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Vertical Jigging for Huge Whitefish | Fish'n Canada
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Apr 1, 2025
Pete Bowman and Mike Miller hit one of the best Whitefish waters in the world and deep jig spoons and Shoal Diggers for these denizens of the deep. ► Subscribe http://bit.ly/youtube-fishncanada Don't forget to leave a COMMENT and give us a LIKE if you enjoyed what you saw. SUBSCRIBE for new videos and episodes released weekly! CONNECT WITH US -------------------------------- ► WEBSITE http://fishncanada.com ► FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/FishnCanada/ ► INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/fishncanada... ► TWITTER https://twitter.com/angeloviolafnc/ One of Canada's longest-running fishing shows, Fish'n Canada travels from coast to coast in search of trophy fishing opportunities. First started by brothers Angelo and Reno Viola in 1986, The Fish’n Canada Show has been on the air for over 30 years. Today, Angelo is joined by lifelong fishing buddy, Peter Bowman, and the pair continue to travel across Canada educating anglers using the experience they’ve gained over the years
View Video Transcript
0:01
[Music]
0:15
section read and cast you're alive come
0:19
on let's go fishing
0:20
[Music]
0:25
River Creek let it go stream and
0:29
everywhere in between
0:32
come on let's go fishin
0:35
the fishing Canada show is brought to
0:38
you in part by Coleman the outdoor
0:41
company must call serious bug
0:44
protections Princecraft votes the more
0:47
you know that better we looked and
0:51
mercury number one on the water
0:55
[Music]
1:06
[Applause]
1:09
[Music]
1:14
the white fish is very much a
1:17
misunderstood fish the fact that it's a
1:20
bottom-feeder and it lives in the deep
1:21
dark reaches of cold Canadian lakes
1:23
shouldn't be a strike against it and I
1:25
think that after watching today's
1:27
episode your eyes will be opened up just
1:29
like ours were Pete and I kept hearing
1:32
about the amazing white fish angling
1:34
opportunities across their country so we
1:37
decided to take a shot of them for
1:39
ourselves and we didn't have to travel
1:40
far since some of the biggest Whitey's
1:43
are within an hour's drive of our studio
1:45
we're heading out the beautiful lake
1:47
simcoe one of the best producers a big
1:49
white fish in the world that's right the
1:51
same Lake that produces giant small
1:53
mouths as well as a whole array of other
1:54
species lake simcoe are simply simcoe as
1:57
its referred to by locals could be
1:59
called Canada's best all-around producer
2:00
of trophy fish from perch and crappie to
2:03
smallmouth and largemouth to lake trout
2:05
Pike walleye and of course whitefish
2:07
Simcoe is the real deal fishing for
2:11
simcoe's whities isn't rocket science
2:13
however it's not child's play either
2:15
where is my fish feel lovely coming up
2:18
for you
2:19
yep already but it takes some getting
2:21
used to the subtle nudge of a whitefish
2:23
taking a bait is a feeling all its own a
2:28
perfect little fish tank
2:30
Tony Steinfeld of lightning series lures
2:33
what's on the water today with us he
2:35
gave us a bait that he had designed
2:36
that's deadly on white fish it's called
2:38
a shoal digger what do you got there for
2:42
him you tell me about that thing well
2:43
this is a this is called the shoal
2:45
digger and basically what it is it's a
2:47
it's a weight forward 1/2 ounce jig head
2:50
and basically it's imitating a minnow
2:53
and what it does it hangs nose down like
2:55
so and all you're doing is very gently
2:57
lifting dropping like this so it looks
3:00
like it's feeding on the bottom oh yes
3:01
yeah and it's it's been just dynamite
3:04
for white fish lake trout and you've got
3:07
them in one weight only in half ounce
3:09
yes you really don't need much more than
3:12
half ounce you can feel bottom no
3:14
problem in 85 feet of water right and
3:16
what made you come up with that design
3:17
it was just there's some other baits
3:22
that were on the market and they didn't
3:24
have the proper sizes and I just started
3:26
playing around
3:27
manufacture a bunch of different lures
3:28
and I just went ahead and designed this
3:31
and it actually turned out very well
3:34
yeah the problem I have with the spoon
3:36
is a lot of times if I flutter and jig
3:37
it it'll hook its line hook itself and
3:40
end up kind of like this and it becomes
3:43
ineffective
3:44
whereas Lowe's I didn't have a problem
3:45
at all no I can't get bid on this stupid
3:48
thing but so I've got to practice up
3:51
with my technique I think after you
3:52
showed me that thing bounce on the
3:54
bottom head down like that I kind of and
3:56
now I see what you're talking about but
3:58
so yeah lightning series lures check
4:00
them out and you're gonna see Tony here
4:03
probably catch a few fish he's giving us
4:05
a clinic so we decided to pull over and
4:07
talk to him and steal some of his baits
4:10
electronics play an integral part of
4:12
this type of fishing since the water is
4:13
so deep you need to stay directly above
4:15
your lure by watching and fishing for a
4:17
single fish or a group of fish on your
4:19
electronics it will up your odds
4:21
tremendously all I'm looking for here
4:23
you just see right here there's a blue
4:24
line I think it's blue blue or gray
4:27
above the red and yellow and that's a
4:30
fish sit right on the bottom no one
4:32
there's a fish on the graph underneath
4:33
you just gives you that much more
4:35
confidence and then of course lets you
4:41
know that there's fish there no no I got
4:51
my drank set moderately tight and when I
4:55
that fish bit I lifted into him he
4:57
