Whitefish size question?

[Meldebear]

Hi all,

I was on Lake of the Woods back on presidents day weekend and caught a 26" 9lb 8oz Whitefish. Is this common? What's the avearage size?

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[Steve Foss]

Meldebear, welcome to HSO. Great to have you here!

Lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) run most commonly from 1 to about 5 pounds, with the occasional 10-lber caught. The world angling record is 14 lbs, 6 oz.

Yours is a dandy! Whitefish is the best smoked fish I've ever eaten.

[JBMasterAngler]

The state record is 12 lbs 4.5 oz out of leech lake. I've heard of whitefish up to 40 pounds caught in commercial nets out of superior and huron. Very nice catch Must've put up a heckuva fight!

[topcat3820]

Quote:

I've heard of whitefish up to 40 pounds caught in commercial nets out of superior and huron.

I'm sorry... WHAT ???

Nice fish, Meldebear . We get a bunch out of Shoal Lake in Ontario that average 22"-26", with a few even bigger... never weighed one, though. Funnest fish through the ice, I think .

[Hookmaster]

I was checked by a CO on LOW on Super Bowl Weekend and he said LOW whitefish run 5-10#.

[Transporter]

The biggest I ever heard of or seen in the nets in the fall during the spawn has been 17# out of Superior. Largest hook and line from the same lake I've got is just over 11#. No commercial fisherman I know, some in their 80's, have ever caught or heard of anything even close to 25# let alone 40#.

Thats a darn nice whitefish you got, they make great fish and chips, deep fried in beer batter with malt vinegar.

[Meldebear]

Thanks for the info guys. The people at Adrian's resort talked me into hanging it on the wall because it's so darned cute. I probably won't get one that big again. That was the first whitefish I've ever caught. He was a pole bender for sure especially on my ultralite. We caught a 28" northern about 10 minutes before the whitefish and I thought I hooked him again. All in all a good year up on LOW. We limited out on walleye and sauger that weekend although average size was smaller in years past.

[Meldebear]

Earlier in January I got a 28 1/2 walleye near where I caught the whitefish. It's on youtube type in Andyseye.mp4

[lispeej]

did you keep or release that eye? Nice catch.

[NAMASafetyDirector]

Not out of the ordinary on LOW although you don't see them that size all the time. I caught one about a twin to yours a last year on 16 mile. Good time, and congrats on your fish!

[Meldebear]

I released that walleye. It was the biggest one I've ever caught. I got a 26" two years ago. This time was better because sitting inside my portable I could actually see down to the bottom of the hole and see it thrashing around down there.

[uptracker]

Simcoe produces quite a few 10# whitefish...