lake whitefish facts for anyone interested

[fishy1]

i saw on ice shanty vt. that someone said the lake whitefish are depleted from lake champlain . does anyone have any info on this. from reports i have from fellow fisherman with cameras they are still there but are a tough catch. would like to hear more on these tasty fish. doesnt look like ill be able to target them on hardwater because of a lack of ice .

[Boatless in BTV]

Whitefish were fished commercially in Lake Champlain in the 19th and early 20th centuries, which really knocked the population down. But as I understand it, they've recovered over most of the lake. I don't think many people fish for them intentionally anymore, though.

Ellen Marsden and her crew from UVM did a lot of research on whitefish. Here's the journal article on the population research: http://www.uvm.edu/rsenr/emarsden/docum ... namics.pdf

[fishy1]

thanks a bunch lots of interesting reading there. i caught one through the ice last winter and he was a very aggressive fish and very tasty. he weighed in at 5lbs and the only one i have ever caught that i know of. the incredible small mouth took a 3 inch shiner. i planned on targeting them this winter but no ice yet where i wanted to fish. others i talked to on the forum and on the water have also expressed interest in targeting them. i talked to a fisherman that i know very well said he caught 3 lake whitefish last winter. he said he was surprised since he was perch fishing.

[fishy1]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2jHUHjL4jE
watch lake whitefish

[fishy1]

fool proof tactics for whitefish
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9crA3YBxPI

[fishy1]

went on the hunt today for the elusive lake whitefish and got skunked. trying to reach my target area was a complete nightmare pulling my shelter and gear through over 1 ft drifts soaked with slush and water. i got about halfway to my target area and had to take a break. as i was taking a slight break my back started aching so i decided to camp there in 22 ft of water. my target area was another 200 yards of so. set up ten tip ups and 2 jigging sticks with different size live bait and wax worms on my jigging sticks. i was set up by 8 am and left at 12:30 pm skunked and only one flag. had a nice laker on who twisted the hook out of his mouth approx 5 ft under the ice. looked like and felt like a decent laker of around 10 lbs. im not giving up and will reach my target area later this week with the help of a freind. at least it was a nice day out. tight lines.