The Secret World of Flathead Lake's Most Misunderstood Fish

This week on the Montana Outdoor Podcast our friend Ross Tate, The Whitefish Whisperer, is back and you know what that means don’t you? The Whitefish are biting again up on Flathead Lake in Western Montana. These amazing fish are known to be, pound for pound the hardest fighting fish in Montana. And with this heat wave they have showed up just in time for those of you that can’t fish many of Montana’s rivers due to high water temps. So, this would be the time to, first, watch or listen to this podcast and then head up to Flathead Lake and test what you learned from Ross. Ross is one of the best Whitefish anglers in Montana. He has been doin it for a long time and has some great tips even for you experienced Whitefish anglers. Another good reason to go fish for these fish is that they are also one of the best tasting fish that you will ever eat. As your host Rigger put it; “Your odds of catching a bunch of really nice Whitefish are fantastic if you watch this podcast. That’s cause Ross shows you right there on the podcast what are the best lures to you use, how to use the best jig technique and he even tells you where all the best spots are on Flathead to go find them. What more do you need?!”. Well, nothing probably but there is one more thing and it is an important one. If you watch or listen, you just might feel some wonder and wonder is always the best…because it always will lead you to something you did not know but wanted to learn and that our dear friends works for everyone whether they have or ever will fish. So, what are you waiting for?! Mash that play button! 

Links:

• We talked about Zimmer Tackle and Kits Tackle so just click those names and you can learn more about them.
• As promised here are the top websites for Great Lakes whitefish recipes:
  • Monahan's Seafood for simple baking. 
  • Maureen Abood for a classic mayo-parmesan crust.
  • Freshwater Feasts for blackened pan-searing.
• Questions for Ross the Whitefish Whisperer? Click here to email him.
• Be sure and let your old buddy Downrigger Dale know what you thought of this week’s episode and let him know what your ideas are for new podcast topics. Just click here to email Rigger.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome, welcome, welcome, everyone, and thanks for joining us again on the Montana Outdoor Podcast. Oh, I want to tell you, we have been having a great summer. How's your summer been? You've been having a good summer? I'm gonna tell you, I I've been having so much fun. Uh, and we're about to have a lot more fun. Now, have you ever been fishing for white fish on Flathead Lake in Montana? You have got to try this, folks. It is uh, and I know what you're thinking. Well, that's like a sucker fish. Oh no, you're about to learn something. Uh pound for pound, this fish is the best fighting fish, hardest fighting fish you'll ever hook on to. We're about to put you in touch, and we're gonna teach you how to find them, how to catch them, all that stuff. It's all gonna happen with the white fish whisperer next. All right, as promised here, we got Ross Tate on. Uh Ross just popped up on your screen. Ross, thanks for joining us. We we love to call you the whitefish whisperer. Uh what was that the captain of the Montana Outdoor Radio Show that gave you that name?

SPEAKER_02 1:05

Yes, he did. Oh, did he? Okay. Captain Mark Ward. I love the captain. What a great guy. Yeah, and you know, when you get around to talking about whitefish fishing, I'm in.

SPEAKER_01 1:15

He gave he gives everybody a name. That's his thing. He gave me my name, Down Rigger Dale. That's that's how I got my name. Kind of stuck now. I don't think I've heard my real name in forever. Everybody just calls me Rigger. Uh but anyway, um, so the whitefish bite is on.

SPEAKER_02 1:36

It is, and you know, Flathead Lake, largest lake west of the Mississippi, has these Lake Superior whitefish, and the south end of the lake starts first and it has begun. Today, Wednesday, July 22nd, 2026. We are on. The last week has started to pick up a little bit, rigor, and it is amazing to see it come back again. We're into warm, short sleeve weather, short lake spinner white fish. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 2:07

You know, this is such an interesting fish. Um and I think, in my opinion, the most misunderstood fish in the state of Montana. Because if you haven't fish for them, a lot of people go, Oh, well, wait a minute, that's like a sucker, right? And that can't taste good. I mean, it what you folks are probably thinking of is like a mountain white fish or something like that. It's different thing. When did you get started into this this white fishing? And and and what what made you decide that uh I I I'm hooked, I'm an addict. I gotta do it.

SPEAKER_02 2:44

My good mistakes. Good friend took me out, and we went uh 1988, and uh we went to Big Arm, the south half of uh Flathead Lake, and beautiful day, 60 boats, almost gunwal to gunwal, straight up and down jigging, yeah, and everybody smiling and pulling these heavy-duty fighting pound for pound, best fighting fish uh around. It was absolutely great.

SPEAKER_01 3:14

Well, that was 1988. Were you a little doubtful back in 1988 that this fish was going to be this kind of a fighting fish?

SPEAKER_02 3:21

Had no idea, had no idea. So, and it was so much fun. Yeah. So, what did you think when you hooked your first one? I thought, what is this? At first, I thought when I pulled up, I thought, oh, I snagged some barbed wire at the bottom of the lake, and I went, Oh, this is no fun whatsoever, until it started fighting back instantly. And I thought, oh, wait a minute. So bringing one of these fighting fish that have been working out all winter, uh up from 50 feet below is great.

SPEAKER_01 3:51

Absolutely a lot of fun. So I don't want you out there to miss this. If you love a great fighting fish and a fish that you're gonna really enjoy eating too, I really want you folks uh out there, no matter if you live in Montana or wherever you're watching this podcast, I want you to try it because you're gonna love this, especially in the summer, like right now, where it's hot. For you river fishermen that love to, you know, get a great hard-fighting rainbow or maybe one of those big brown trout that's really pulling at you. Well, right now, a lot of the rivers have hoodow restrictions and things like that. Some of them even get closed, you know, where the water gets too hot. This is a great alternative for you. That's a lot of fun. The next big question I have for you, Ross, is I find out that the white fish in Flathead Lake, which Flathead Lake, you said is the the largest lake west of the Mississippi. Well, technically it's the largest natural freshwater lake west of the Mississippi. Fort Peck, obviously, is bigger, that's 134 miles long. But but anyway, Flathead Lake's a big lake, and the whitefish is the most abundant biomass in that lake. However, right, I'll bet you a lot of you that have fished flathead have never caught one of these because there's only a few times a year you can catch them. Right. So where do they go? What how how does this work that there's millions of these things in the lake, but there's only a couple times a year you can catch them?

