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Gearing up for Fall Whitefish

man in red jacket sitting on rocky shore holding fish with both hands
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Gearing up for Fall Whitefish

It used to be Wabamun Lake. I'd go there and catch a dozen or more of these beautiful silver fish in an afternoon. The set up was amazingly simple. Use a slip bobber with a split shot and a couple feet below that attach a small wireworm in any color. With the wireworm, twist the knot over so it hangs horizontally and the rig is set. Cast it out over a known hotspot and wait for the bite. If the bite was slow, I'd bring the hook in and change it to one size smaller and do it again. If need be I'd try a couple different colors and sooner than later I would be setting the hook on my disappearing bobber.

white fish caught in net white fish caught in net

It was fun fishing. Wabamum, however, has fallen on hard times with the train derailment and the subsequent spillage that happened

I have had to go elsewhere to look for whitefish. This has led me to Gull Lake where I now routinely make trips to get in on the whitefish action. Gull is a beautiful lake that is unbelievably under fished during open water season. I say that because during the winter months this lake is a whitefish hot spot but in the summer months it is hard to fine another angler targeting the whitefish. That's perfectly fine for my friends and I as we have the place all to ourselves and the fishing is great. As with most whitefish fishing, the bite is best early in the morning, tapering rapidly as the sun rises in the sky. If I'm out at sunrise, I can usually catch my limit of whites in an hour or so.

man in red jacket sitting on rocky shore holding fish with both handsman in red jacket sitting on rocky shore holding fish with both hands

The real trick behind catching a bunch or catching a few is strike detection. Even with a slip bobber, these fish can fool you. Many of my strikes are at something I'll class as 'unusual'. That is, the bobber isn't doing what it usually does. As an example I cast out, the bobber starts a slow drift and somewhere along that drift it simply stops. There might even be a small twitch. That's a fish. Another is the bobber drag. If for some reason the bobber starts being slowly towed in any direction, strike. That's a fish. There will be the obvious strikes that plunge the bobber straight down, but there will be just as many hits that happen the other way too. Be aware, strike at anything unusual and soon fish will start rewarding your efforts.

person standing by shore of lake looking at the skyperson standing by shore of lake looking at the sky

Fishing for whites before the ice is often excellent and can outpace even the best days on ice. Check the regs to ensure your lake is open and take some time to give them a try this fall. You may find yourself as the lone boat on the lake catching more fish than you could imagine.

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