Lake Simcoe Whitefish, NEED HELP

Alright so I seriously need someone to help me out with trying to catch these god forsaken whitefish. I’ve never fished for them prior to this year where my Dad and I decided to get out on the water in Kempenfelt for the whitefish opener. There were plenty of boats around and it seemed like they were catching whitefish after whitefish while my dad and I were lucky enough to catch one each with one being caught on a meegs jig and one being caught on a jig n minnow. Im definitely happy I got to catch one on my first outing but still am a bit unhappy with the results as every single boat around us was catching them non stop. I did as much research as I could on meegs/ vibrato techniques (slam into the ground, bring up a couple feet to get the whiteys attention then drop to bottom and lightly jig it) and still feel as if im doing something wrong. From what I could tell the people around us were mostly using vibratos and jigginng them aggressively which was somehow working for them. After all this frustration my dad and i decided to get out on the water again using the dropshot technique with a vibrato on the bottom and a goby style plastic one foot above. This produced no fish, the whiteys would come up to it look at it and leave… It honestly feels like theres some sort of hidden trick that I dont know about. Im just looking to see if theres someone out there with experience who could guide me on how to catch this crazy fish. Thank you in advance for any help.

I also thought id mention exactly how i fished these baits to clear up any confusion.

Vibrato: for the vibrato we were running 8lb fluoro with a 1/2oz vibrato. At first we hit bottom like 4 times while lifting it 3ft up. After hitting bottom we would drop it down and ever so gently jig it up and down. Sometimes the whitefish would come up to it but they would never hit it. We tried this as well with a dropshot style top hook with a sth drifter/roboworm alive shad/ dead minnow but nothing worked.

Meegs: for the meegs I was using the 1/2oz size in a goby colour with a matching tube colour size, once again I bombed the meegs into the ground trying to attract the whitefish and then id drop it down to the bottom and bob it like you do with the meegs, maintaining bottom contact while moving the butt end up and down, this is how I managed to catch the first whitefish on our first day out but this did not produce anything the second time we went out and the third.

We fished from 80-110ft, I spoke to an older man at cabelas in barrie about this and he mentioned not to use goby style baits in any more than 60 feet of water as goby arent found deeper than 60ft? But other than that he didnt really mention anything other than the fact that the other boats around us were probably using a dropshot with the vibrato on bottom and a emerald shiner imitation on top. Anyways if anyone can help me and my dad learn how to catch this fish we’d greatly appreciate it!

You mention nowhere in there that you were holding your tongue to the left. If you’ve been omitting this step, please, re-evaluate your presentation.

Also, fish are like women, they are attracted to a guy with confidence. Repeat exactly everything you are already doing, but believe that they’re about to strike, instead of believing that you don’t know what you’re doing wrong, and you’ll be hooking up in no time. (As long as you hold your tongue a bit left)

sorry can't really help you, but it must have been fun to be on the open water in January. Drew, now maybe I know why I don't get enough fish. My dad always told me it was because I didn't hold my mouth right, he never mentioned that I needed my tongue on the left side.

This is the way. we've all felt this same frustration at one time or another, but I must agree. Fish your presentation with confidence.

Ahhhh this all makes sense but what if one is missing their tongue? Are they just forbidden from catching the whitefish?😂

Anyday on the boat is a great day although fishing on the water in January is much colder than fishing on the ice🤣

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This post has been edited by TrophySizeOnly on Jan 11, 2023 - 11:29 am

I definitely understand that these fish are extremely finicky but when all these other boats around us were catching then one after another it to me is so hard to believe that them fishing with confidence was the only factor involved. Id like to think that I was doing a pretty good job at providing the proper presentation with the meegs/vibrato but it feels like they must have either used something completely different or they had something the whitefish really liked on that top hook.

In the old days we used only one lure : Williams spoon.....half and half.
It was a killer for whitefish. But as the fish changed their location and after gobies are introduced to Simcoe.......catching whitefish is more difficult and Williams spoon is only history!!

If you want to use Vibrato or Meegs .....it is a complately different presentation / technics.......and YOU have to practice and find what works FOR YOU!
The type of jigging rod .....fishing line....depth........location.....presentation.....all will effect the outcome, catching or not catching whitefish.

If you search this forum back .....way way back.......there are very good lessons and advice you find on this topic!
Just do your homework!

Thank your for your reply! Is there a way for me to filter the forum threads so I can find the posts on this topic? Im pretty new to using this. Once again thanks for the input everything is appreciated!

You got one good work.

When fishing the meegs you won't feel the majority of bites like 99 percent you won't feel. If the baits being used properly on the bottom they will lift the Bait and the strike will look like a tip up strike. Your rod tip will strengthen out so don't wait for a feel good strike like a perch.

If your working a fish watch the tip of the rod If it lifts set the hook if you feel nothing aka slack line set the hook lol.

Have fun when the ice comes .

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Neil

Downsize your vibrato. To each their own, but I exclusively use 7g (1/4oz) gold vibrato and do very well for Whitefish (up north). Vibrato not meant to be worked softly, quick short repetitive pops work best, in the spring when they bottom feed heavily you can end the bottom of your cadence in contact with the bottom. Takes practice to nail this process. Alternatively, a meegz or simcoe bug worked subtly on the bottom works for me when they are less aggressive. Sometimes draw them in with the vibrato then quickly reel up and toss down the subtler presentation. Or run a high hook and bury the spoon or vibrato in the bottom and wait for them to grab the high hook (with a grub or maggot).

Thank you this is some great info! So when i bury the spoon/ vibrato is it me basically just fishing a dropshot like for smallies? Justw aiting for them to hit the top hook? Or am i supposed to give it a little action. Thank you for your time!