Pigeon Lake Whitefish

[fish99]

Originally Posted by eman

thx ! going to pigeon lake right now . hopefully ice is thick enough to drive on.

the ice is 24 inches now , and the spot is a little to the left of the pin drop in snap post.
good luck.

[Sundancefisher]

Originally Posted by Rockymtnx

The Wetaskiwin Special is the hook to have when you hit Pigeon!

It is. They are very piscivorous in that lake.

I also found a really small white jig head with a small minnow bounced an inch or two on the bottom worked also when the wetaskiwin special failed me.

[Curtsyneil]

Yeah if you go to pigeon lake and use the 2 hooks you mentioned for whitefish you are goin home empty handed. Posts from 2011 and or advice on catching these fish from 2011 is not accurate. There’s people that catch those tanks on a regular basis and they have it figured out and I can guarantee there not using those hooks, nor fishing on snaps pin.

[eman]

Originally Posted by fish99

the ice is 24 inches now , and the spot is a little to the left of the pin drop in snap post.
good luck.

i was there today. ice is over 24 inches now ! but no fish . will try mulhurst next week.

[fish99]

Originally Posted by eman

i was there today. ice is over 24 inches now ! but no fish . will try mulhurst next week.

Were u east or west of the heave

[eman]

Originally Posted by fish99

Were u east or west of the heave

west 25fow. any suggestions ? i want catch a pigeon pig very bad

[eman]

Originally Posted by Curtsyneil

Yeah if you go to pigeon lake and use the 2 hooks you mentioned for whitefish you are goin home empty handed. Posts from 2011 and or advice on catching these fish from 2011 is not accurate. There’s people that catch those tanks on a regular basis and they have it figured out and I can guarantee there not using those hooks, nor fishing on snaps pin.

i tried different wire worms .

[akn]

Originally Posted by eman

so can you share some spot ?????????????

Why don't you just go to the same spot you limited out last season?

[SNAPFisher]

Originally Posted by akn

Why don't you just go to the same spot you limited out last season?

What?? I offer up a golden spot and this guy is holding out on me? What is the world coming to.

[fish99]

Originally Posted by eman

west 25fow. any suggestions ? i want catch a pigeon pig very bad

most people fish east of the heave for whites

[Curtsyneil]

You gotta find the food and active fish. If you are marking say 10-20 fish a morning your in the game and most likely catch a couple of them.

[D.Archer]

They are a very tough fish to find. I was out six times last year with no fish. I fished from Grandview to Silver beach west across Mulhurst bay to Sandholm. and back across lake towards Grandview. I fished at the spot snapfisher recommended and have not seen any last year or this year, but two years ago I was marking whitefish and was catching a few at that area. I was out a couple days ago east of the big ice heave 27ft no fish seen or marked, I wonder if the whitefish are in shallow water and move to deeper water later in January.

[Curtsyneil]

They will be in the deep water already you just gotta find them. They will be feeding heavy for the next 2 months out deep. Find the shrimp and the whites shouldn’t be to far behind. Last year I noticed it was a lot slower for fish and a lot more food in the water column from previous years. When there’s so much food it’s tough to track them down cause they can be anywhere in the basin. This time of year can be unbelievable if you find them and if it’s a hot bite they will hit all day long but mornings usually the best.

[D.Archer]

I will keep trying. I was starting to wonder if the whitefish numbers were really low from summer kill. When I was out last year I noticed some people go out fishing out by Sandholm for a couple hours then just leave the lake if the bite was off. I stayed out and kept moving toward the middle of the lake but no luck.

[SNAPFisher]

Originally Posted by Curtsyneil

Last year I noticed it was a lot slower for fish and a lot more food in the water column from previous years. When there’s so much food it’s tough to track them down cause they can be anywhere in the basin.

Yeah, that was my thinking as well. The food seems even more dispersed this year. The search is on!

[jzz]

which spot is mostly likely to find white fish, A,B, C? Thanks. Pigeon lake is the hardest lake to catch white fish, my target is to catch one white fish in Pigeon this year or next couple of years.

[SNAPFisher]

Get in line!!

Try all 3. Got to put in the time to understand that lake. And then it kicks you square in the gonads on the next trip...

[Curtsyneil]

I would say B personally have caught them in that general area. A @ C I wouldnt even bother unless April fishing was still goin then C forsure just off personal luck and experience. Very tricky the last 2 years tracking them down good luck finding them. They are there but seems like numbers are down from previous summer kills and so much food not making it easy. Mornings the best I find but if there moving and biting can catch them all day long.

[jzz]

Originally Posted by SNAPFisher

Get in line!!

Try all 3. Got to put in the time to understand that lake. And then it kicks you square in the gonads on the next trip...

Thanks SNAPFisher and Curtsyneil, I will focus on Pigeon lake this year, if I see/catch one, I will post here.

[Red Bullets]

Just my two cents, Then again the penny is obsolete so my ideas might be too.