SPEAKER_02 5:20

Right. Well, here it is. They uh they come in at this time of the year to feed on this year's baby perch fry, yellow perch, and that's what they're coming in to feed on. These are bottom feeders, but they are living on other insects, and we'll talk about that if you want. Uh what they live on to make that fish, that flesh, that fillet, the fillet of the um the white fish is stunning to have. It's a great table fair. We're talking about fighting fish from 50 feet down and having a lot of fun. But boy, do they ever taste great if you want to taste some great tasting white meat?

SPEAKER_01 6:03

So this is a fish that you right now they're coming up from the depths to find these these baby perch and just feast on them. Oh, yeah um, yep. So when that's not going on, they're in deep and they're eating all these little plankton and bugs and the mice shore.

SPEAKER_02 6:23

That's it. Number one food source for them. Uh when they're not feeding on perch is the micey shrimp that was introduced to the Flathead Mace uh basin a number of years ago.

SPEAKER_01 6:34

Caused quite a disaster.

SPEAKER_02 6:35

Quite a disaster. Changed the fishing for the the silvers on Flathead.

SPEAKER_01 6:40

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:41

But uh provides great uh fodder for our Lake Superior whitefish, which I like I said, I love catching these babies.

SPEAKER_01 6:49

So I wonder, is that do you think it's that that interesting combination of diet that throughout uh lot of their life growing up, they're eating these shrimp, but then a few times a year they're eating these perch. So is that what's making them taste so good?

SPEAKER_02 7:04

Correct. Oh, absolutely. So they they feed on some of those zooplankton uh that either have lots of fat in them or lots of protein. When they come up in this time of the year, their genetics they send send the signal off it's time to come up out of the deep and look for the protein out of the this year's yellow perch fry. So this this is protein time, and there's thousands or millions of yellow perch fry. And it's so fun to talk with my buddies who are the guys up on the north end of the lake. Now it's a big lake, it's a long lake, north to south, is what 27 miles long, and the actually that from the delta way up, you know, where the river comes in to where the river goes out.

SPEAKER_01 7:47

I think it's thir over 30 miles.

SPEAKER_02 7:49

So it's a light long lake, and it's wide, it's 15 miles wide. There's lots of things going on, and for some reason, the south half of the lake is where the lakefish bite begins, and it has begun this year. It has begun in the last few days. I have numerous friends who've been out there right now catching 20, 30, 40. I talked to a guy who yesterday on Tuesday the 21st caught 46. So I think we are in for the beg a great season, and it's the beginning right now.

SPEAKER_01 8:25

Now, a little history I wanted to mention before we and uh the the conversation we're gonna have here coming up real quick is gonna be uh how they eat these um the these baby perch, these little fry, because that is gonna tell you how to catch them. We're gonna get into that. But the the Lake Superior whitefish obviously uh is not a native fish to Montana, that's certainly not native to Flathead Lake. No. So uh how did they get into Flathead Lake? Into Flathead Lake.

SPEAKER_02 8:58

So the idea was to bring Lake Superior and whitefish from the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, and they brought them out on fish trains in the late 1800s, early 1900s. The idea was for Flathead Lake to become a commercial fishery. That did not occur, but the fish don't know that. The fish proliferate and they spawn, they grow. There is a large, large percentage biomass of Lake Spear whitefish in Flathead Lake, like 80% of the entire total of millions of fish is Lake Spear whitefish.

SPEAKER_01 9:32

Obviously, they took to the lake, uh found a uh a great way to reproduce and and found a way to just really become this dominant feature. Uh, of course, there is um uh really nice huge uh lake trout in Flathead Lake, and and I'm sure they eat plenty of these whitefish.

SPEAKER_02 9:52

I would they do, yeah. As a matter of fact, they eat uh a lot of young whitefish. So the lake trout's doing very well. Again, not a native population, uh which the Lake Spear whitefish is not, but uh we are here to enjoy the situation as it is, and we're totally into it.

SPEAKER_01 10:11

Yeah. You because you're gonna find that uh this is it takes a little skill, which you know is the fun part of fishing, uh, but that great fight, a little skill figuring out how to find them, all this stuff. Uh so let's start there. Um, how do you go about finding these? You know, we've talked well, it's a big lake, but the Lake Spear whitefish tend to congregate to where these perch fry are. So it isn't like you're just gonna drop a line in and find them anywhere. Right. So, how do you find, okay, where the heck are the white fish right now? How do you find these?

SPEAKER_02 10:49

Oh, you know, for most people, they look for the bolts. Where are the bolts and those common areas on the south end of the lake? That is the number one way to find out.

SPEAKER_01 11:00

That that that's the uh categorized of what I used, because the the captain and I uh we we we do that on Fort Peck sometimes, no, uh though we we hate to admit it, but I call that monkey see monkey do fishing.

SPEAKER_02 11:14

Well, it is, and what's so cool about it was it just kind of blew my mind that there would be so many boats so close to each other, yeah, everybody catching fish, and everybody's happy. And it wasn't like this is your private spot, this is everybody's spot, and it's a-okay to fish and get close to other people. I have made many friends on Flathead Lake whitefish fishing, encouraging them to come get close to me, like closer, not 100 yards away. Come right next to me. They really stack in there when they find those when you find them, right?

SPEAKER_01 11:50

So if if I'm somebody that uh, you know, uh kind of retired, which I am, uh, and so I might want to go on a weekday and I am looking for boats and I don't see too many, then how do I find oh there you go?

SPEAKER_02 12:02

So there are certain areas. Uh you look for points, uh, you look for them on your fish finder. The uh a little research, uh, I can tell you right now, uh 45 to 70 feet deep is the average limits at not specific the average depth of 52 feet. So we're kind of looking for areas that have 52 feet of water, uh not too far from some weed beds, and um there's where I start, and I start looking for them using my fish locator, fish finder, and where am I looking for them on my fish finder? I know you're gonna ask me, so I'll just tell you right now. We are looking at the bottom of the lake, and because they are uh bottom feeders, uh, that's where those that's where their food is, that's where the baby perch are. They are going for them on the bottom, and you'll be able to see them on your fish finder.

