The seven-year whitefish itch is finally scratched

It’s been at least seven years since I’ve heard someone say, “Hey, Smalley, you were the one who kept saying, ‘Throw it in the cooler; I could take a few more.’”

The lid of the cooler was open and we were divvying up the lake whitefish after a morning of fishing on Flathead Lake.

For Fishful faithful who are skimming this story, let me be perfectly clear: We were catching lake whitefish on Flathead Lake.

That’s a statement you haven’t read in this space in a long time. We released many of the fish we caught.

Lake whitefish have an incredibly clean flavor when eaten fresh, but just aren’t the same fish when frozen.

Many anglers avoid lake whitefish because of those pesky Y-bones above the ribs, but a properly prepared whitefish fillet will have no bones.

And we also need to be perfectly clear that a lake whitefish isn’t just one of those brown, round-bodied mountain whitefish that take your nymphs in rivers — but lives in Flathead Lake.

Lake whitefish are silver-sided, flat-bodied fish, averaging 2-3 pounds, with much larger fish commonly caught.

No one knows for sure the reason why catching lake whities has been so poor in Flathead Lake in recent years.

Former FWP fisheries manager Jim Vashro believed severe, erratic weather in April negatively affected the spawning of yellow perch, a prime food source for lake whitefish.

Massive schools of perch fry congregated the whitefish, making jigging a viable option for catching whities.

All the whitefish we caught had been feeding on tiny perch, which prompted Vashro who, incidentally was also taking his fish from the cooler, to remark, “Must’ve been a good perch hatch this spring!”

While every veteran lake whitefisher has his favorite lure, all three of us in the boat were gently lifting and dropping a leadhead jig of various shapes and colors right on the bottom of the lake.

Check with local sporting goods stores for the hotspots.

Jerry Smalley is the Hungry Horse News’ fishing columnist.