when grilled or deepfried.         great smoked.   love those fish.   soft lips like a crappie.         don't horse them.           see you around the Dew Drop Inn in Gladstone.    best corned beef hash for $1.50 ever.

[fisheyefool]

 i know they jig aggressively in canada, and over on the west part of lake michigan (sturgeon bay, green bay) with vertical spoons and etc. i fish on the eastern part of lake michigan in petoskey, MI and i fish like segrat1 by chumming with salmon, stealhead spawn, also with barley. we condition the fish and bait them kinda like deer. i have tried jigging with everything under the sun and i can watch the whitefish on my aqua vu and they wont even look at anything they are so focused in on the bottom. i use a single egg on a number 18 or 20 treble hook on a slip sinker rig. i made a trip up to munising last year with my dad and we caught 24 whities but they were all very small.   

[Gillfisher]

I have stopped using my camera while fishing for whitefish and my catch rate has improved dramatically, I did find that using it in down view with the camera up about 8 feet did not spook them as bad. However I had too many of them wrap around the camera cable and come off so I dont use it anymore.

[iceman0000]

Also if this will help, i was using a 10 inch hole and if you leaned over or made sudden movements from above they can see you and will spook away.