My cousin Chris, our buddy Rick, and I went up to Door County to experience the whitefish fishery through the ice. We hired guide Jimmy Doering from Cast and Catch Charters who picked us up at the launch and took us to his permanent shacks. None of us are very experienced at ice fishing, but the concept was fairly simple. Drop a slider rig to the bottom in 80 feet and figure out a jigging method to entice bites. In the morning the fish would only hit with very small lifts and pauses, but later in the morning the only way to get bit was a hard aggressive cadence to get a reaction strike. We learned a bunch and for the first time in my life, I really enjoyed ice fishing. Of course, all I literally had to do was show up and have a few drinks and snacks for the day. The shack was so warm you could fish in a t-shirt or shorts. I did hole hop outside a little bit, but for the most part I stayed in the heat. After getting our limit we brought them over to a fish cleaning service and they fileted and vacuum sealed them. We were supposed to be back out today, but Jimmy got alerted by the Coast Guard the icebreakers were coming through to clear the ice for the shipping boats. Apparently the ice breakers can go through 16 inches of ice at 4mph. It was disappointing but not too bad considering the weather today was horrible anyways and we probably were not going to do as well as we did yesterday. Jimmy had to race out and remove all his shacks today. This year his ice fishing season was only 3 weeks due to warmer early winter weather, the broken ice shelf, and the coast guard ice breakers. I'm glad we got to try it out and definitely will do it again. Bringing up a big whitefish from 80 feet on a little ice rod is as fun as anything I do during open water!
FishinMatt
Door County Whitefish 02/28
My cousin Chris, our buddy Rick, and I went up to Door County to experience the whitefish fishery through the ice. We hired guide Jimmy Doering from Cast and Catch Charters who picked us up at the launch and took us to his permanent shacks. None of us are very experienced at ice fishing, but the concept was fairly simple. Drop a slider rig to the bottom in 80 feet and figure out a jigging method to entice bites. In the morning the fish would only hit with very small lifts and pauses, but later in the morning the only way to get bit was a hard aggressive cadence to get a reaction strike. We learned a bunch and for the first time in my life, I really enjoyed ice fishing. Of course, all I literally had to do was show up and have a few drinks and snacks for the day. The shack was so warm you could fish in a t-shirt or shorts. I did hole hop outside a little bit, but for the most part I stayed in the heat. After getting our limit we brought them over to a fish cleaning service and they fileted and vacuum sealed them. We were supposed to be back out today, but Jimmy got alerted by the Coast Guard the icebreakers were coming through to clear the ice for the shipping boats. Apparently the ice breakers can go through 16 inches of ice at 4mph. It was disappointing but not too bad considering the weather today was horrible anyways and we probably were not going to do as well as we did yesterday. Jimmy had to race out and remove all his shacks today. This year his ice fishing season was only 3 weeks due to warmer early winter weather, the broken ice shelf, and the coast guard ice breakers. I'm glad we got to try it out and definitely will do it again. Bringing up a big whitefish from 80 feet on a little ice rod is as fun as anything I do during open water!
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My crew paid $100 each plus tip per half day, we did two half days out of Egg Harbor, full day would have been $180. Two heated shacks with all gear and transport included, guides fished with us and took care of handling all the fish, made it as easy as possible. Our guides were Paul and Brent with Late-Eyes Sport Fishing, highly recommended.
Semi-guided trip was $125 per person. That includes a ride out to the shack and back on a UTV, heated permanent shack, holes drilled, and the rods/lures/bait. The guide(s) would get you started with the jigging techniques, and then periodically check in with you throughout the day as they pop their heads in on their fleet of shacks. Some provide a hot lunch as well. Some include fish finders, some don't.
I still have no desire to buy my own stuff or freeze over a hole for some panfish. However, I would do a destination trip like this again for sure. On a better note, a pond out by me opened up yesterday. No monsters, but the jig and gulp fooled a few....coyote said:
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Looks like your Hooked on Ice Fishing Matt, Man that looks like fun, Guide sure seemed to take care of anything
My daughter was off school last Friday, so we made 1 more last minute trip up to Sturgeon Bay. We were Big Brute's only clients that day, so he dragged out a shack to deeper water, away from the crowds, while he watched ice conditions. Luckily, the ice actually improved while we were out, even though it was a sunny 40F+. He fished along with us and we easily limited out. My daughter caught the best fish yet, fishing by herself 50 yards from the shack.
![Big Whitefish.jpg]( "Big Whitefish.jpg")
It got too hot in the shack and the bite died down, so she sat on a cooler outside for a while. Next thing you know, she has that monster and 6 others.
Great day out. Can't wait til next year.
![Whitefish 030521.jpg]( "Whitefish 030521.jpg")
It got too hot in the shack and the bite died down, so she sat on a cooler outside for a while. Next thing you know, she has that monster and 6 others.
Great day out. Can't wait til next year.
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Looks like it was a cool trip, so to speak. I sold all my ice gear years ago and haven't regretted it.
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havent logged in a while, this is a very good read including the fish cleaning service and recipe recommendation. Ive eaten a lot of whitefish if prepared correctly its a nice light flaky fish.
Thanks, I was wondering about the skin. We were planning on deep frying some as well, so I suppose we will have to thaw them and skin them for that purpose.
Lindahl de-scales and leaves the skin on, but it can have a stronger flavor I don't love when cooked in a pan.
So my favorite way to prepare them is on the grill, skin side down, with salt, pepper and lemon (thinly sliced and placed all over the filets). It only takes about five minutes to cook, and I use a spatula to lift the meat off the roasted skin, which my dogs eagerly wait for.
So my favorite way to prepare them is on the grill, skin side down, with salt, pepper and lemon (thinly sliced and placed all over the filets). It only takes about five minutes to cook, and I use a spatula to lift the meat off the roasted skin, which my dogs eagerly wait for.
I only made 1 batch so far. Oven backed with just butter, garlic, paprika, salt and pepper. A little lemon squeezed over the top at the end. My buddy smoked some and said it was delicious.
Lindahls was a great resource. $2.50 per fish to fillet, remove pin bones and vacuum seal, all while you wait. I'll pay that any day. I cooked some up last night. They were pretty tasty.
I just did almost the exact same trip this past weekend!
We were further north near Sister Bay, and stayed in my buddy's cabin near there. We did two half days, five of us in two sheds but rotated between them to mix things up, long drive to the fish processor near Sturgeon Bay (Lindahl's) but not touching a knife and vacuum packaging is worth it.
It's an incredible fishery, I think there are more whitefish there than walleye in Lake Erie (where our guide goes to catch walleye for fun). Not something I will do frequently but this was our third year in a row and we are already talking about next year.
We were further north near Sister Bay, and stayed in my buddy's cabin near there. We did two half days, five of us in two sheds but rotated between them to mix things up, long drive to the fish processor near Sturgeon Bay (Lindahl's) but not touching a knife and vacuum packaging is worth it.
It's an incredible fishery, I think there are more whitefish there than walleye in Lake Erie (where our guide goes to catch walleye for fun). Not something I will do frequently but this was our third year in a row and we are already talking about next year.
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