Well yesterday evening I drove 2.5hrs to one of Washingtons fine 27,000 acre winter whitefish fisheries to fish a few hours (before and after sunset). The lake whitefish has eluded me on several trips in the last several years and unfortunately eluded me again. BUT the evening experience was superb, landscape was stunning, and the winter nighttime sky was amazing with Orion, Venus and Jupiter dominating the horizon. Drilled probably 30 holes, checking every one with the handheld sonar. Saw a few fish near bottom in a few holes but could never get anything to bite. I was using my 1500C and cocktail shrimp for bait (the local favorite) in about 55 ft of water. Unfortunately my handheld underwater camera cable was too short to get a look at the bottom to identify what species of fish I was occasionally seeing, whitefish I presume. There were probably between 20-30 tents on the ice over an area of a few hundred acres. Didnt see anyone catch anything but couldnt understand Russian so if "fish on" was said I had no clue. Should have brought binoculars. The 1/2 mile walk back to the car in the dark was extremely difficult in slippery pack boots and "seemed" to take 3 times as long in the dark as it did on the way out on the ice. Spoke with some young Russians (whom predominate this fishery here) and the young lads speaking great English gave my buddy and I some tips. They had scored over 30 the previous night and were headed out with sleds as we arrived back at the car. Our patience was not strong like these young warriors but reminded me of my adventurous spirit of my early life.
I kick myself for not bringing one of my telescopes as I havent seen the pristine winter sky like this in a long time.
The ice was 8-12". Weather and health permitting I will do this again next year and bring a sled/tent and try a little harder.
Warm weather is in the forecast for the next week or more. Time to start adjusting for flyfishing instead.
Posted: 10 Feb 2023, 12:16 • 
