ssdreadnot
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fingerling
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Howdy all, new to the forum. I enjoy trout fishing also but have a question for the group, anyone fish for mountain whitefish on the Clearwater in Idaho or the Grand Ronde in Wa? Heard first hand reports of 2-3 pounders on the Clearwater. Any advice, suggestions? Thanks in advance, Mike
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BorntoFish
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Hey, welcome to SH.net. While I've never fished specifically for whitefish on the Clearwater, I've caught a few incidently on eggs while out after steelhead. They've always been pretty good sized fish compared to the smaller ones I've caught while fishing for them on the Payette River. Hopefully some of the local guys can pipe in with better info. Good luck, and if you ever end up with too many, my smoker could go for a taste of these delicious fish.  
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Mojo
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Like Dean, I ahve only caught them incidentally on teh Clearwater, but they have been large. I have caught a few that were 3-4 pounds.
If you are bait fishing, I would try maggots drifted in the riffles, where they drop in to a pool. Also if you are into crawling around on your hands and knees, flip the rocks over and see if you can catch any stonefly nymphs, they work great as well.
If you are a fly fisherman, fish stonefly nymph followed by a copper john under an indicator with some bbs on the leader to get you flys down fast. You might be suprised by a steelie as well, and on light gear that might be a hoot.
Good luck!
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adam376
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king
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If you fly fish i would use any nyphms smaller that size 16. copper johns, and prince nymphs work the best. You can also fish them under a bobber gear fishing. I would use a light line 6 to 4 pound test. Be sure to be right on the bottom also.
Dean, I might be able to get you some white fish if you want them. were always catching them when were trout fishing. Just let me know.
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adam376
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king
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Also there are lots of big white fish in both rivers all over.
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Lilfisher
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Cat hole Kid
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Northfork of the Clearwater Has a lot of them. LIL
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ssdreadnot
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fingerling
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Born to fish,Mojo,Adam 376, Lil fisher: Thanks gentleman, I appreciate the heads-up and info on the whitefish assult. Will launch an assualt on the tasty critters as soon as the weather moderates a bit.I am a bait/tackle slinger, not into fly fishing yet. Again, thanks for the info. Mike
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clucknmoan
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Being the bunch of rednecks my family is we fish for them alot in the winter. They seem soft in the summer but in the cold water they firm up and are pretty good. I have never fished for them specifically in the Clearwater but I would bet it's about the same as here.
Around here nothing compares to helgermites for bait. Get a bug screen made (two 1" wooden dowels with a piece of screen in the middle). Find some small rocks in water about 1 to 2 feet deep that has a little current running over it. Creeks usually would well. The idea is to put your screen in the water downstream from you a couple of feet, then turn rocks over with your feet which with a little practice will wash the bugs into your screen. The trick is to have the mesh on your screen just small enough so the bugs can's go through it. The bigger the holes the more water will flow through it and fewer of them will escape out the sides. If you find a good bug spot it should only take 3 or 4 screen and you will have more of them than needed. Store them in a can of oates or in with some moss.
We use cane poles mostly (20 to 25 footers) and drift fish pretty much like steelhead. A spinning rod works well to but when you have to fish when there is ice 10' out the cane pole keeps your line from being cut. I use #8 or #10 Gami egg hooks.
There are a number or known spots here where whitefish school up but when they don't produce I get out the glasses look for find them. Some days they will move into deep pools and some days you'll find them feeding in a shallow run of 5 feet or so.
Let me know if you need more help with the screen, I can take a picture of one in use.
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fishyness
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cowlitz killer
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i always catch them on eggs fishing in the mountain rivers they sure can jack you bait in a hurry
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NickVellios
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Killer of Deer, Releaser of Native Steelhead
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Never got one even close to a pound. They sure do make Steelheading a PITA on the Cascade way up above the hatchery.
I see a lot of hispanic guys fishing for them in the Skagit. I always thought they weren't good for eating except for making fish pate chip dip out of them, but they told me they are popular in the local Mexican community's cuisine, and can cook up good. Maybe the spices cover up the taste. Maybe they are good.  I still haven't bothered trying to cook up several dozen of those 8"ers to get a full meal. That's about the average size caught out here.
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Mojo
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If you catch them in the winter when the water is good and cold the flesh is firm. They always taste good, but the texture sucks if the water is warmer.
I have eaten them rolled in cornmeal and fried crispy. Nummy.
Smoked they are killer.
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fishyness
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cowlitz killer
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next time i catch some of those guys im going to try and smoke them up
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clucknmoan
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Make sure they are firm and I have no idea how they would taste in murky water we catch them out of a crystal clear river.
Nick I'm not talkin about 8 inchers. We look at many schools and go after the better fish they always hang together. By better I mean at least 16+. Common around 21 in our river but no much bigger.
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alanmikkelsen
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Mike, just saw this post. Been a long while since I fished for Mountain Whitefish on rivers, but I catch a bunch every year on the Clearwater. If I were targeting places, I'd look at holes like the corner just below Gibbs, the Big Eddy at the Lenore rest stop, Harpers Bend (both the inside and outside of the corner). I used to use small flies tipped with maggots, in the old days.....
If you want a bunch of big, firm fleshed, Lake Superior whitefish, come to Flathead Lake the last week of July-September. Limit is 100 per day, average weight 3-4 pounds, with bigger often taken. They fight better than lake trout and eat really well. Had some last night and again tonight.
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