WHITEFISH

[Krome Brite]

Kind of off the subject of salmon/ steelhead/sturgeon fishing but anyway. I caught a couple of whitefish on a spinner recently somewhere [img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]. They fought really good and tasted pretty good too [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]. What I'm wondering is are there any really productive tactics out there besides pitching spinners or flyfishing for them. I want to catch some more. [img]images/icons/cool.gif[/img]

[ 06-19-2001: Message edited by: Krome Brite ]

[blackdog]

Fish just about any of the slower pools on the crooked and the deschutes rivers. I know that drifting nymphs through the calmer pools makes it hard to keep them off the line, and I can't imagine how they would take to bait (where legal). There are seemingly so many in the crooked that i've known a few (not from personal experience) that haven't gotten released as nicely as say, a native steelhead [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] How did you prepare them so they tasted good? The only way I can think of is to grind them up, put them in the garden and have them fertilize some nice, tasty veggies [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[THE REEL HEY_YALL]

Dude, you ate a whitefish? [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]

Please tell us how you prepared them. Not the usual "all right fish, I'm gonna club you and eat you. Get in my belly" kinda psychological preparation.

[Phish_on]

I cooked a whitefish once, it wasn't too horrible ... kind of like a hatchery trout, you could eat it if you were hungry.

Worms on the bottom = whitefish

I caught 3 last weekend! All were "released harmed" for the benefit of osprey or crawdad.

[Jim]

Whitefish...one of my favorite fish!!

Seriously...since I was a kid the dog days of summer were filled with limits of Whitefish from the Satsop and Wynoochee. We fried them with flower and egg back then...now I mostly smoke them with a 4-1 sugar salt dry brine. But I still love to have a big ol fish fry with them...good white meat. Periwinkles or Stonefly nymphs when available are dyamite on 'em...drift them just like steelies to keep you sharp!!

Jim

[Ramstrong]

Gee Blackdog and Phish you're pretty cool. Whitefish as well as suckers and other "undesireable" indigenous fish receive this treatment from such great sportsmen as yourselves. All of these fish are important to healthy riverine ecosystems. It's the same attitude that damaged bull trout and dolly varden populations. If you're going to kill something for the crawdaddies how about Carp, Bass, Crappie, shad or other non native fish. Read Salmon without rivers and maybe you'll start to get the picture. Whitefish are cool!

[blackdog]

Hey Ramstrong, pretty far fall from that high-horse you seem to be on. What, someone **** in your Cheerios this morning? If you noticed, I wasn't taking credit for the wasteful killing of whitefish, merely mentioning that the practice has been witnessed by myself on more than on of the many occasions that I am over on the Crooked, more than likely by someone who has driven over from the valley. If you want to do something for the environment, why don't you turn off your computer and quit wasting precious electricity, ride your bike (instead of driving) and go catch some *********, errrr, northern pikeminnows.

[Tanner]

Many people equate whitefish with ********* or suckers. I think that is why so many people are turned off by them. They are not a trash fish. They have the same exact diets as the trout that they live with.

Personally I don't mind catching whitefish at all and they are very tasty smoked. They are a good fighting fish that can swim very fast.
Fishing small nymphs for them can be very productive and I have even had them rise for a dry fly. If you are catching whitefish and not wanting to keep them for the smoker they should be released unharmed.

[Phish_on]

ehhhh yeah ... convince me there is a shortage, or an impending shortage of whitefish - - -

Anyway I own the river, so I just manage it according to my whims [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img]

[willierower]

Ive actually targeted white fish o the Crooked river in the winter. Small nymphs seemed to work best. As for bait use periwinkles on a small hook. Whitefish cant refuse that.
Smoked whitefish is great. I havent tried it any other way. I guess I will have to try some fried.
I release all whiefish and suckers that I catch, The only fish that get the death sentence are ********* and smallies. I kill all smallies caught in salmon and steelhead streams.

[Krome Brite]

Thanks for the tips! Yeah, I ate a whitefish and it was better than a hatchery trout. It was even better than a spring chinook (j/k). [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

I just filleted it out, then fried it it in egg, olive oil, and Crusteaz Baking Mix. Great!! [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[Sean]

I'm with Ryan here - whitefish, like native trout, are an indicator species - they reflect a clean, cold and generally healthy watershed, and without them you'll have a hard time finding your beloved salmon and steelies. They ARE a native species, and only marginally compete with trout (in the exact same space) for food. They are predictable, and somewhat avoidable - so dont take out your frustrations on them.

[ 06-20-2001: Message edited by: Sean ]

[Hoosier Daddy]

Gotta go with Ramstrong on this one. Whitefish don't hurt anything. Other than a little competition for food maybe, which shouldn't amount to much in a healthy stream.
I have also heard they are good smoked, but that they are kind of hard to light.

[Phish_on]

OK I looked at the regs and it appears my whitefish release technique is not exactly permitted .

Forgive me, I am reformed. I've actually released a lot of them, depending on my mood and location. OK ... this will take some getting used to ...

"Baby whitefish - Breakfast of Brown Trout"

yes ... OK ... I can do this

[Krome Brite]

Willierower, are periwinkles those skinny, brown things that are found on rocks?

[Tanner]

Krome Brite,
Yes they are. They are actually the larvae of the caddis fly. When you pick them off the rocks, you will notice that the "brown" part is actually a shell made of small pebbles, sand, twigs, etc. Peel the shell and it exposes a white or creme colored almost caterpillar looking creature with a black head and legs. These are deadly on trout.

[Krome Brite]

Thanks Tanner. I think I'll try them next time I go out. Let you all know how many I catch on them. [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]