SPEAKER_01 13:05

So when they're on the bottom, finding them, you know, because a lot of people think of fish finder, at least I did when I was first learning about this, is okay, I'm looking for that suspended fish, you know, seeing that nice curve. You're not gonna find them that way, are you? No, that's fine.

SPEAKER_02 13:22

That's right. They don't they don't get up into the water column, they are on the bottom, cruising the bottom, they're looking for bunches of uh baby perch. And the baby perch can sometimes tell that they're coming by like big shark overhead. So these perch will kind of dig down into the bottom, and the whitefish will be looking for them, pinning them down with their mouth with kind of a sucker mouth, no teeth, and then inhaling as many as they can. And you can see that on the fish finder because they'll kind of be head down, tails up, and they may look like wings in there, but I see vertical marks as it goes across my screen. I know then that's what I'm looking out for.

SPEAKER_01 14:05

So that that tells us a lot right there. Uh other, as you say, uh the south end of the lake kind of gets going first and then moves up. Uh, and I guess it makes sense that you need to be kind of around weed beds and that, because when you think about perch, when they spawn, they tend to attach uh kind of like a a sack onto a like a branch or a log or weeds or all that. Sure. And so these fry when they finally uh hatch out, they're now they're kind of gonna be swimming around where they hatched out, probably a little, but they also know okay, that's cover. That's that's cover.

SPEAKER_02 14:44

And another thing that we look for uh downrear is uh fish balls, when they perch, all get together, they get out into the open water, and as the water warms up, they they start to come in lower uh to get to the cooler water. When I speak with my friends who uh are out there every day, my hats off to them, those guides see these fishballs on their fish finder, and they can see them in the water. That these are yellow perch. So right now I'm hearing great reports of great fishballs of yellow perch, which to me is a great sign, it's gonna be a great season 2026.

SPEAKER_01 15:23

That means Mr. Whitefish is probably around that bait ball somewhere. Um right, that's exactly correct. Okay, that's what we're looking for. Now, uh I'm gonna pull up a map here on the screen of Flathead Lake. So if we're looking at the southern end, one of the areas I've heard you talk before, and we've we've had Ross on before. However, for those of you that have seen that, we're gonna do something a little different in that we're gonna really learn a lot about catching them. But uh the narrows is one, and we're looking at the narrows now. That's a series of these little islands. So, are you going what are you looking for in between those islands that kind of shows you that's whitefish territory?

SPEAKER_02 16:04

I look on that fish finder, but again, I'm looking 52 feet on the air. Okay, and then I will adjust accordingly if I can go shallower or go deeper. I look for them on my fish finder, and so the narrows, yeah. The narrows is the south end of the lake. I have actually heard from other people that occasionally there will be white fish in Poulson Bay itself. Most of the time it is the narrows is the southern end, and then heading east. Uh, if we want to look at the map on head east around Finlay Point into Skadoo Bay.

SPEAKER_01 16:44

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 16:45

Skidoo Bay, we're always looking at 52 feet as your general starter. Uh, if you want to come back west around Finley Point, Bull Islands, that's all in the narrows, heading west to Rocky Point. Uh now we're gonna go even further west into Big Arm Bay. Okay. In front of Big Arm Bay, State Park has been great from the bolt launch, the state park to the point. Dead Man's Point around the corner into Elmo Bay. Right now, Elmo Bay is on fire. Really? Okay. So thank you, the South End. The South End is holding up uh its end of the deal, that's for sure.

SPEAKER_01 17:26

And then uh as the season goes along, uh uh about how long would you say it goes? Now last year was wild. It went all the way into October, right?

SPEAKER_02 17:36

Last year was stunning. You guys, this was great. It started uh towards the end of June, and when I started catching a lot, and all the through July, August, September, into the first and second weekend of October. I don't know what the actual record is, but that was my longest year ever. This could be another year. It could be two weeks, or it could be two to three months. We'll just have to see.

SPEAKER_01 18:03

So as that as that goes along, then then you you move north or are they north as well all the time?

SPEAKER_02 18:10

Well, yeah, they are up there, they're getting ready to bite. I I think they're right on the right on the cusp with if you divide the lake in half, the north half is just ready to explode. When I speak with my buddy Matt up there with Fish On. Oh yeah, fish on charters, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:26

Oh my god, that guy's great. If you listen to Montana Outdoor Radio Show, he's on there with us uh giving reports. So yeah, so are are you are you going up in towards the Delta then or where where are you going on the north?

SPEAKER_02 18:39

Sure. So we'll go up to the Delta and we'll go on the east side of the north end of the lake, uh by Woods Bay, coming down to Yellow Bay. There are some great points. Uh, if you want to go over on the west side of the lake, over by Summers, heading down south of Lakeside, Angel Point, Painted Rocks, those are all great spots and fun to go look for them. Typically it's nice weather, so it's great to be out on the water looking for them, and when you find them, it's a ton of fun pulling these babies up. A lot of time it used to be that you had to be there at the break of dawn. You don't necessarily have to be there at the break of dawn, and it doesn't necessarily shut off at 10 o'clock. Um, this is a lot of fun because it seems as the last few years have gone on, the bite has gone on throughout the day, well into the afternoon, and then there's the evening bite. Really? Okay so um the north end of the lake is it just ready to explode, and the south end of the lake is exploding right now.

