Flathead Lake Whitefish Update from Jim Vashro
By angelamontana

Posted: August 6, 2014

Wondering what the whitefish bite is looking like?  Jim Vashro has the scoop here:

Berny Croy with a whitefish caught out of Flathead Lake back in 2008

Berny Croy with a whitefish caught out of Flathead Lake back in 2008

Lake whitefish make me look almost as bad as kokanee.

A friend was fishing off Woods Bay Point last Friday. Lots of bait balls, he caught lots of whitefish and lake trout. The whitefish were spitting up perch fry.

I fished Woods Bay today (Monday). Breeze from the north, very strong current sweeping northwesterly. Very hard to get a lure to the bottom, even in 30’, and it was like being in a washing machine. I tried a number of spots without success even though I saw bait everywhere. I tried deep inside the bay to get out of the current, no bait. Fished points to the north where I’ve done well, no bait, hooked and lost one whitefish.

So the action, if there is any, seems to be on the point. Maybe the cold weather reduced and delayed the hatch so that’s it. Or maybe the perch are just coming in. The current on the point varies day to day. I’ll be out again this week.

Has anybody else had any success or heard anything?

I have been fishing Echo Lake, 35’ deep in the main basin with standard gear. I’ve been averaging about 3 lake whitefish and four to six 10”-12” kokanee per morning. Early morning is best, both for the bite and to beat the water skiiers.

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