I am fairly new to the forum and don't post a ton (although I have been following a lot of stuff). I am a very avid angler and I'm trying to find any info I can about lake whitefish in Lake Champlain. I'm not looking for any secret spots (though very secretive if given any info
) but any help would be greatly appreciated. I put a ton of time on the ice last year and keep researching all I can. There are tons of them in the lake but trying to figure out what is going on with them is crazy. These fish are driving me nuts.Here is what I have found:
- They relate to rocky bottoms, especially near points and transition zones from one bottom type to another.
- Primarily a benthic (bottom) feeding fish but will at times chase bait- many people have told me that when smelt were doing well in the lake that whitefish would be near them frequently.
- There seems to be a dietary shift through the seasons with mostly insects and fish eggs as the primary components.
- A huge factor in locating whitefish on Champlain seems to be the loss of smelt. They used to follow the schools of smelt but without those schools they seem to have scattered.
- Mostly found in deeper water but it seems like many of the recent catches I have heard about are in the shallows. Anywhere from 3 to 35 feet but those are through the ice. In open water depth seems to be key.
- The Inland Sea, West Shore of Grand Isle, Shelburne Bay, Burlington Waterfront, and from Thompson's Point south to the bridge are all locations where they have been caught or found in good numbers. From all reports they have virtually disappeared from Mallett's Bay, Missisquoi Bay and the South Lake.
-There were a few entered into derbies last year from the southern end of the lake near the Champlain Bridge and several people reported them to the guys doing the creel survey last winter.
- In some locations around the country they relate to smaller inflows or larger rivers, especially in the fall to spawn. Shallow water ice fishing is very popular on Lake Superior near small tributaries.
- Highly migratory but potentially schooling. In other lakes larger individuals are known to be more "lone wolf" types.
- Very light bite, strong fight. They also have a very delicate mouth so it is easy to lose them. (I may have had one on for a while last year at Proctors but I admit I was horsing it a bit- I was conditioned to lakers)
- Most folks fishing them in places they are most popular are using jigging spoons tipped with minnows, spikes or waxworms. There are also specialized whitefish rigs.
- The bite seems best at first light and near dark.
- Early ice seems to be a good time to find them.
- Sonar seems to be critical for success
- There is a large population in Champlain, I often hear that it is the most numerous salmonid in the lake. Some of the individuals are quite large. I have been told that a few of the fish caught with the nets during the UVM research a few years ago would have exceeded the state record of 9 pounds and change.
In full disclosure, the primary reason I am interested in this fish is the Vermont Master Angler Program. I am working my way through the species list and I have 4 left, the whitefish being one. Thorny has been kind enough to try to help me out with the cisco. I have been on a personal quest to try to complete this program for over 5 years now and I have employed a wide variety of techniques and ventured to a lot of different places to catch the species involved. The whitefish is proving itself to be one of the greatest challenges.
The whitefish was also the only species that had never had an entry in the MAP until January 1 of this year when one was caught in the Inland Sea. I have also heard of a few caught while jigging lakers. I suspect that more would be caught if smaller baits were to be employed when jigging but in that case fewer lakers would be caught. Catch 22!
I know there are quite a few others out there who are also interested in this species. I have talked with a few guys on this board about it. Thorny and I talk whitefish every time we see each other and I have a continuing dialogue with Shawn Good about it. Shawn grew up fishing whities in Ontario and would love to figure them out on Champlain.
I'm sharing this info with you guys in hopes that it gets some other folks excited about this fishery. It has enormous potential. Big fish, lots of them, virtually untouched population, very popular in other regions, and from all accounts one of the tastiest fish in the lake. Feel free to message me privately if you don't want the world to see what you have to say but I am hoping that I can get some of you guys out on the ice this year with me to look for these things and help dial them in.
I'll post a bunch of links to good whitefish articles and videos later today.
Thanks in advance guys. This is such a great community that really seems to care deeply about the lake and its fisheries and I am happy to be a tiny part of it.
Drew