SPEAKER_01 19:41

Right now. Okay. All right. Well, uh, get ready, gang, because we're gonna show you how to catch these incredible fish. Uh, but first I want to recognize a couple uh uh groups that listen to this program that we are just absolutely honored that that they listen. Uh, and that is our active military. Uh they listen to this podcast from you know uh bases around, uh, even on the ships. So thank you. Uh and I know a lot of you are are in some very uh, you know, it's it's a dangerous time. We recently lost uh uh a few of our service members, and and of course they're in our prayers, and the family and all that are in our prayers and God bless them. And uh also our veterans, we want to recognize them. We have a lot of veterans. Montana per capita has more uh uh military folks than I think any other state are pretty close to it. Uh and so we have a lot of veterans that like to listen, uh both in Montana and outside of it, including my daughter is also a veteran. So uh important groups to me. And so thank you for your service. Uh God bless you, and you veterans, I just want to tell you, uh, all of us here that listen to this podcast that watch it and all that. We will never forget what you've done for our country. Now, let's get a quick break in. Uh, our friends at Rocky Mountain Truck and Trailer have some neat stuff to show you. Uh I'm gonna tell you about this this cool dump trailer. Uh uh, I learned about it from uh the captain. They said, well, then Rigor, we gotta show you how this thing works. Just watch this. You'll see it, and then we'll be back, and then we're gonna catch some whitefish. There would not be a podcast if it weren't for the support of great Montana-owned companies like Rocky Mountain Truck and Trailer. So if you enjoy any of these podcasts and you happen to need a new trailer for work or hauling things on your next adventure, why not go see the folks that support what you like to do? For example, you can find right now at Rocky Mountain Truck and Trailer something that all folks who love Montana's outdoors can always appreciate, and that is top-tier toughness. Yeah, that's what we need here in Montana's great outdoors. Whether we're on the job side or the open road, headed for our favorite fishing spot. Here's what I want you to do right now. Head to Rocky Mountain Truck and Trailer either the next time you're in Missoula or right now at rmt.com. Rocky Mountain Truck and Trailer is your dealer for baseline equipment dump trailers. You're gonna love these. What's great about anything from Baseline is everything they make is built to work as hard as you do. Baseline is a heavy-duty, high-performance trailer that hauls, dumps, and delivers no matter the load. Backed by real expertise and hometown service, you can trust. And the only place you'll find them is at Rocky Mountain Truck and Trailer, there at 5680 Expressway in Missoula or on the web at rmtte.com. As my friends at Rocky Mountain Truck and Trailer put it, baseline is basics done best. And don't forget, gang, you can also find the Diamond C Single Axle PSA Trailer. PSA stands for Premium Single Axle Trailer, by the way. And I have to tell you, premium is an understatement. The Diamond C Single Axle PSA has a sleek design, rock solid frame, and unbeatable performance. The PSA is your go-to for daily hauling, whether it's at the job site or at the campsite. And you guessed it, you will only find them at Rocky Mountain Truck and Trailer, your local Diamond C single-axle PSA trailer dealer, right there at 5680 Expressway in Missoula. Or go see them at rmtte.com, Rocky Mountain Truck and Trailer, your workhard and playhard headquarters at RMTTE.com. All right, now, Ross, here we go. It's time to uh talk a bit about technique in that. Uh, and then uh we'll we'll take a little break and then we're actually gonna go outside. Uh we're in fact I'm doing the podcast from a different spot now. People are probably saying, Rigor, how come you're not actually on the lake? Well, uh, right now I'm still healing up from a little health thing, so we're but we're doing it from my house because we're gonna go out on the deck and we're gonna have Ross actually drop, because this is an important part of it, drop that that lure down and give us some ideas. But let's start with the basics, Ross. How do we catch Lake Superior Whitefish and Flat Ed Lake?

SPEAKER_02 24:37

This time of the year we fish, we're using a lure that looks like a baby perch. This year's again, birch fry, and we drop this down to the bottom and we let it sit there, maybe jiggle it a little bit. Uh, but we do a lot of snap jigging where with a pretty stiff rod, braided line, 50 feet down, you're gonna snap that up and then gently let it drop back down with a little tension in case something comes by to bite on it on the way down, and then let the lure sit back on the bottom um and act like a baby perch. And that that's what we're looking to get that whitefish to come over and bite on that baby.

SPEAKER_01 25:21

Is the lure just laying on the bottom, or are you just gonna have it touching the bottom?

SPEAKER_02 25:25

Oh, good question. So it's hard to tell at 50 feet with a six and a half, seven foot rod, you know, what it feels like. But I think I felt it that I've done it so many times on a calm day. I practice having to lay down flat. But if I can feel that jig, you want to be able to feel the jig at the bottom so that you know that your jig is on the bottom. Your jig has to really be on the bottom, not dangling up anywhere in the water column. You might get some, but the majority, like lots of your bite bite is going to become when you know that you're on the bottom, jig, snap jig, attract them. Um that is how you do it. And kind of like match the hatch. Uh so replicating small perch as the season goes on. We move to a little bit bigger, it lures even. Think about that, as the perch fry grows, and and that's what they're looking for. We do that. But again, roll on the bottom, um jigging, attracting them, pulling up uh every three to five seconds, something like that. Um and then letting your allure come back down to the bottom and snapping. That's what we're looking for. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 26:49

So now we're uh talk a bit about the size of these things. Um uh in fact, I'm gonna I'm I'm putting one that you just caught recently. You sent me this photo, which we're seeing now, of a beautiful Lake Superior whitefish. That how big is that then?

SPEAKER_02 27:08

Uh that was about a three and a half pounder that I got about three weeks ago in the narrows. Um so the average is what we look to keep are those two to six pounders. Um average weight being three and a half pounds. Uh wow, which was a nice size fish.

SPEAKER_01 27:28

Now, but when you think of a th a three and a half pound fish, yeah, which is a nice size fish, you're exactly right. But it fights like it's a freaking 15-pound salmon or something. I mean, they they use every muscle in their body.

SPEAKER_02 27:47

They do. Well, you know, these whitefish, they're working out all winter long, you know, eating those micey shrimp, and they have a ton of pull. They are pound for pound, we say it all the time. Pound for pound, one of the best fighting fish in the state of Montana.

SPEAKER_01 28:03

But there's a bit of a technique here, uh, as I understand it, that because you're not dealing with a fish that has teeth and this stiff jawbone, all that stuff, you can lose these fish. Oh, yeah. How do we prevent that happening? Because that gets frustrated.

SPEAKER_02 28:19

Yeah, I think there are professionals that get off the hook. Uh so when when you're down there jigging and you snap and you set the hook, you feel like you've hooked barbed wire. That is a white fish. At that point, you're gonna use that rod and keep that thing bent all the time. No slack in the line. Of course, the normal technique, and with white fish, paying close attention because they do pull and get off if you don't. Uh pull up and reel down as you reel down, you're reeling in line, but using the rod to pull up uh and using the strength and the flexibility of your rod to keep the line taut. If you get slack in the line, it's likely you're gonna lose that beat.

SPEAKER_01 29:07

Because it's pretty soft mouth.

SPEAKER_02 29:09

It's a pretty soft mouth, and they just fight like crazy to kick that thing out of their mouth. Um, but keeping tension on the line is the number one thing that you're going to do to successfully get that to the boat, to the net.

