Whitefish Patterns??

[Ron Eagle Elk]

I don't know what my wife is thinking (dementia maybe, or the onset of old timers disease), but she wants to catch some whitefish. From what I can tell by the regs the flies have to be on a size 14 or smaller hook. I have never targeted whitefish before, in fact they give me a case of the shudders just looking at them. Anyone have any idea what would work for them?

Thanks,

REE

[SteelieD]

Ron,

A few weeks ago, I could not keep 'em off the line on a small (18, I believe) olive brassie with a little crystal flash tied over the thorax, emerger style. I kid you not I must've caught a dozen in a dozen casts. Some of the biggest dang whiteys I'd ever seen too... football shaped! They're no trout, but it was kinda fun anyway.

[bankwalker]

idk what flies i have used on the past. but me and my dad use little flies size 14 with a maggot tipped on the hook and drift fish them just like drift fishing steelhead. and nail the heck out of them on the green river in january.

and some of them being 12"-15" they would be a fun fight on a 4wt rod

[Ron Eagle Elk]

Thanks Guys, Anyone else?

[rodeo11]

Seems like lightning bugs always get me into those guys.

[Banzai]

I don't really know what kind of ridicule I'm opening myself up for, but, what the heck. I've never caught a whitefish. Just where would I go to find one of these beasties? OK, let the stones be thrown!

[sharpshooter223]

ive never tried it but i hear an easy one is whatever size nymph hook, glo yarn body, palmered brown hackle.

[Josh Root]

Caught a good sized one the other week on a pink egg pattern. Have caught them on the methow in the summer with standard trout stuff.

[Smalma]

Most of our Western Washington streams have whities as well. Here there are not any hook size restrictions.

This time of year (and for the next couple months) you find the whitefish feeding behind the spawning chum salmon. There they will be feeding on both loose eggs and dislodged nymphs. Egg patterns and small mayfly nymphs drifted behind the spawners down into the first pocket below should produce fish.

Following the salmon spawning season the whitefish themselves will be spawning. For much of the winter you'll the whitefish concentrating in a handful of deeper pools (most of the fish will be in a single pool or two in a several mil section of the river). Again the small nymphs will do the trick. During the late winter/early spring one can occassionally find them rising to small dries on that rare nice afternoon. Have more than once been able to catch some on small BWOs while targeting other fish.

Whitefish on surface flies can be a little tricky. With their underslung mouths their snout seem to break the water before the fish gets the fly so it pays to wait a half beat before attempting to hook the fish. Use to run into them all the time on the MF Snoqualmie during the summer and always knew they were whities when I would miss several in a row thinking they were those quick small cutts taking my small dries. I would tell myself to slow down the hook set and sure enough a whitefish.

Tight lines
Curt

[sashjo]

I catch them all the time, by mistake, with egg patterns. Try Ripple Crush, Egg-citement, and Gormans egg patterns.

[Ron Eagle Elk]

Banzai,

I've never caught one of them myself, that's why I'm asking for help.

Thanks guys. That should get her started.

REE

[o mykiss]

I've never targeted them but have caught them more often than I'd like while targeting trout, always nymphing. I tend to be rather unimaginative when it comes to nymphing for trout, usually with an indicator, a larger tool fly (most often a stonefly of some kind) and a smaller (size 20 - size 14) dropper. I've caught them every once in a while on the tool fly, but in my experience they seem to prefer smaller flies. Also, I don't think they are very selective. I've caught them on small prince nymphs, pheasant tails, lightning bugs, WD40s, etc. when I couldn't hook a trout on anything to save my life. Some times it seems you can't keep 'em off the small lightining bugs or similar flies with some flash (like a flash back pheasant tail). I've never done it, but I understand some folks target them with egg flies.

[Les Johnson]

It has generally been my experience with whitefish that just about any nymph or simple wet fly in size 14-18 will do the trick. In the Methow River we've taken a lot of them on size 14 beadhead nymphs. Years ago whitefish spawned below Flaming Geiser Bridge (the old one), absolutely filling the deep hole during their winter love-in. Veteran whitefishers fished off of the bridge using flyrods, light monofiliment line, a couple of split shot and a small brown "whitefish fly" tipped with a maggot. It was a riot when one of these guys would accidently hook a big winter steelhead. The contest rarely lasted more than a few seconds. They did land some dandy whitefish though.
Les Johnson

[ak_powder_monkey]

I've caught them on droppers while grayling fishing, in fact I caught the same one 3 times one evening on an olive hares ear beadhead... Of course we have different types of whitefish here... I hear they taste good!

