White Fish

Most anglers across Canada catch whitefish while fishing for lake trout, burbot and ciscoe in deeper water. The favorite technique to catch whitefish through the ice is by using a 'spreader-bar' which is often rigged with two or three hooks that extend out on leader from a center weight. The spreader is usually fished right on the bottom, baited with live or dead minnows. Whitefish can commonly place their mouth on top of the bait and just lay there eating it. This can make it very difficult to detect a strike. Because of this, most ice fishermen will use a 'tip-up' devise that is set-up so that it is perfectly balanced. If the whitefish tugs on the line, or gently lifts the line, it registers by the tip-up moving up or down.
After ice-out, whitefish can cruise into very shallow water feeding on invertebrates. At this time of the year, fly fishermen can bonus-out using floating lines and a variety of nymph pattern flies. During June, when mayflies catch on many lakes, whitefish can be seen feeding on the surface, especially at dawn and dusk. This is another peak time for dry fly fishermen to bonus-out on many whitefish. Timing is critical for both types of flyfishing, and accurate casts are required to individual feeding whitefish.
In open water, during the summer months, most anglers will fish either near the bottom either using small live minnows for bait, or vertically jigging small spoons, or jigs.

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