SPEAKER_01 29:22

Now we're gonna we're gonna take a look at some lures and and uh Ross's uh uh pull in that, but before we get to that portion of our program, uh one last question. Um so you let's say you get onto these fish and you've been catching them pretty good, all of a sudden, bite goes away. How uh for for you, how long do you keep trying before you move to a different spot? And typically how far away will you move?

SPEAKER_02 29:51

Oh good.

SPEAKER_01 29:52

Uh I'm usually 10, 20 um minutes. Uh if you haven't caught anything 10 or 20 minutes, you're thinking about time to move.

SPEAKER_02 30:01

20 minutes, I'm probably going to move, whether it's uh laterally or deeper. Uh depends upon where I am. If I'm at 52 feet, I'm going to look on my fish binder as well as I can, probably deeper or somewhere a little more lateral, staying in that same depth depth. But you know, there are electric motors. Uh is so nice and easy to follow uh the contour or go a little bit deeper, and and when you see these on your fish finder, spot lock, lock on, auto rope. Uh we should talk about that.

SPEAKER_01 30:38

Oh, it used to be like. Let's talk about that because that's important. This is completely vertical jigging, no, no drifting, no trolling, right?

SPEAKER_02 30:49

Correct. Uh, the technique is straight up and down, straight from the side of the boat, and with electric motors, um, no rope, no anchor, which we used to be such hard.

SPEAKER_01 31:03

Yeah, that's how I first such a heart at fishing for them. You throw this big uh I remember the captain had this big kind of concrete bucket and we toss that sucker overboard and and it's on a rope, and and then you gotta worry about fish going around that rope and all that stuff, right? Nowadays, if you've got that trolling motor, use the spot lock, okay? Use the spot lock, right? Then we still have some current and some wind, uh but yet we're wanting to geek that up and down. How do you how do you manage that?

SPEAKER_02 31:33

Well, you do your best with uh current, you have on Flathead Lake, you have to deal with us at times. Not all the time, but right. Sometimes it's there. There's a couple spots that people know over by the unpainted uh boathouse over by the Methodist camp. There's a strong current on Wild Horse Island on those edges, and you you just have to do your best to play that up and down, even though there may be some of an angle, you just have to deal with it. But we're not casting, we're not trolling, we're doing our best from the boat, uh, you know, almost all the time able to do that.

SPEAKER_01 32:14

If you current are you opening up your bale and just letting her drop down, or or no, you you you want to like keep it taunt, right?

SPEAKER_02 32:24

I do. That's that's a good point. Um, I see so many people snap jigging and then letting the lure fall loosely down and the line is loose, but I I prefer to uh jig and hold that rod up, hold the jig up, and as I drop the jig, I like to have tension on the line. So on the d when this is dropping down, if a fish comes over and bites it, I can feel it. If that line is loose, you can't feel it. So a lot of times I will catch uh white fish on the drop.

SPEAKER_01 33:00

So if you don't have tension on that line, you're not gonna even know they hit it. You will never know.

SPEAKER_02 33:06

Yeah, you'll never you'll miss uh a number of them. So uh a few days ago I was over in Skadoo Vay, caught 20, which is the limit, and um eight out of ten of those were on the drop on a fly. Then I have an additional fly above my rattle disaster. That's a particular lure. We'll look at some of those other uh perch lures. But a lot of times at this time of the year, when these whitefish are coming from the deep and they're still used to eating uh insects, the zooplankton and micey shrimp, a little fly may look like something that they've been chowing down on for the last nine months. And uh and at this time of the year, the fly works well. When the frenzy gets going, which is about to happen, um, it will make hardly any difference. Uh there will be thousands of thousands of white fish below your boat and hitting it on the drop, hitting it when you pull up, the the fly may make no difference.

SPEAKER_01 34:12

We'll see. Okay. Fun to try. Well, we're gonna uh uh take a quick break then. Uh I want you to listen carefully to these folks uh at Superior Hardwoods of Montana. I love these folks. Uh you want some of the coolest little wood in your life? Listen to this. Over the years, you've heard me talk a lot about Superior Hardwoods of Montana. Yeah, I've talked a great deal about their incredible reclaimed wood from old barns, green elevators, old homesteads, even an old log flume zigzagging down a mountainside in Montana. If there's an amazing piece of wood that can be reclaimed and turned into an unbelievable, one of a kind wood floor, paneling, or well, just about anything, Superior Hardwoods of Montana has found it, created it, and showed all of us right there online at superior dash hardwoods.com. They truly are artists that just happen to use wood as their canvas. And yes, I've also talked about their amazing ability to find some of the most unbelievable exotic woods from all over the world. I was asked the other day if Superior Hardwoods of Montana ever just sold normal wood floors or paneling, or do they only sell wood products that are incredible and unusual? I had to stop and think about that question for a minute. No, not because I could not think of a case where Superior Hardwoods of Montana sold just some usual nice looking flooring or paneling. They do that a lot. I had to think about it because the folks at Superior Hardwoods of Montana make really any piece of wood incredible and unusual. Simply because you will not find any, let me say that again, you will not find any place on earth that cares more about what they sell than Superior Hardwoods of Montana. I guess that's why they've been in business since 1977. It's a a passion of everyone at Superior Hardwoods of Montana. I know that because I've known these folks for well most of the 65 years that I've been around. So believe me when I say at Superior Hardwoods of Montana, they absolutely cannot wait to guide you through the woods. Go see them next time you're in Missoula, or why not go see them right now at superior-hardwoods.com. Superior Hardwoods of Montana. Go see them. All right, so Ross, we're out here on my deck. Um, we're about four stories high. And uh the reason I want to come out here is I I want people to be able to see, you know, how you this vertical drop and all that. Uh, but let's first start with the rod. Let's talk a little bit about this rod. Uh what kind of my reel am I looking at here?

SPEAKER_02 37:09

So there's an open face. Uh this happens to be a fluger presidential reel. It's pretty light and it's on a very nice rod. Uh every turn of the handle is about two and a half feet. Uh I use braided line. Very specifically, braided line, eight to twelve pound works perfect. You do not want to use mono or floral, you want to use braided line so that when you are trying to set the hook, when you're jigging upward, there's no stretch in the line. There's no stretch in braided line. Ah, gotcha.