[bankwalker]

i seen a guy hook alot of steelhead whle whitefishing at highway 18 bridge. he hooked 5 in one day on a small #18 fly. i couldnt believe it. and i was tossing eggs all day and nothing right along side that guy.

the whitefish on the green are thick in december and january. basicly fish the deeper holes up from highway 18 and you will be into whitefish. and be lucky and hook into a couple steelhead a season while doing it.

[Caddis Skater]

I catch them all the time on the Yakima and other rivers. Whitefish
will eat the same flys that trout will. I would say anything small in
the winter time will do the trick i.e. pheasant tail, lightning bug, prince nymphs
and egg patterns will all do the job, keep in mind Whitefish are fall spawners and
are really active this time of year. Good luck.

:beer2:

[Stewart]

Although I've never targeted them, I have had days where they saved me from the skunk. The fly that seems to do it for me is a copper bead head pheasant tail.

[bankwalker]

seen a handful of white fish on the green the other day. one pool had a nice little school of them about 20 or more. all around flaming gyser

[yuhina]

Hi Ron,

This summer I fished a tailwater fishery in Utah and caught a lot of white fish with #20 PT. My friends even call me "White fishing guy". I was using indicator and split shots to fish deep in a deeper and faster water behind riffles. I think the Whitie did like to congregate in the deeper pool (but not slow) like Curtis mentioned. For the shape of their mouth, I won't surprise they can easily pick up small things on the bottom... The only problem is the hook up. Their mouth are relatively soft, we lost a lot of fish, and we think it might due to it's soft mouth and the tiny flies.
I also read an article said Whities prefer little drag presentation... I am not sure what they means... maybe I was fishing with drag : ) ... I love to fish them actually, they are pretty good fighters.

Mark

[Warmonger]

flaming gyser? i am lost


where is this:confused:

[Ron Eagle Elk]

Warmonger,

It's by the Green River near Auburn.

[Warmonger]

Yeah i was sad, didn't even google it before i asked!


thx!


What colors are doing good. Gary at the yakima fly shoppe said brown and yellow whitefish flies are doing well, anyone else?

[PhlyPhisher]

Hey REE,
I haven't logged on in quite awhile. I've really wanted to get in some fishing up on the Sky River near my cabin, but I found out the only thing open in that section above the falls on the S. fork is Whitefish. I know nothing about fly fishing for them, so I thought I'd log on and see if I could get some advice.
I was surprised to see your inquiry about fishing for them. You asked all the questions I was going to ask. (Thanks! :thumb:) I would appreciate it if someone could let me know if there are any Whitefish in the upper S. fork of the Sky worth the effort going after. I'd also like to know how plentiful they are, and if they're good eating?
One last thing...I've never heard of a hook size restriction on any of the type of fishing I've ever done. Where would I find such info. in the state fishing regs.?
Thanks for the help. :)

[Ron Eagle Elk]

Phly,

Yur welcome. In my copy of the regs it's on page 26 under Whitefish Gear Rules. "Fishing gear is restricted to one single point hook, maximum hook size 3/16" point to shank (hooksize 14), and bait is allowed."

I know folks who eat them and like them. I just don't eat fish with scales.

REE

[BFK]

My understanding of the rules, which may be faulty, is that "whitefish gear rules" apply only to those waters where it's stated as a requirement in the pamphlet. This follows the rationale that selective gear rules don't apply statewide but only in specific waters--where stated. So you'd need to check the regs on each stream to see if the restrictions apply.

Whitefish, IMO, are great smoked; otherwise, they're too much like trout to be tasty.

[MotoXmg]

...nymphing a GlowBug Egg works quite often... Been some pretty big ones on the Hood River lately....Deschutes always produces big ones this time of year as well, especially below Shears Falls.

[lee sieckmann]

Back in the 70's we used to fish a tiny woolly worm along the edge of the ice in the CdA River during the winter. A #14 with clipped hackle worked well. Some may have tipped it with a maggot, but it worked without one. Try a number of colors. I seem to recall orange working well.

[Richard]

I don't know what my wife is thinking


As if anyone knows what their wife is thinking ;); your statement says it all, right there.

[Don Stracener]

Does anyone have a pic of a good pattern? I would like to add more patterns to my software and I don't have any for Grayfish.

Thanks, Don

[Richard Olmstead]

IN my experience, any small nymph will work (they have small mouths and often don't pick up big flies well enough to get hooked); a little flash helps and keeping it on the bottom is important.

The rules that require small hooks in restricted whitefishing areas are, I believe, in place in order to minimize the chance that steelhead will take the hook. These areas usually permit bait to be used. So, while it is true that whities are best taken on small flies, I don't think the rules were written to assist fishermen in making that choice, but rather to protect steelhead (and to make it easy for a DFW officer to tell what the fisherman is targeting).
D