I thought whites eat bugs...?

[Geezle]

I was out at Wab today when I had an odd thing happen. While watching the camera I noticed that there was a white cruising around. After a bit he started getting closer to the camera and swinging closer and closer to a chunk of bait that had dropped down to the bottom. Eventually it picked it up and took off whit what was most of a 6-7" smelt.

A few minutes later it came back into the picture, and started making passes at my bait. Eventually it grabbed my bait, and I hooked the bugger.

I always thought that whites are pretty much bottom feeders picking at bugs and crustaceans and such...I never would have expected one to grab my big old bait on a 1/0 treble hook!

[Albertafisher]

Strike of aggression?

[mooseknuckle]

You've spent 40hrs on the lake this week it was bound to happen!

[theking]

ive caught tons of them of minnows.

[silverdoctor]

Maybe a big pike made him his b****? Mans equivalent to make me a sammich?

[sturgeonhound]

I think what they tend to forage on is based on their size. Growing up on pigeon lake, we used to catch quite a few on walleye jigs and rapalas during the summer. They tended to be much larger than the ones we would catch using flies or wire worms. It happened more than once that on a calm summer evening we would see them chasing schools of minnows on the sand flats near mission beach. Those are the ones we would catch on rapalas.

SH

[catnthehat]

I've caught big whites on marabou jigs when fishing the Athabasca up here, and on various streamers as well.
Cat

[BEL]

I've seen them picking up minnows left behind by fishermen who have used overnight shacks on a regular basis. The bait eventually falls off barbless hooks and strew the bottom of the lake. BEL

[buckmaster]

check out some videos of lake simcoe on youtube. It seems the minnows are mainly what they forage on. Weird what they will feed on......

[clarki]

got one on an orange rattle trap once!

M

[Gust]

it's our go to bait after wireworms,, cut a medium store bought minnow in half and use a #14 treble, and barely move it on the bottom.

[Drewski Canuck]

Big whites grab perch minnows all the time. Cleaned hundreds in my lifetime, and I am not surprised at all. Summer whitefish hit a Kastmaster dragged on the bottom in the sand flats, has to be patterning on the minnows.

Drewski

[mudbug]

I'm white and I haven't eaten a bug since summertime

[Geezle]

Originally Posted by GustavMahler

it's our go to bait after wireworms,, cut a medium store bought minnow in half and use a #14 treble, and barely move it on the bottom.

I could see that, but this bait was like 4 minnows put together!

[Geezle]

Originally Posted by mudbug

I'm white and I haven't eaten a bug since summertime

New diet?

[greylynx]

You will find little suckers in the Whitefish out LSL and Uti.

Those whitefish out of Uti are darn good.

[Gust]

Originally Posted by Geezle

I could see that, but this bait was like 4 minnows put together!

You know when your summer piking and there's a bump on the rod but nothing, then a bump,, it's the whitefish slowly nibblin your smelt/herring away, they're quite aggressive too and you can go thru tons o'smelts if there's a whitey school around.

[mudbug]

Originally Posted by Geezle

New diet?

With Crohn's I gotta get in what I can

[Geezle]

Originally Posted by mooseknuckle

You've spent 40hrs on the lake this week it was bound to happen!

But by that logic I should have pulled a burb out of here by now!

But no, Jay manages to pull up a white on a big ol' pike bait!

[Geezle]

Originally Posted by GustavMahler

You know when your summer piking and there's a bump on the rod but nothing, then a bump,, it's the whitefish slowly nibblin your smelt/herring away, they're quite aggressive too and you can go thru tons o'smelts if there's a whitey school around.

Interesting to know

Of course typically in the summer I'm chucking hardware at the pike

[Geezle]

Originally Posted by mudbug

With Crohn's I gotta get in what I can

Okay, so it's an old diet

[WayneChristie]

Ive watched them clean up good sized smelts off the bottom in Newell too. after a pike rips them off my hook of course. Watched them chase and eat minnows a lot this winter in the canal too

[BeeGuy]

I had a big white rip a herring steak off my big circle hook, only to later get hooked and landed on a eez-minnow. musta bin hungry

[SNAPFisher]

You must not use an underwater camera. Pretty much 100% of the lakes I've fishing and watched whites, they will be most agressive on minnows. Try off Brownlows on Gull in the last 2 weeks of March. Any minnows will be hit or picked up by the end of the day.

Coolest one ever! Fished Wolf Lake in NB1. Had a huge white come in and keep stealing minnows. Counted 8 down by the afternoon. I finally hooked the bugger and to prove it I found exactly 8 minnows in its belly. Even recognized most of the minnows. White turned out to be 3.5 lbs.

[SalmoTrutta]

Ive caught Whitefish on the Bow swinging streamers a few times, during high water.

[DuckBrat]

They like bugs but will take minnows as well. Depending on the lake and or size of the fish the ratio (bugs/minnows) changes.

[MoFugger21]

Originally Posted by Geezle

...Eventua what was most of a 6-7".

I'm not sure why most the guys on here are talking about minnows.....
6-7" smelt does not = minnow....

[Geezle]

Originally Posted by SNAPFisher

You must not use an underwater camera. Pretty much 100% of the lakes I've fishing and watched whites, they will be most agressive on minnows. Try off Brownlows on Gull in the last 2 weeks of March. Any minnows will be hit or picked up by the end of the day.

Coolest one ever! Fished Wolf Lake in NB1. Had a huge white come in and keep stealing minnows. Counted 8 down by the afternoon. I finally hooked the bugger and to prove it I found exactly 8 minnows in its belly. Even recognized most of the minnows. White turned out to be 3.5 lbs.

Actually I was using an underwater camera. Often I'd see them cruising by in the distance but this one came in so close so many times that I took a couple short video clips of it picking at my bait. Maybe tonight I'll upload

[Geezle]

Originally Posted by MoFugger21

I'm not sure why most the guys on here are talking about minnows.....
6-7" smelt does not = minnow....

Kinda what I was thinking too...my bait was a LOT bigger than your average minnow...even if they're big minnows!