SPEAKER_01 37:45

So that that's key. Now, are we putting any kind of leader on this thing from you know on the braid or this one?

SPEAKER_02 37:51

I happen to have a leader on it. I don't always use a leader, but sometimes I do, and sometimes I don't. Um, but it's only the last few feet if I do that.

SPEAKER_01 37:59

Okay. All right. And so then on this, then we're going down and we have a a little little fly. Let me come up to this fly.

SPEAKER_02 38:08

And then that's a fly that I like to use.

SPEAKER_01 38:10

That is the uh what let's see, let me see. I've got to get the thing right on it here. I'm I'll have to do a little oh there we go. So is is that's kind of like the mice of shrimp thing for him?

SPEAKER_02 38:22

It's an attractant that could be considered a mice. Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_01 38:26

So so that's about how far from the lure right down there. About 12 inches, about a foot above. And now I understand that uh Zimmer makes these where it's all pre-tied for you.

SPEAKER_02 38:41

He has a very nice setup called the ready to go setup. I'll show you a picture of it, what it looks like. But it comes with two clamps and the fly on a fluorocarbon leader, and all you need to do is tie your line on and then hook your looter on and you're set to go. Okay. Works really well, especially when the bite's on and something breaks, you're ready to go.

SPEAKER_01 39:04

And we'll get a better look at these, but but for right now, uh, this is uh this is uh one of the jigs that you're using here. And what what am I looking at here?

SPEAKER_02 39:14

This is this gentleman up north in Calisbell. Riley makes these uh white fish jigs that have a twist to them. He must he must twist them when he makes them and they're still warm. They have a very nice action, nice red treble hook, um, and a little gold speckle on them to kind of attract, kind of look like when you're underwater. Does it look like a perch? Probably.

SPEAKER_01 39:38

Yeah, especially uh, you know, swim along. Okay, so let's let's drop this guy down. So here we go.

SPEAKER_02 39:44

Down we go, uh under under tension.

SPEAKER_01 39:50

And kind of like 40 feet down here. All right, now I'm gonna zoom in, see if I can catch that. Okay, so it's like there it is, right towards the edge of the step there. All right, he's moving it around. So now you you've got your uh your your loose right on the bottom. Yep. Okay, now so so now you've you've let it out, you're down on the bottom. So now you're gonna do that jig motion, and I want to pull up and and show the folks how you do that. So you're gonna you're gonna jig this thing. Oh yeah, but there's a way to do that where where you're uh so uh show us how great.

SPEAKER_02 40:28

I have lure on on the ground, the line was straight, and I'm just slowly very small with my wrist jigging. And when it's time to snap, I slow motion won't go that far. Uh-huh. But when I'm really doing it for real, I snap hard. Okay, and that lure then comes four or five, six feet up from the bottom. So I only a little bit with my wrist snap. Fast snap.

SPEAKER_01 40:58

Now, so you go that fast snap, but then when you bring it down, you are you're you're still keeping that tension. It's not gonna flutter down to the bottom.

SPEAKER_02 41:06

So correct. That is so important for those people who want to catch more fairy. Snap up. Feel the lure and feel the tension on the line so it's straight, and drop down until you feel the lure hit the bottom. Now you can jig, you can jiggle a little bit. Maybe maybe let it sit there for three to five seconds, jiggle a little bit, pull up. You don't have to be snap-jigging all the time. I think it's important to attract them. Uh sometimes take a little break, let it lie on the bottom for five seconds.

SPEAKER_01 41:44

So, how often are you snapping up? What do you think?

SPEAKER_02 41:47

I snap up every three to five to maybe ten seconds while I let it lie on the bottom. Okay. I'm I'm drinking a little bit. A little bit here, yeah. Just an inch or two down, it makes a big difference.

SPEAKER_01 42:02

Right, because because you're you're way out there with your rod. So seven foot long. So when you do that, so that's that's coming up a pretty good up then, isn't it? When you when you drop it.

SPEAKER_02 42:14

Okay. Cool. So that that's uh basic technique, and I think it's really important to keep tension on the line when you're on the drop, and then when you get your bike.

SPEAKER_01 42:29

We're gonna go back inside. We're gonna take a look at some more of uh his lures and and you know his jigs and all that stuff, and uh we'll do a just a little talk about prepping these fish for eating, and then we're gonna let you guys head out to Flathead and catch some of these.

SPEAKER_00 42:45

Hey gang, Roger Fishwell here. While Rigor and Ross get set up inside, I just wanted to remind you that the Montana Outdoor Podcast is brought to you by Rocky Mountain Truck and Trailer, home of boss snowplows and accessories. And Diamond C trailers and accessories. Go to rmttv.com and see everything they have waiting for you online. Or just come by 5680 Expressway in Missoula and buy Superior Hardwoods of Montana, delivering the highest quality lumber, paneling, flooring, and reclaimed wood products anywhere in North America. Let them guide you through the woods at their showroom in Missoula on Highway 93 South or at superior-hardwoods.com.

SPEAKER_01 43:31

Okay, so Ross, we've got some uh we've got some lures laid out here, some jigs, uh, if you will. So let's uh let's start here with uh let's let's look at the one that's that's got the little fly on it and stuff. We'll start there.

SPEAKER_02 43:47

That is uh from ZimmerTackle ready to go steps. Yeah, let's look at that. That's what the package looks like when you go to get one. And what that includes is here's one in the open, two clamps. Clasps, one on each end, one for the terminal end of your fishing line. Right. And hooks to your fishing line.

SPEAKER_01 44:06

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 44:07

Come part way down, and there's a fly.

SPEAKER_01 44:10

There's your fly. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 44:12

And then uh about a foot down is another clasp for the lure.

SPEAKER_01 44:20

But how heavy uh is the uh let's let's look at this lure right here. About how heavy is this guy right here?

SPEAKER_02 44:27

This is my all-time favorite lure. This is the Rattle Disaster 3-8 ounce, uh dark green with a little red mylar on that. Dark green on the back. Uh and that seems to work. All of the jigs work, but for me, this particular jig.

SPEAKER_01 44:46

That's been the go-to for sure.

SPEAKER_02 44:48

That is my go-to, the 3/8 ounce rattle disaster dark green with some red on it.

