Whitefish

[jriad]

Ive read and seen on here that whitefish are more active in the winter. If this is true and usually the NW has more whitefish........should they not be easier to catch in the the NW? Do they stack up like trout in the winter? Maybe they are holding around the damn or in the bowmont run? Anyone shed some light?

[seanbritt]

I haven't read any scientific studies on this subject, but in looking at my past logs I find that I certainly do catch more whities in winter/spring. Having said that, it's usually when I find myself in a whitie "holdup." What I mean by that is that there are certain stretches of the river that for some reason or another simply have more whitefish. This winter has been an exception to years past with browns/bows topping the charts.

[Buck]

You should ask DaxLarson about the whiteys, they are his bread and butter.

 

http://flyfishcalgary.com/board/index.php?showtopic=11256

 

 

[jriad]

You should ask DaxLarson about the whiteys, they are his bread and butter.

 

http://flyfishcalgary.com/board/index.php?showtopic=11256

 

 

 

LOL already read that thread.

[fishpro]

If you want whites in the NW go up to the train bridge run about 1km downstream of bowness park. Between the train bridge and pedestrian bridge there should be tons of them. The favourite fly is a whitefish killer, take a size 8-14 hook, make an orange body out of floss or chenille, then palmer brown hackle around it. There's tons of them up there.

[jriad]

If you want whites in the NW go up to the train bridge run about 1km downstream of bowness park. Between the train bridge and pedestrian bridge there should be tons of them. The favourite fly is a whitefish killer, take a size 8-14 hook, make an orange body out of floss or chenille, then palmer brown hackle around it. There's tons of them up there.

 

even in the winter? I know that area is stacked in summer/fall.

[fishpro]

Yeah all through the winter I've done great there, haven't fished it in a few years, but it's usually really good.

[jriad]

Yeah all through the winter I've done great there, haven't fished it in a few years, but it's usually really good.

 

Think I could have luck with panther martin spinners with orange hackle?

[daxlarsen]

You should ask DaxLarson about the whiteys, they are his bread and butter.

 

http://flyfishcalgary.com/board/index.php?showtopic=11256

 

 

 

HAHaHA it's daxlarsEn. And I would definitly agree that as the trout lose temperment during the winter, the whitefish continue to feed actively throughout the winter, and I thiiiiink they pool up to spawn, so if you catch one whitefish, then it seems about 10 more are shortly to follow.

[monger]

Pretty sure the whitefish spawn in Sept/Oct so they are not grouping up in the winter to spawn.

 

Jirad, how do you cast that panther martin with your FLY ROD ? This is FLY FISH CALGARY after all

[jriad]

Pretty sure the whitefish spawn in Sept/Oct so they are not grouping up in the winter to spawn.

 

Jirad, how do you cast that panther martin with your FLY ROD ? This is FLY FISH CALGARY after all

 

LOL its prolly not for the dyslexic so I'll hold off teaching you for another day.

[monger]

Touche

[daxlarsen]

well there is a spinner and a fly called the red devil, and my friend told me to use one the other day and i thought he was insulting me as in "use a red devil they work great" thought he meant i'de have more luck with a spincaster

[ham]

If you want whites in the NW go up to the train bridge run about 1km downstream of bowness park. Between the train bridge and pedestrian bridge there should be tons of them. The favourite fly is a whitefish killer, take a size 8-14 hook, make an orange body out of floss or chenille, then palmer brown hackle around it. There's tons of them up there.

 

Haha ya whitys... and people constantly jumping off the bridge in that stretch...

[acct421]

8 years ago when I was around 14, I remember I would go to the Crowchild bridge on the northern side of the river, look down and see shoals of whitefish everywhere. In fact back then I couldn't afford flies, so I used my mom's red nail polish to make a SJW, which used to work great.

 

The last 5 times I have been in that area I haven't seen but a fish anywhere, nor do I catch them anymore. Its sad cause its the fish I grew up learning to fly fish on. Now it seems like a rare occasion to catch one, or maybe I just target trout.

[monger]

My buddy used to do lots of snorkeling in river in Bowness. He said the river bottom was blanketed with whitefish. However, in the last 5 years or so the numbers of fish has drastically fallen. Hopefully this doesn't foreshadow a huge problem for the river.

[fishpro]

My buddy used to do lots of snorkeling in river in Bowness. He said the river bottom was blanketed with whitefish. However, in the last 5 years or so the numbers of fish has drastically fallen. Hopefully this doesn't foreshadow a huge problem for the river.

 

I think part of the problem is the catch and kill crowd up there. At the one pool alone you'll see people come down almost every day, catch their limit, go home and come back for a second limit of whitefish. I haven't fished there in a few years, but it was going downhill every year when I used to go there.

[theiceman2]

I got into a 19" (taped) white fish on the weekend, down in teh Fish Creek area. Big fat whitty, thick really healthy, but kinda like a log to to retrive. After reading the post I did some digging on the net. Apparently White's spawn in the winter...this one was caught on a # 18 red lightening midge emerger.

 

"The spawning season is from October to early December, when water temperatures are 2-6 °C. The fish seek out areas of coarse gravels or cobbles at depths of at least 75 cm, and scatter the non-adhesive eggs so that they sink into the interstices. The eggs then develop slowly through the winter (6-10 weeks), hatching in the early spring." Source : Wikipedia "Mountian Whitefish"