Two dorsal fins including one adipose
fin, blunt nose, fins clear or nearly so, greenish brown back, silver
sides.
Lake whitefish, a pale, shy member of the trout/salmon family
Salmonidae, has long been a mainstay of the commercial catch in the Great
Lakes because of its exceptional flavor, convenient size, and habit of
schooling. Until recently, few sport anglers had discovered the special
techniques required to catch lake whitefish, but this situation is
changing, and any angler who has learned to fish whitefish successfully
will find it well worth the effort.
The reclusive lake whitefish prefers to swim in the company of a school
of fellow whitefish in the gloomy, cool water of the Great Lakes at depths
of up to 200 feet and deeper as summer’s heat climbs, the main reason it
requires extra skill to catch one. The whitefish spawns in early winter in
shallow rock or sand bottomed lake waters less than 25 feet deep. The
young hatch the following spring, and grow large enough to leave the
protective shallows for deeper waters by early summer. Whitefish generally
grow rapidly, but this varies by region and food supply. Lake whitefish
can reach a size of more than 20 pounds and an age of over 25 years,
although this was more commonplace 50 years ago. Although depletion of
whitefish stocks by over-fishing and environmental deterioration had
drastically reduced commercial yields, environmental cleanup and careful
fishery management of the late 1960s has largely remedied this.
Unlike its large-mouthed trout and salmon cousins, the lake whitefish
has a small, exceedingly delicate mouth (another challenge for the angler)
and it is therefore confined to dining on insects, freshwater shrimp,
small fish and fish eggs, and bottom organisms. Most feeding takes place
on or near lake-bottoms. Whitefish eggs are consumed by yellow perch,
ciscoes, burbot, and even other whitefish. Young whitefish fall prey to
lake trout, northern pike, burbot, walleye, and probably other fish-eating
predators. Adults are taken primarily by man.
COMMON NAME: Lake whitefish
SCIENTIFIC NAME:
Coregonus clupeaformis
IDENTIFICATION:
The lake whitefish has a long cylindrical body with olive-green
to olive-blue coloring and a silvery overcast. The mouth points
down and there is a fin located near the tail fin. This fish
does not have spines.
RANGE AND HABITAT:
Lake whitefish are native to the great lakes, and
prefer cooler water temperatures.
LIFE HISTORY:
Lake whitefish spawn in the Western Basin of Lake Erie in
shallow bays during fall when water temperatures drop below 50E
F. Females spread their eggs over the bottom where they remain
until the following spring. Research has shown that cold winters
with thick ice cover on whitefish spawning areas increases their
spawning success. Ice cover prevents the wind from stirring up
the bottom and covering the eggs. In early spring, adult fish
migrate to the deeper water of the Eastern Basin in Lake Erie.
During this period of the year they can usually be found in deep
water (>40 feet) where temperatures are more suitable. Adult
fish are primarily bottom feeders. Their diet consists of
mollusks, and insect larvae.
ADULT SIZE: Lake
whitefish average 17 to 22 inches in length and from 1 to 4
pounds in weight.
FISHING METHODS:
Because of their diet, these fish are rarely caught by anglers.
Rick
Miller
1-734-529-3581