SPEAKER_01 44:53

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 44:54

But there are some companies, these guys are building a quite the variety of perch-fried jigs that work. They all work. Yeah, they all work great.

SPEAKER_01 45:03

Well, and I love the the Zimmer Tackle. I've got I've got a link to Zimmer Tackle in the podcast description, folks, to take take a look at that. I mean, you don't have to buy there, but I I really like it.

SPEAKER_02 45:14

Let me just tell you a little bit. Why is it called the rattle disaster? Yeah. When Dick Zimmer makes these, he makes them in two halves. And he makes the first half, puts a tube inside when it has two balls in it, and then he puts the other half and melts them together to become one lure. So now there are two balls inside when you give a little rattle, yeah. It gives a little rattle and maybe sound or vibration that will attract the white fish over to you.

SPEAKER_01 45:42

Yeah. Well, if if I were you folks, I would just, I mean, Zimmer tackles on the way, uh, or you can buy it online. But to me, I just that's a good place to go. And they're tried, true, and tested. Now, uh, so let's look at some of these others.

SPEAKER_02 45:58

A friend of mine, uh Teddy Davis in Frenchtown, he builds thousands of these, and he he's a great fisherman, catches a lot of them. He uh makes those for his friends, but I'm just giving you examples of what looks like baby perch. Okay, that's what we're looking for. Uh Kit and Trevor Tackle from Helena makes this Kit and Trevor Johnson.

SPEAKER_01 46:19

You better uh yeah, correct. Yeah, very famous. Uh they they make some of the best jigs from the whole state without a doubt. Actually, country. So that's from them.

SPEAKER_02 46:28

That's from them, and that's another gentleman up north. Um, could be Pete's Tackle. Okay. Pete's Tackle. He makes a whitefish lure called uh the Whitefish Slayer. That also is another great lure, but he's out of calespell. Okay, another great guy.

SPEAKER_01 46:45

Okay. Now we're getting into some bigger ones here, or a bigger one. Different.

SPEAKER_02 46:50

Yeah, they have a little different style. These fear from JT Tackle. Okay. And JT Tackle is making a quite the variety. John Thomas, great guy, uh, making uh inroads to a wide variety of different whitefish baby perch lures. Okay. This next gentleman, uh, Riley, makes these, and these have a twist.

SPEAKER_01 47:15

And I've that's the one we saw when we were outside on the deck there.

SPEAKER_02 47:19

It's got a little twist in it. Yeah, and it's got a really cool action because there's a twist when they make this thing. So when you pull this thing up, it has uh an interesting action that I find uh quite attractive to the whitefish. It's got a little twist to it, yeah. So it's a little bit different take on how to attract them. Zimmer has the rattle disaster, uh Riley has the twist, and I think that Riley and uh jig works. So these are a little bit bigger now, right? Rattle disasters, and they get bigger. These fish, the perch fry grow, so I try to match the hatch, so to speak. So that that's a heavier uh uh jig as well. So that is a one ounce. One ounce, okay. And that's what uh you're maybe later in the season.

SPEAKER_01 48:06

You you you go to that, you think?

SPEAKER_02 48:08

Yep. Correct. That's what I do. I don't use this very much right now. I use a 3/8 ounce, but I always will go to this in the middle of August when that bite is still going and the perch fry are growing rapidly, and that's what the white fish go after.

SPEAKER_01 48:23

Okay. So there you go, folks. Those are the lures. Uh so now let's uh we're we're gonna wrap this up by talking a bit about some fish prep and any last thoughts that Ross has. Uh, and then I can't wait for you folks out there to send me pictures of these great white fish we're gonna go catch. Oh yeah. 30 minutes later. Okay, so we got a look at the uh lures. Uh now let's talk a little bit about this wonderful fish as far as what do you do? Uh as far as how do you take care of them once you've boated one of these wonderful white fish, and and then how do you prep them and give us the do's and don'ts there.

SPEAKER_02 49:16

Absolutely. So if you're gonna keep these white fish for fishing, uh for eating, they're fabulous, but you have to take care of them right away. Uh the meat degradates too quick not to put them on ice. So all the fish that I keep, and uh I've done this for years now, is I bring an extra large cooler, so that fish goes right into the cooler, and I layer uh tiered layers so I have ice below and above on top. I want that white fish getting cold. So by the end of the day, when I've filled them and they're now nice and cold, I will get them to my vacuum sealer and into the freezer the same day. It's important to do it the same day. They won't last uh 24 hours in your refrigerator from the boat, and them taste great. Oh, don't. They just simply don't. So just take it from me right away, put them on ice that you're going to keep, and then freeze the ones that you're going to freeze and keep and eat later.

SPEAKER_01 50:24

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 50:24

And do you bleed them out right after you catch it? Oh, okay. I think I don't. Most people who want to do that that have bled other fish out do that also. They just cut their gills, let them bleed out. And actually, I am starting to do that um because I'm finding that.

SPEAKER_01 50:41

We do it with the the king salmon on Fort Pack, and and I think it's it, I think it does make a difference. It does. It really does.

SPEAKER_02 50:48

But when I get home, when I get the chance, I kind of wash my fillets because I now have a nice new huge craft with a cleaning station and a and a shower. I wash my fillets, put them in the plastic bag, back into the cooler, tear dice, get them home. But when I get home, I also rinse them off for five to ten minutes. Oh, okay. Whether you want to do them in buckets outside with your garden hose or in the kitchen sink. Um, but I like to thoroughly rinse my white fillet fillets. So that's kind of the same thing, yeah. Some people have different methods of uh what they will soak them in for five, ten minutes, thirty minutes, milk or uh different uh flavored liquids that they want to have them. But I mostly the most important thing for me is to rinse them off. When I prep the fillet, I also cut out the bloodline on the outside of the filet. Okay. Uh that helps the the fish taste better in whatever recipe you're gonna use. Um and I we should talk about recipes too.

SPEAKER_01 51:50

Yeah, so what's whenever you want. What is your favorite way to prepare that you like to eat?

