By Joe Picotte
The sun creeps up over the Eastern horizon, illuminating the frozen snow drift covered surface of Lake Superior. A few scattered houses dot the shoreline a half mile to the South and to the North, nothing but ice and snow as far as you can see. A lone angler has erected an ice shack and sits quietly in pursuit of a fish locals have pursued and relied on for hundreds of years, the lake whitefish.
Lake whitefish are a medium sized silvery white scale covered fish, often weighing between 2-5 pounds and 12-24 inches long, though they can grow much bigger with Michigan’s State Record Fish weighing in at 14.28 lbs. These fish make a life primarily eating bugs and larvae, with larger fish chasing minnows and bottom dwelling baitfish such as sculpins and gobies. Their primary food is the Mayfly larvae or "wigglers" as they're called.
Lake Superior provides the Upper Peninsula (UP) with a robust whitefish fishery, In the winter, these fish are targeted everywhere from 2 feet of water in shallow bay areas like the Upper St. Mary's River, the various creek and river mouths along the southern shoreline, to over 100 feet of water in areas like Munising and Grand Marais. A tradition heavily localized in the UP, a select few anglers pursue these fish with specialized fish spears in the wintertime through holes cut in the ice with either an ice saw or chain saw. These spears contain hand forged tines made only Sweden, with a hand poured lead spear head and a well-balanced handle. These spears are difficult to find and often handed down as highly treasured items.
When targeting these fish, staying quiet and maintaining a jigging rhythm is vital. Often sight fished, a simple tear drop jig or small thin wire hook tipped with a wax worm is the standard bait. Lowering this to near bottom, a light jigging pattern to simulate a bug moving is the idea. Whitefish often come in quickly and will often zoom in and out past a bait several times before striking. An angler may only have seconds once a bait is grabbed to set the hook as these fish are masters at "tasting" a bait and spitting it back out instantly. A close cousin of the whitefish, the round whitefish or "Menominee" as they're known locally, are often encountered while targeting whitefish. Menominee are a skinny "torpedo" shaped fish with a brown tint back, whereas the lake whitefish have a slight humped back. A close relative of the lake herring or "cisco" whitefish and Menominee can be identified by their downward facing mouths as opposed to a herring and their upward tilted mouth.
Delicious to eat and highly favored by anglers, these fish are very fun to catch and sight fishing them is one of my personal favorite wintertime trips. Great when deep-fried, baked or smoked, you won't have trouble finding dinner guests when whitefish are the main course. I highly encourage anyone to put them on your list for an upcoming fishing trip. Lake Superior scenery and solitude – and the chance to land a piece of history-and dinner – at the same time. It's another way to enjoy quality time in Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula, God's Country.
Good Fishing!