An Unexpected Treasure: The European Whitefish

The moment the ice melts, often in early April, shallow sandy flats host the least known salmonid

species in the baltic. Whitefish, like bonefish, seek clear sandy bottoms where they

can hoover up bottom dwelling worms. This behaviour is what we take advantage of.

The first warm and sunny morning of April I will often make my first attempt at a whitefish,

seeing as they seem to be the most active when the weather is amazing. Nothing beats

zooming out to my favorite beach at first light, turning off the engine and silently gliding in

towards the waiting island. I set up to 10 rods with slip sinker rigs and worms and cast out into

the channel. As the sun rises I set up a fire and enjoy the moment.

Whitefish tend to move in schools, and once I see the line on one rod start twitching I know

there is going to be chaos. Three rods go off at once and two of the fish have swum across each

other's line. I fight the first fish to the shore, drop the rod and manage to drag in the two

remaining fish in one big ball of line and seaweed. I could not be happier.

One more fish comes through while I am sorting out the previous mess, and completes a perfect

first morning targeting whitefish. As the sun rises the fish retreat to deeper waters and I usually

switch to pike. Whitefish are in my opinion the most amazing table fare you will ever experience,

and these fish are most definitely going into the smoker. Life if good.