SPEAKER_02 51:56

Oh, I've done so many pan fried with a couple eggs and some panko breadcrumbs and then right into my my pan with a light layer of oil. Sounds good, yeah. Lately my wife and I have been baking them, so we'll uh same thing. We'll couple eggs and and put the fillets through them, panko onto uh sheet into the oven, 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Baked whitefish fillets. As my lately, it's my favorite. What kind of seasoning are you using? I use Italian flavoring uh panko. That's what I like. Uh you know, whatever. You can add a little garlic. It um so uh Lake Superior whitefish. Well, I I forgot to tell you this, but before I ever moved to Montana in 1988, we ate uh whitefish back in the Midwest in Wisconsin. We would go to nice hotels that have a uh a fish boil with uh people, and uh you would you would bite into a basket put your vegetables, put your Lakespear whitefish, boil it for two minutes, bring it up. It was simply amazing how great it tastes. Yeah, and that's what these fish are. This it's exactly the same fish.

SPEAKER_01 53:18

Yeah, they I mean it's just a great flavor. Uh uh, so you don't have to get crazy on the seasoning unless you want to. Um uh and then you know, give us a try. I'll I'll try to find a few uh recipes and I'll put them in the uh uh podcast description for you folks. But uh there's plenty out there. If you go online, you'll find a lot of different ideas. Uh, but I promise you, you're gonna want to eat these. These are really good tasting, nice, beautiful, flaky white fish. I bet you these make a pretty damn good fish tago.

SPEAKER_02 53:54

Oh, you beat me to it. They also make great fish dip with cream cheese, clay fish, and maybe some uh cheddar cheese on top, and you some you got my Swedish heritage coming out of me now.

SPEAKER_01 54:10

Oh fish dip, yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 54:15

A little better than Ludafist.

SPEAKER_01 54:16

Yeah, very much so.

unknown 54:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 54:18

Sorry, grandma, but a little bit of Ludafist goes a long way. Uh so you got a little dip that you make with them of just kind of all kinds of different ways to do it. And if you're catching 20 a day, yeah, you you gotta get creative. You do, and it's wonderful. Do they last a long time in the freezer?

SPEAKER_02 54:38

Uh you know, I had good luck. I really have, and I think it's because we get them cold right away on the boat and into the freezer, vacuum sealed into the freezer the same day. All right, we've had great tasting fish six months down the road. So we'll be in January eating this year's Lake Superior light fish. Perfect. And do you know what happens? It tastes good and fun memories.

SPEAKER_01 55:04

Yeah, it all comes back to you. Yeah. Um, anything else you want to share with us, uh uh Ross, before we go, as far as uh some of your little uh tips or secrets or anything else?

SPEAKER_02 55:16

I y the one thing um people ask me about all the time, do I tip my hooks with maggots? You can, I don't. Um but I think in the early in the season it might have might make a difference. I've had great luck with not having to tip my hooks with anything. But um go out with a friend or family and have fun and have a safe time. What a great thing to do. Yeah. Uh here in western Montana. That's that's my my suggestion.

SPEAKER_01 55:52

You catch a lot of these, so typically what time of day do you start? Do you go early morning or I do okay?

SPEAKER_02 55:57

I like to leave Missoula uh like 5 30 in the morning. I'm on the water fishing by 7, 7 30, and then you know we're there till noon, two o'clock in the afternoon, um in that arena, something like that.

SPEAKER_01 56:12

Back in time for a nap and then dinner. I I'm a mid-afternoon nap guy, you bet. I never used to be, but I am now. Yeah, you get a little older. Um and and as as far as uh um the boat size, uh, you know, just remember on Flathead folks, uh, it can get a little rough. So keep an eye on the weather a little bit. If you've got a smaller boat, uh flathead will throw some stuff at you, won't it?

SPEAKER_02 56:38

That is so true. That has happened. So does that mess with your fishing with the with the uh uh with these white fish if you've got some rollers where it's going up and down or you know that's interesting because a lot of times uh just sitting in the boat, you'll have a natural uh up and down jigging motion that'll attract them. Uh but it doesn't seem to affect the bite. Um but being safe on the water, I have been in my bathtub of flat bottom boat that I used to have, and looking at what was coming across Flathead Lake racing for sure. So that's a good point, Don Rigger, to uh keep your head on a swivel to be safe um while you're on Flathead Lake, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 57:23

Last question on these, do they will they follow your your lure up? Let's say you're you're bringing it up, you want to move. I mean, uh are they like a like a little bass? You know, we they have those great smallmouth bass fishing on Flathead. Oh, yeah. Those bass, they'll they'll bite it right before you pull it out of the water. Nope. Whitefish, it's gotta be bottom near.

SPEAKER_02 57:45

They are bottom feeders. That's and they don't seem to chase. You might hear of the rare time that they really chase them. Lake trout will chase your lure up. Whitefish, they stick in that one to three, maybe five foot depth from the bottom. But when you're fishing for them, we're fishing on the bottom.

SPEAKER_01 58:06

And they're they're gonna usually grab it on the drop or when you're bringing it up. Chicken up.

SPEAKER_02 58:12

That's when you're gonna get them.

SPEAKER_01 58:13

You bet.

SPEAKER_02 58:14

All right, that's pure fun.

SPEAKER_01 58:15

Perfect. Uh, great tips, great information uh from the whitefish whisperer, Ross Tate. Ross, thank you so much for joining us. And uh I hope you come back again and get us some pictures. And those of you out there, send me your pictures because I I want to see what you've done uh after watching this podcast. I want to see how you've done and and how you did it. So get out there and have some fun. Of course, be safe out there, be good to each other, and we'll see you next time on the Montana Outdoor Podcast.

SPEAKER_00 58:47

Thanks for watching the Montana Outdoor Podcast. You know there's no way we could do this podcast without the incredible support of sponsors like Superior Hardwoods of Montana, home of the largest selection of in-stock, high-end wood products and flooring in the western United States. Let them guide you through the woods at superior-hardwoods.com. And of course, Rocky Mountain Truck and Trailer in Missoula, home of both snow plows and accessories, and Diamond C trailers and accessories. Go see them on the web at rmt.com. We'd love to hear what you thought of this week's podcast. When you get a minute or two, shoot us an email and tell us your thoughts. Same goes if you have any questions for rigor or this week's guest. Just send your questions or comments to downrigger at montanaoutdoor.com. Hey, don't forget we should be dropping a new podcast this next Saturday. Until then, gang, we hope to see you soon out in Montana's great outdoors.