Muskokan whitefish getting ready to spawn, female full of eggs

Got out this morning (it was a cold one and got a bit windy and rainy after a couple of hours too) but couldn't get my 10 min plan to work. 10min. to launch, 10 for the launch and 10 min. pedaling out all worked but couldn't get my first fish in 10min after starting to fish
Not too many fish marked. Some were willing to come up to have a look and had a couple of chasers as well (could have been moody trout of course, which is fine by me since they are OOS). But I got one aggressive one that came off the bottom and hit my lure sitting about 15' off bottom with no hesitation (I was actually doing something else with the lure in the water and not paying enough attention to notice that I was not as close to the bottom as I usually like my bait to be and by the time I saw the streak, all I did was hang on and wait for the hit). Even thought it was a laker when I first saw its back and was kind of glad it was not hooked too well (the lure was hanging mostly outside the mouth), then, "oh crap, it's a WF", got the net and was able to get it into the net just as the hook popped out and of course the trebles were in the netting (but at least did not hook the seams so no problem). Got a 14" SM bass later in shallower waters as I was heading back...released (happy with my 19.5" WF). The WF was full of eggs and ready to pop any day now (so the WF behaviour maybe changing and I am happy to have landed one today). You can see the roundness of this fish in the photo. Glad to be out again even if it was only for about 3 hours of fishing (I've got things running smoothly now that even for a short 1-2hrs of fishing, it's worth going).

Good whitefish….you are figuring it out quickly.Enjoy

That was a cold miserable morning to be on the water - good on ya!

Agreed, just bad, wet, and cold since Tuesday night. That's a cool looking fish.

That is a very round whitefish, definitely looks like it’s full of eggs. Do you have any photos of the roe?

It wasn't pleasant once the wind picked up a bit and I think there was some sleet or hail too mixed in with the little bit of rain. I was off the water before the winds got too strong and also before any real rain. But I wasn't as prepared as I should have been...still in my summer zip off "shants" so I can walk into the water to make the launch easier and quicker (water actually felt water because the air was cold Only wore a couple of more layers on the upper body...next time, I will have warmer clothing.

Already gone. I can't believe how much WF my little one will eat. At least it gives me more reason/excuses to get out to fish

Sorry Mike. I didn't take any photos...hands were a bit slimy while cleaning so...but still, I should have taken a photo (was interesting to see - new for me). I would estimate they were about 2-2.5mm in diameter and they were pinkish/orangy/creamy in colour. She was pretty bursting and I think if I had squeezed her belly a bit, maybe I could have squeezed out some eggs. If I get another one with eggs, I will take a photo and post for you. Seeing the size of the eggs in this fish, I made me think that some of the perch I use to catch off Innisfil Beach must have been eating WF eggs but then again this was ice fishing in Jan/Feb so maybe not, the timing seemed to be a bit too late if the WF are spawning around now (I would assume the eggs would have hatched by Jan/Feb but I could be wrong - I don't know what the incubation time is for WF eggs). The size of the eggs in the bellies of and actually being spit out by the perch were a bit larger and different colour (not sure if that means they were WF eggs that have developed more and were on the verge of hatching? Or if the perch were eating the eggs of ling, which may be spawning at that time but I haven't seen ling eggs so I have no idea).
Hoping to get out again next week when the overnight temps are a bit warmer.
Maybe James (Xiaolu) knows more about WF eggs since he gets so many WF.

Sorry Mike. I didn't take any photos...hands were a bit slimy while cleaning so...but still, I should have taken a photo (was interesting to see - new for me). I would estimate they were about 2-2.5mm in diameter and they were pinkish/orangy/creamy in colour. She was pretty bursting and I think if I had squeezed her belly a bit, maybe I could have squeezed out some eggs. If I get another one with eggs, I will take a photo and post for you. Seeing the size of the eggs in this fish, I made me think that some of the perch I use to catch off Innisfil Beach must have been eating WF eggs but then again this was ice fishing in Jan/Feb so maybe not, the timing seemed to be a bit too late if the WF are spawning around now (I would assume the eggs would have hatched by Jan/Feb but I could be wrong - I don't know what the incubation time is for WF eggs). The size of the eggs in the bellies of and actually being spit out by the perch were a bit larger and different colour (not sure if that means they were WF eggs that have developed more and were on the verge of hatching? Or if the perch were eating the eggs of ling, which may be spawning at that time but I haven't seen ling eggs so I have no idea).
Hoping to get out again next week when the overnight temps are a bit warmer.
Maybe James (Xiaolu) knows more about WF eggs since he gets so many WF.

Nice whitefish.

I am right now in Montreal (for 3 days here), and will be back home tomorrow Saturday night. Weather permitting I might get back to the lake for whitefish this coming Sunday or the following Monday:-)

nice job there........ya, we are in for a cold snap........fall is here for sure, but keep chasing those fish

May catch you out there (same here weather permitting) but this time with the family and in a different water craft but still hoping we will catch something.

For sure getting colder. And the dock that is at the boat launch will be taken out after the turkeys are done so it may mean more wet feet or I will have to bring some boots and add another thing to make sure I don't leave behind at the launch or in the parking lot...we'll see how cold the water gets next week with the last few days being windier. I would love to be able to fish regularly through the WF spawn and see what happens to them (if they come back to the same location post-spawn, if they are still biting if I can find them during the spawn, if they are really hungry post-spawn, etc.)

Sorry Mike. I didn't take any photos...hands were a bit slimy while cleaning so...but still, I should have taken a photo (was interesting to see - new for me). I would estimate they were about 2-2.5mm in diameter and they were pinkish/orangy/creamy in colour. She was pretty bursting and I think if I had squeezed her belly a bit, maybe I could have squeezed out some eggs. If I get another one with eggs, I will take a photo and post for you. Seeing the size of the eggs in this fish, I made me think that some of the perch I use to catch off Innisfil Beach must have been eating WF eggs but then again this was ice fishing in Jan/Feb so maybe not, the timing seemed to be a bit too late if the WF are spawning around now (I would assume the eggs would have hatched by Jan/Feb but I could be wrong - I don't know what the incubation time is for WF eggs). The size of the eggs in the bellies of and actually being spit out by the perch were a bit larger and different colour (not sure if that means they were WF eggs that have developed more and were on the verge of hatching? Or if the perch were eating the eggs of ling, which may be spawning at that time but I haven't seen ling eggs so I have no idea).
Hoping to get out again next week when the overnight temps are a bit warmer.
Maybe James (Xiaolu) knows more about WF eggs since he gets so many WF.

Thanks for the description of the roe, Nicholas sent me a photo of a female whitefish he caught a few Octobers ago. The timing would suggest burbot for the roe the perch were feeding on. I'm not sure if I know of another species that spawns during that time (Jan/Feb). Good luck next time out, hoping to get on a few this coming weekend up at the cottage.