The whitefish is a member of the trout family as indicated by the adipose fin located just forward of their tail or caudal fin. Like many other members of the trout family, whitefish are found primarily in deep water.
The Lake Whitefish is a member of the trout family that prefers a deep water habitat. Anglers in Wisconsin’s Sturgeon Bay can target these fish all winter long with some specialized jigging tactics. Jake Romanack of Fishing 411 TV has visited Sturgeon Bay as the guest of JJ’s Guide Service many times and always found the fishing to be outstanding.
The Great Lakes whitefish is one of those species that sport fishermen have largely ignored. Despite the fact that experts consider the whitefish to be one of the best of all fish species on the table, it seems this particular fish gets little love when it comes to catching them on hook and line.
The whitefish is a member of the trout family as indicated by the adipose fin located just forward of their tail or caudal fin. Like many other members of the trout family, whitefish are found primarily in deep water. Perhaps the fact that whitefish are a deep-water species explains in part why so few anglers target them?
Whitefish get little attention across the Great Lakes, with one noteworthy exception located in Wisconsin’s Sturgeon Bay. A winter fishery takes place in this appendage of Green Bay that has to be experienced to be fully appreciated. It’s in this tiny corner of the Great Lakes that whitefish are targeted by countless anglers starting literally the minute the ice is safe enough to support snow machine and UTV traffic.
Dozens of outfitters set up heated hard shacks all across Sturgeon Bay to keep their clients comfortable as they enjoy perhaps the most unique ice fishing experience found in the Great Lakes.
NUMBERS
Part of what makes ice fishing for whitefish fun and popular are the numbers of fish an angler can expect to catch. Whitefish travel in huge schools and these fish feed aggressively all day long. Anglers who target whitefish on Sturgeon Bay routinely catch their 10 fish limit day in and day out. Very few winter fisheries are as consistently productive as the lake whitefish bite. Certainly, some days are better than others, but catching fish and lots of them comes with the territory when targeting whitefish more so than just about any other species.
ACCESS
While some anglers use their own gear to access and target whitefish on Sturgeon Bay, many find it much easier to simply book a charter that provides transportation on and off the ice, heated hard shacks, rods/reels/tackle and even a hot lunch as a midday break.
Ice conditions on Sturgeon Bay are constantly changing and only those who are skilled at reading ice should consider an unguided trip onto this body of water. Strong currents move the ice sheets around creating pressure ridges that can be very dangerous to cross.
Unless anglers are well equipped with ice fishing gear, it’s best to contact a local guide who can provide transportation, heated shelters, rods/reels/tackle and other essentials needed to get the most from the Sturgeon Bay Whitefish Experience.
A commercial fishery is also located in Sturgeon Bay that will professionally clean and package the catch for transport home. Quite literally, the whitefish charters on Sturgeon Bay are a turn key event that only requires the angler to show up with a fishing license, some suitable clothing and the desire to learn a thing or two about ice fishing for whitefish.
FOOD/LODGING
Because Sturgeon Bay is a popular tourist destination, the town features a host of excellent motels, cafes and watering holes that remain open all winter to serve the ice fishing community.
TRUSTED GUIDE
One of the most successful whitefish guides on Sturgeon Bay is Captain JJ Malvitz, a life long resident of Sturgeon Bay. Not only does JJ understand how to catch whitefish, his equipment is top notch, he is intimately knowledgeable about the changing ice conditions and he enjoys a customer base that returns year after year to enjoy the total whitefish experience.
One of the easiest ways to reach JJ is on Facebook at JJs Guide Service or you can reach out to his web page at jjsguideservice.com.
FISHING TACTICS
The popular ways that whitefish are caught through the ice has been constantly evolving as more and more anglers discover this fishery. Jigging spoons tipped with wax worms were once considered the best approach, but these days whitefish on Sturgeon Bay are caught a number of different ways.
