I know it was odd to some, but I had never caught a whitefish, so with steelhead fishing closed I chased something new.
This one, my first, fell to a bead head hares ear fished on a ESN rod. I had sized down from my normal sz 8 to a 10 with a big bead.
I put together a list of suggestions that I found helpful.
Tie up some prince nymphs. If there are whitefish around, they'll eat it.
Whitefish like sparkle. Flashback
A rubber legged hare's ear or a PTX, both with white rubber legs are good whitefish choices as well.
I caught a lot of whitefish on the ......... recently. Salmon were spawning and I was fishing Euro nymphs. The whitefish were beating the trout to the flies. It was good practice learning to set the hook quicker. The Yakima River has whitefish in it as well. Never seen one on the waters you are fishing, but have fun in your pursuit!
The winter is a traditional time to target whitefish here in Washington. At this time of year as Eastside mentioned if there are spawning salmon fishing egg patterns can be effective; targeting the shallow water below the spawning salmon or the riffles immediately below the spawner. The other significant opportunity is associated with the spawning of the whitefish themselves. They are late fall/early winter spawners (as water temperatures drop into the lower 40s). At that time they congregate in large schools in a deep pool. Not uncommon for nearly the entire of population of mature whitefish in a give section river (could be several miles) to collect in that pool. Post spawn most of the fish remain in that pool for much of the winter.
To take advantage of that behavior cover lots of water focusing on the deep pools until a holding pool is found (that can be an annual collecting point if there are not river changes). Where possible I high bank those deeper pools looking for the schooling whitefish. Once a school is found for the fly angler suspending a small nymph a foot or so off the bottom in the slower deeper water can be productive. I have not had a lot in the boiling/eddying water often found in deepest water and rather focus on the more even flows as the water just starts to deepen. On some of the larger western rivers I have fished once a deep pool with school whitefish is found a number of fish can be caught without moving.
Have fun
Compacted 12" minus with not a lot of structure, shaped like a bowl. I find them as the bowl turns upwards at the tail out. Always figured it fitted their down turned mouth in relationship with their eyes, and their body shape.
In my experience, targeting whitefish is very different from targeting trout. Trout can be found in any part of the water column and mostly eat at eye level or above. In comparison, whitefish tend to stay on the bottom and mostly eat at eye level or below.
When I have caught whitefish, I was always using too much weight to catch trout. As soon as I reduced the weight of my rig, I started catching trout again.
If you want to catch whitefish, I suggest putting on an obscenely heavy stonefly nymph and really dredging the bottom. Also, I never caught a whitefish before I got on the Euro train, so tight lining or high sticking is probably the way to go.
If your nymph is bouncing on the bottom and there are Whities about, you will catch them.
This time of year and through the winter, you'll find those short-fin grayling and trout in the same areas. Otherwise, yes, slightly slower (typically) water than trout. Personally, depth has never been a deciding factor between the two. Then again I've caught them on all of the same flies as trout. Not really sure why anyone would poo poo catching them. They're fun , they pull hard and in many locations they get really big. Hell, sometimes they'll even rise to a dry fly and take small streamers.
Also, I've never caught one on any of the ....... rivers (fished them a fair bit in HS and college). What does the district bio say about their distribution in that area?
In my experience, when you find water that's just a little too slow for trout (and often deep), you've found whitefish water. Of course in cold water the trout may very well be holding in slower-than-usual spots as well. Yes to small(ish) flies, yes to deep, yes to water with big boulders. I've found depth is more important than pattern, or even pattern size. If you can run a nymph over a good-sized boulder that's down deep, there will be a whitefish waiting for you.
I love [...] devoted to the lowly (in some opinions) native Whitefish. I am always delighted when I see the classic goldish scales on a caught fish. IMO, Whities are a highlight, especially when that catch nails a western river native trifecta.
This one, my first, fell to a bead head hares ear fished on a ESN rod. I had sized down from my normal sz 8 to a 10 with a big bead.
I put together a list of suggestions that I found helpful.
Tie up some prince nymphs. If there are whitefish around, they'll eat it.
Whitefish like sparkle. Flashback
A rubber legged hare's ear or a PTX, both with white rubber legs are good whitefish choices as well.
I caught a lot of whitefish on the ......... recently. Salmon were spawning and I was fishing Euro nymphs. The whitefish were beating the trout to the flies. It was good practice learning to set the hook quicker. The Yakima River has whitefish in it as well. Never seen one on the waters you are fishing, but have fun in your pursuit!
The winter is a traditional time to target whitefish here in Washington. At this time of year as Eastside mentioned if there are spawning salmon fishing egg patterns can be effective; targeting the shallow water below the spawning salmon or the riffles immediately below the spawner. The other significant opportunity is associated with the spawning of the whitefish themselves. They are late fall/early winter spawners (as water temperatures drop into the lower 40s). At that time they congregate in large schools in a deep pool. Not uncommon for nearly the entire of population of mature whitefish in a give section river (could be several miles) to collect in that pool. Post spawn most of the fish remain in that pool for much of the winter.
To take advantage of that behavior cover lots of water focusing on the deep pools until a holding pool is found (that can be an annual collecting point if there are not river changes). Where possible I high bank those deeper pools looking for the schooling whitefish. Once a school is found for the fly angler suspending a small nymph a foot or so off the bottom in the slower deeper water can be productive. I have not had a lot in the boiling/eddying water often found in deepest water and rather focus on the more even flows as the water just starts to deepen. On some of the larger western rivers I have fished once a deep pool with school whitefish is found a number of fish can be caught without moving.
Have fun
Compacted 12" minus with not a lot of structure, shaped like a bowl. I find them as the bowl turns upwards at the tail out. Always figured it fitted their down turned mouth in relationship with their eyes, and their body shape.
In my experience, targeting whitefish is very different from targeting trout. Trout can be found in any part of the water column and mostly eat at eye level or above. In comparison, whitefish tend to stay on the bottom and mostly eat at eye level or below.
When I have caught whitefish, I was always using too much weight to catch trout. As soon as I reduced the weight of my rig, I started catching trout again.
If you want to catch whitefish, I suggest putting on an obscenely heavy stonefly nymph and really dredging the bottom. Also, I never caught a whitefish before I got on the Euro train, so tight lining or high sticking is probably the way to go.
If your nymph is bouncing on the bottom and there are Whities about, you will catch them.
This time of year and through the winter, you'll find those short-fin grayling and trout in the same areas. Otherwise, yes, slightly slower (typically) water than trout. Personally, depth has never been a deciding factor between the two. Then again I've caught them on all of the same flies as trout. Not really sure why anyone would poo poo catching them. They're fun , they pull hard and in many locations they get really big. Hell, sometimes they'll even rise to a dry fly and take small streamers.
Also, I've never caught one on any of the ....... rivers (fished them a fair bit in HS and college). What does the district bio say about their distribution in that area?
In my experience, when you find water that's just a little too slow for trout (and often deep), you've found whitefish water. Of course in cold water the trout may very well be holding in slower-than-usual spots as well. Yes to small(ish) flies, yes to deep, yes to water with big boulders. I've found depth is more important than pattern, or even pattern size. If you can run a nymph over a good-sized boulder that's down deep, there will be a whitefish waiting for you.
I love [...] devoted to the lowly (in some opinions) native Whitefish. I am always delighted when I see the classic goldish scales on a caught fish. IMO, Whities are a highlight, especially when that catch nails a western river native trifecta.
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