Whitefish? Where can I get some?

[Salmonman]

I have tried every available resource in the anchorage area, and including bethel. Can anyone help me find some whitefish. I only need a couple. If someone has caught some and want to get rid of them. Send me a post message.

[jkw]

dude you and i both.....i even enlisted Drifter_016 and called a half dozen places in the great lakes region....i guess itll hafta wait till spring thaw....im gonna catch and save as many as i can this summer.

[iced]

while Salmon Man and I where at Louise we met a guy that claimed he caught them in the stream between dinty lake and louise he said they where small but did not say how he caught them. I don't know I think I just coughed and said crap at the same time but that was what he claimed when I asked where he got his white fish. Has anyone asked tree farmer at wolverine lodge he might have some info.     

[jkw]

if i get time to stop in and talk to him i will. i know im gonna really beat the waters of the susitna/ parks streams after breakup

[Dirtofak]

There are whitefish near the stream between Dinty and LL. Not all of them are small. Any flowing water, inlet to a lake, creek between 2 bodies of water etc... will hold whitefish.

Itty bitty skeeter type flies every other cast.

Not sure how to catch them under ice. Have not tried.

[jkw]

hmmm i will keep that in mind Mike...kirk wilson fishes em in 5-10 feet of water with a very tiny gold jig.

[PikeSticker]

You can catch them under the ice in Kenai Lake and Skilak Lake using single red salmon eggs on a #10-12 egg hook on the bottom. Small mouths, tiny bait.

[Dirtofak]

I have also heard mealworms on a super small hook. Maybe 1/4 inch long.

[iced]

http://www.walleyedirect.com/product/FISH/whitefish-11.html?gclid=CJDd4vKGm58CFQZfagod0jpAxQ

i found this site wile I was looking for white fish. That is some Expensive bait but it was all that I found 

[Drifter_016]

Don't you guys know any native guys who net through the ice?
You can jig them up using jigs like Badd Boyz or LiL Foxee jigs with a crappie tube on the back end.
I'm sure lakes such as Louise have good populations of Lake Whitefish to catch. Drop the jig to the bottom in 60 to 85 feet of water. Pound it into the bottom several times and lift it about a foot off the bottom and hold for a couple of minutes, repeat.

Here's the jigs I use:



If you're getting bait duing the open water season wire worms under a float work great.



If live bait is allowed 1 1/2" to 2" shiners fished on bottom using a balance tipup works well through the ice.
Use a 2 or 3 way spreader rig with a minnow on each.

Almost forgot, another great ice fishing lure for winter whities is a half and half Williams ice spoon in the 2 1/2" to 3" size.
Use the same as the other jigs.

[Dirtofak]

Dave,
When you say float, do you mean water bobber? Clear plastic bobber with a hollow shaft through it 1/2 filled with water?/??
Mike

P.S. I use small skeeter flies.

[Drifter_016]

Dave,
When you say float, do you mean water bobber? Clear plastic bobber with a hollow shaft through it 1/2 filled with water?/??
Mike

P.S. I use small skeeter flies.

I'm a relocated Great Lakes Steelheader so when I talk about floats I'm talking balsa steelheading type floats.
In the Yellowknife river here in Yellowknife the whitefish stack up below a natural barrier and we toss out one of these wire worms under a float with some splitshot spaced out on the line to get the fly down to the fish. The bait is allowed to float naturally through the pool and will do what floats do when a whitie hits. 
We use longer rods and either a spinning reel or specialized center pin reel. I use center pins almost exclusively unless I'm bouncing bottom.
This technique is deadly on trout and salmon too. 
If you want to learn about the gear drop in and see my buddy Keith at World Wid Angler on Lake Otis. We got him hooked several years ago and now he's selling the equipment and even has put a center pinning video together.

Here's a couple of shots from a steelheading trip to PA I took over the Christmas holidays to get an idea of what I'm talking about.





Back in the early days we would use a fly rod with a spinning reel to fish and that can still be effective it is just more difficult to get a long drag free drift. But it will get you fishing with what you already have.

[jkw]

Dave, i have found a guy who can get me sheefish, if cut into small strips would it work as well as whitefish?

[akjw7]

might need to check the regs on that - can't use sportfish meat for bait or something close to that...

[iced]

I don't see why not, white fish and she fish are in the some family but as stated i think she fish are classified as a game fish with bag and possession limits set in the regs there fore i don't think you are allowed to use it as bait only human consumption. i don't have the regs in front of me but I think that is the way that it works. White fish are not considered a game fish no bag and possession limits witch is why you can use them for bait.       

[Dirtofak]

http://www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us/Statewide/regulations/Statewideregs.cfm

Wasting of fish: The intentional waste or destruction of any species of sport-caught fish is prohibited. However, whitefish, herring, and other species for which bag limits, seasons, or other regulatory methods and means are not provided in 5 AAC 47 - 5 AAC 75 (area-specific regulations), as well as the head, tail, fins, and viscera of legally taken sport fish, may be used for bait or other purposes.

Ice fishing gear: Sport fishing through the ice is permitted using two closely attended lines, provided only one hook or artificial lure is used on each line,

[frydaddy]

I know someone that has a cabin right on the channel, and he claims that he got his whitefish the same way.  I'll try to find out how it was that he caught them, but it didn't sound like it was too difficult.

[Dirtofak]

I know someone that has a cabin right on the channel, and he claims that he got his whitefish the same way.  I'll try to find out how it was that he caught them, but it didn't sound like it was too difficult.

In the summer, it is easy. Your friend is VERY close to my place.

[jkw]

darn thats a bummer....just cant seem to find any whitefish!!!! how could it be so hard? sounds like its the best bait in the world so why dont they have a market for it?

[iced]

I have been asking the same thing. I think that since people here catch them in there nets as subsistence they cant sale them. And if they where harvested commercially they would cost so much to ship that it would make the price to high. I know that when I floated the Deska from Oil well road you could see them in the water. I have caught one wile fishing for silvers in Jim creek and seen them in a lake out at point Mac but as for targeting them and successfully catching them I cant seem to.     

[Drifter_016]

I have been asking the same thing. I think that since people here catch them in there nets as subsistence they cant sale them. And if they where harvested commercially they would cost so much to ship that it would make the price to high. I know that when I floated the Deska from Oil well road you could see them in the water. I have caught one wile fishing for silvers in Jim creek and seen them in a lake out at point Mac but as for targeting them and successfully catching them I cant seem to.     

There's a commercial guy here in Yellowknife that nets under the ice but he's a little pricey.
I'm finally heading out this weekend maybe I can help you out, if I can keep thos pesky lakers off my hook.