Whitefish

So since Whitefish and cisco don't got there own thread, going to troll in the trout forum since they close to the salmonid fam. Any advise info on whitefish and cisco on inland lakes in the northern highlands of Wisconsin. Looking for others tips and tactics and general discussion.

Got out today again! Two more for the smoker!

Well, I did NOT find 10 keepers on Saturday.  Tough bite to say the least.

Group of 6 adults and 2 kids iced 5 whites.  I got 3 of them.  

I tried everything...including downsizing.  I got one while downsizing, right away, thought it was the "ticket" to beating the post frontal conditions.  But I was mistaken.

Makes me more eager for my next trip!

You want good whitefish jerky?  You should try my wife’s version of pan fried WF.       CARPIO 

Whitefish jerky, the other white meat!

Decided to skip smoking the whitefish as I figured it would dry out too much anyways. Brined in a teriyaki brine for 2 hours, cold smoked it for 2 hours to add some flavor and then dehydrated the filets for about 6 hours. Turned out pretty darn good.

Muskys yes! I’ve caught several in that SE bay but no keepers. My son at 10 years old caught 3 in one afternoon on a yellow and black Mepps. 45 years later he’s still “married” to that bait.

Going to be good in ye old smoker!

Carpio no! There are large muskie in this lake. Never had one latch on yet! Bound to happen though.

Griz.    You ever mark anything big? Something should be feeding on those WF.  CARPIO 

I'm either a diehard or straight up crazy. Took snowblower to landing and cleaned it out to get on lake this weekend! Good fishing yall!

Wondering if anyone has tried for Cisco at spencer lake in waupaca county? I have heard there is a pretty high population in that lake. Thanks for any info

Big score at local L and M store. Old timers swear by this bait! Not to mention its caught a few for me!

 I saw that Kevin had luck downsizing on the Bay.....  Got me thinking that I may try that on the new panfish rod that I got.  Should get the bait down easier than my typical setup.

I'm for sure going to try it this weekend when I'm up there.

This was the result last time.  Caught 36.  Kept 15.  (One was hiding on me.) We ate a ton of fish and still couldn't get to all of them, so I had to freeze some.  Hopefully I can find 10 keepers this Saturday.

Carpio that what I did with small ones. The ones over 17 inch I fillet and smoke that way. Ends up with such more flavor from brine and smoke. Wife likes that better than smalls.

Griz.    Perfect smoking size!   Take the gills out but leave the head on. This will keep the juices from running out. Lake Michigan chubs are smoked that way.   CARPIO 

Vegas 492 I'm fishing inland lake. Had to downsize to catch fish last Sunday. Different beast than lake Michigan. Also only fishing 60 fow. The ones I caught were smaller. 13 to 15inch range. Some days are just different than others.