Special “whitefish” jigging rigs that feature a lead head jig or jigging spoon on the bottom and a small lead jig that slides up and down on the leader are one of the popular options anglers use to catch these denizens of the deep. This rig puts two hooks in the strike zone and both are typically baited with a wax worm.
A growing number of ice fishermen are discovering that whitefish can be caught in large numbers. Unique fisheries such as Sturgeon Bay located in Wisconsin are attracting countless anglers looking to stretch their string.
Glide baits like the popular Rapala Jigging Rap or the Moon Shine Lures Shiver Minnow are also “go to” lures among the whitefish jigging community. Typically these lures are fished clean, but some anglers prefer to tip the bottom treble hook with wax worms or the head of a small minnow.
A third presentation that routinely takes big numbers of winter whitefish is the NED rig. A NED rig is a stand-up style jig dressed using small finesse style plastics. The most common jighead sizes include the 3/1, 1/6- and 1/5-ounce options.
The plastics that produce best are ones that closely imitate the round goby which makes up the majority of the whitefish diet on Sturgeon Bay. The Z-Man Finesse TRD, Swimmin’ Trout Trick, Trick ShotZ 3.5 and TRD TubeZ 2.75 are all good choices in green and brown color patterns.
LIGHT LINE IS A MUST
Because the waters of Green Bay and Sturgeon Bay are typically gin clear, anglers are best to equip themselves with low stretch and low visibility fishing lines. A super braid in the eight to 10 pound range is a good main line option. To this low stretch line a low visibility leader of fluorocarbon is mandatory. Most guides on Sturgeon Bay are using a six to eight-pound test leader of fluorocarbon about 36 to 48 inches long.
SCENT HELPS
As in many other ice fishing situations, scent products play a major role in helping to trigger the maximum number of strikes. The best scents are those that are made from real baitfish sport species are used to foraging on. Pro Cure’s Super Gel products are a sticky gel that are available in a wide variety of scents/baitfish options.
Believe it or not, a bass fishing presentation known as the NED rig is one of the best ways to target lake whitefish in the winter. Soft plastics that closely imitate the round goby are routinely the best way to catch a quick limit of these tasty fish.
The Super Gel formulas that make the most sense in the Great Lakes include Emerald Shiner, Herring, Alewife, Crayfish and Gizzard Shad to name a few. The Super Gel formula can be applied to soft plastics, hard baits and jigheads. For ice fishing applications the Pro Cure IceHole line up features the same natural Super Gel formulas, but without the UV additive.
The UV additive found in most Pro Cure products makes it easier for fish to see baits, especially in low light conditions. For ice fishing however, the UV can find it’s way onto the fishing line causing it also to glow. The most stealthy approach is to use the IceHole products that have the naturally attractive scent, but not the UV additives that can pose problems for ice fishing.
WHAT ABOUT THE CISCO
The cisco or lake herring as they are often called is closely related to the lake whitefish. Many biologist believe that whitefish and cisco cross breed commonly creating a hybrid species that biologists know little about.
While the cisco is similar in appearance to the whitefish, there are some distinguishing characteristics that make it possible to tell one from the other. The whitefish has a rounder more sucker-like mouth, while the cisco has a mouth that more closely resembles the larger open jaw of a trout.
Whitefish are capable of growing much larger than ciscoes, but the average size of lake whitefish and also the cisco often falls into that two or three pound category.
Ciscoes are generally more aggressive than whitefish and are commonly caught in select Great Lakes waters such as East and West Grand Traverse Bays. The cisco also sometimes shows up in select drowned river mouth lakes such as Lake Charlevoix in huge numbers. Ciscoes often spend the winter months in drowned river mouth lakes where they feed heavily on young of the year alewife. During the rest of the year ciscoes wander widely over northern Lakes Huron and Michigan.
SUMMING IT UP
The lake whitefish and to a lesser extent the Great Lakes cisco represent an abundant fishery that few sport fishermen have experienced. More commonly caught in commercial nets than on hook and line, these unique members of the trout family have the ability of making the long cold winter seem much shorter and a whole lot warmer.
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