River whitefish

There was a post in the winter -- I can't remember by who now -- who was asking about open water whitefish. Around here, lake whitefish are the most common fish around. I can't think of any fish-bearing lakes or rivers around here that don't have any in them.They are even more common than fartknockers, although they are harder to catch.

Up here there seems to be two distinct populations of lake whitefish -- one I call coppers. They live in inland lakes and tend be bigger than river whitefish, coppery in colour, and usually have a humpback shape. They are often very aggressive when they come close to shore. I've caught them before on large Aglias and Rapalas while fishing for lake trout. I haven't caught one yet this year, but the whitefish on my lifelist is a copper.
Anyway, today my fiancee Cara and I went up the Yellowknife River to fish for "river" whitefish, which to me, look identical to the fish I've seen a lot people catch on this site through the ice over deep water in winter. It was very windy but we did relatively well, landing eight in total, while losing another four or five.

I find them very hard to keep on the hook. Their mouths are very papery.

The trick, once we get to the spot, is to anchor down and cast upstream, and let the current take the lure past the whitefish with very limited movement. Every once in a while a whitefish will just be "there." These fish are generally not very aggressive and getting a strike can be akin to scoring a goal in the world cup. Sorry Hengelaar!

I never go anywhere without a Panther Martin #0 black with yellow dots. I've caught every species that swims in the NWT -- except for suckers -- with it, from lake trout, and Arctic Grayling to 20 lbs pike. I've re-discovered them over the last few years, and have found this lure to be the most important in my tacklebox. Often this #0 Panther Martin black and yellow is the only thing the whitefish will bite, as it was the case today.

Sigh! Fartknockers can make fishing for whitefish very expensive. Fortunately I was able to get this Panther back.

A nice haul. The largest was 20 inches long. I'm going to smoke these and serve them at our wedding.