This time of year, February, is when the burbot are spawning the whitefish love filling up on burbot eggs. There was a video posted here 3 or 4 years ago of a burbot swimming close to the bottom and there was 10 or more whitefish closely following the burbot as it dropped its eggs. Burbot drop their eggs over sandy bottoms. Burbot eggs are copper colored so a copper colored small round wetaskiwin special works good. Whitefish like eating tiny baby clams too so again a wetaskiwin special fished close to the bottom in deep water can be good. Small leadhead jigs in yellow or white and castmaster spoons can be good for big whites too.

[jzz]

Originally Posted by Red Bullets

Just my two cents, Then again the penny is obsolete so my ideas might be too.

This time of year, February, is when the burbot are spawning the whitefish love filling up on burbot eggs. There was a video posted here 3 or 4 years ago of a burbot swimming close to the bottom and there was 10 or more whitefish closely following the burbot as it dropped its eggs. Burbot drop their eggs over sandy bottoms. Burbot eggs are copper colored so a copper colored small round wetaskiwin special works good. Whitefish like eating tiny baby clams too so again a wetaskiwin special fished close to the bottom in deep water can be good. Small leadhead jigs in yellow or white and castmaster spoons can be good for big whites too.

I got the eggs from sylvan burbot one week ago, see photo. Is this the right colour ? Your 2 cents are very valuable to me IMG_1777.jpg


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[Curtsyneil]

Originally Posted by Red Bullets

Just my two cents, Then again the penny is obsolete so my ideas might be too.

This time of year, February, is when the burbot are spawning the whitefish love filling up on burbot eggs. There was a video posted here 3 or 4 years ago of a burbot swimming close to the bottom and there was 10 or more whitefish closely following the burbot as it dropped its eggs. Burbot drop their eggs over sandy bottoms. Burbot eggs are copper colored so a copper colored small round wetaskiwin special works good. Whitefish like eating tiny baby clams too so again a wetaskiwin special fished close to the bottom in deep water can be good. Small leadhead jigs in yellow or white and castmaster spoons can be good for big whites too.

Burbot don’t spawn on these central Alberta lakes till March from what I’ve seen.

[Curtsyneil]

Originally Posted by jzz

I got the eggs from sylvan burbot one week ago, see photo. Is this the right colour ? Your 2 cents are very valuable to me Attachment 183659


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It’s not the colour of eggs that you want to match your hook 2. It’s the action of the Wetaskiwin pounding the sand creating a dust cloud making the whites think a female ling is spewing her eggs. I have not seen a ling spawn on pigeon lake since the early 2000s.

[jzz]

Originally Posted by Curtsyneil

Burbot don’t spawn on these central Alberta lakes till March from what I’ve seen.

Do burbots in Pigeon lake spawn in deep water? I saw burbots in shalow water in sylvan lake

[Red Bullets]

Originally Posted by Curtsyneil

Burbot don’t spawn on these central Alberta lakes till March from what I’ve seen.

They close burbot fishing in February. Maybe Feb. is pre-spawning time but does start the spawning cycle.

Originally Posted by jzz

Do burbots in Pigeon lake spawn in deep water? I saw burbots in shalow water in sylvan lake

At Pigeon, several years ago mind you, the west end of the lake used to have piles of burbot left on the ice in February and March. They weren't considered a game fish then and people left them. The depths there were 5 to 10 feet deep with a sandy bottom. Also used to catch lots of whites north and west of "A" on your map, in 6 feet or water.

[Soiler]

I’ve found Ling in balls spawning in deeper water on the camera (+20fow) a few times over sand flats over the years in Pigeon. But that was more by accident more than anything since I’ve never really targeted them.
Personally I haven’t bothered trying for whites in less than 25fow in the last 5 years.

[Soiler]

Originally Posted by Red Bullets

They close burbot fishing in February. Maybe Feb. is pre-spawning time but does start the spawning cycle.



At Pigeon, several years ago mind you, the west end of the lake used to have piles of burbot left on the ice in February and March. They weren't considered a game fish then and people left them. The depths there were 5 to 10 feet deep with a sandy bottom. Also used to catch lots of whites north and west of "A" on your map, in 6 feet or water.

I remember them being left on peoples cars under their wipers or speared on their antennas as a joke when I was a kid at a few of the local derbies. Few considered them an eating fish as I remember.

[fish99]

was on the poker run today on pigeon lake
looked like a net was set in mulhurst bay . i should of stopped and checked but was with a group so did not.
anyone else see this.

[trigger7mm]

There was a large group of Métis having some sort of gathering west of the provincial park on Saturday. They had a gill net in the lake as well.

[fish99]

Originally Posted by trigger7mm

There was a large group of Métis having some sort of gathering west of the provincial park on Saturday. They had a gill net in the lake as well.

i would have to assume one reason why the number of tags for walleye were down was due to netting,
also the amount of whitefish people have been catching this year is down.
my personal best was this year at 9lbs.
and one in our group picked up a 10.36 lb whitefish that was his first of the season and his personal best.
if the nets stay out of the lake someone may catch a new Alberta record whitefish.