pulled my drag and I still didn't want a
5:00
hawk to him it just goes to show ya no
5:05
guarantees they're going up to a little
5:09
break rise right now Mikey just a little
5:11
that's probably a single fish down there
5:13
and other times you can just lift like
5:15
that and catch one oh my god I got him
5:21
I knew that was there the first time
5:23
couldn't get them stop paying attention
5:26
Pete just did the old rope-a-dope
5:28
rope-a-dope jigs it allows things were
5:31
not sufficient I think this here they're
5:36
unbelievable are just talking about how
5:38
Nick and jig and work a fish that you
5:41
see on your graph and when the fight
5:43
happens you're you're anticipating it so
5:46
much that you actually miss them or you
5:47
hit him and he doesn't get hooked
5:49
we're just Dorking around jiggling it Oh
5:52
Freddie drilled it well that's a good
5:55
one look at him down there right here oh
5:56
yeah
5:58
[Music]
6:04
that's a battery it's got some air to
6:06
the belly of 800 I'm gonna watch my
6:17
spooning a mover or the later
6:20
just a little chunker rock look at the
6:23
slime coming up oh yeah he's dripping
6:25
him back but he got two feet oh there he
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goes
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you got slimed good rock god they're
6:32
slimy they must have a little sharp edge
6:34
on him he cut me open
6:38
see tit for tat I gave him a little cut
6:40
he gave me one we get it any but you
6:45
know I have 80 feet of water I got to
6:48
underneath to do it but oh this might
6:50
feel real heavy man Wow
6:58
know what I'm gonna keep digging until
6:59
you might have me a Laker way just think
7:05
dig and look at this thing
7:06
yeah great under the boat soon as I sell
7:13
them on the boat yeah I see one this
7:15
fish it was just stuff a little blue
7:18
chains off of their red line on the
7:20
bottom I didn't feel but oh this is a
7:22
good one I'm gonna get close oh wow this
7:25
feels heavy oh there it is that for you
7:28
in a bubble
7:31
good yeah Michael nice gold-diggin spoon
7:38
sometimes you just got to rile them up
7:40
and got pins and where's the pliers
7:42
buddy right under my feet get it oh he's
7:49
off perfect
7:50
this is a good DJ is like a big tearing
7:53
not bad little white fish that's great
7:56
that's why he's not clipped uh-huh
7:58
that's a reproducing fish I wonder how
8:02
many are in this Lake a yeah somebody
8:05
funny the way they sort of just sit
8:07
there for a minute then take a few times
8:09
to go down yeah you gotta get them back
8:11
quick I'm gonna release him you gotta
8:12
come back fast that's the that's the
8:14
only bad part we'll kick your way fish
8:16
is that right there's slimy buggers
8:19
[Music]
8:23
the two baits we're using today requires
8:26
slightly different presentations with
8:28
the shoal digger a subtle jigging action
8:30
near the bottom is required and with a
8:32
jigging spoon a quick poll to impart
8:34
some flash is usually what it takes you
8:36
have to be careful with both of these
8:38
baits those if you lift too hard you
8:39
might snag fish and those fish have to
8:42
be let go if they seem like such an
8:44
obscure little slimy fish these
8:46
whitefish but I leave they're pretty
8:48
popular PD there's gonna be look at that
8:51
I gotta save 30 bolts right there in the
8:54
one spot yeah it's a good alternative to
8:56
fish through May and June if you're not
8:58
a walleye fisherman close to Toronto and
9:02
they're good smoked oh yeah water
9:06
temperatures to give you an idea 64 on
9:08
the knowit right here so it's a big flat
9:11
bottom with eighty eighty point six feet
9:14
right here then work their way down but
9:16
three four weeks ago you in the catch
9:18
them at fifty or sixty seemed to
9:20
progressively move out a little bit
9:21
deeper a little bit deeper at least go
9:22
on so just gonna keep that in mind for
9:25
the summer but everybody's well into
9:26
basses and these guys fish these white
9:28
fish on Simcoe and well into July the
9:32
Lake Simcoe population of white fish is
9:33
quite unique and has a lot of history
9:35
local angler and M&R extension services
9:37
technician will Wegman tells all about
9:39
this very different fish species you
9:42
know a lot of people are wondering if
9:43
there are different species of white
9:44
fish in Lake Simcoe basically there is
9:46
just the one it's the lake whitefish
9:48
this one species of fish does have
9:51
various hues so sometimes you see them
9:53
with different colors sometimes you'll
9:55
actually see humpbacks with this feature
9:57
prominent in the individual but the
10:00
bottom line is they're still all lake
10:02
whitefish you know we've been stalking
10:04
whitefish and lake simple for a really
10:06
long time now and even earlier
10:07
government stock whitefish into Lake
10:09
Simcoe
10:10
but the modern-day whitefish stocking
10:12
has probably been around since 1992
10:16
where we stock a hundred and forty
10:18
thousand whitefish every year into Lake
10:20
Simcoe
10:20
and these white fish are at Lake Simcoe
10:22
stock
10:23
[Music]
10:24
these fish are released every year
10:27
140,000 of them into the lake and the
10:30
great news is that over the last four or
10:32
five years we're beginning to see signs
10:35
that white fish are indeed coming back
10:37
natural reproduction is taking place and
10:39
you know anglers are catching smaller
10:42
white fish with no clips on them which
10:44
indicates they're a wild fish and it's
10:47
all great news for the fishery it's the
10:49
only fish I could appreciate the smell
10:52
of the slime that's like that salad a
10:55
little bit of Reds dressing you got
10:57
yourself cucumber sipping Lake Simcoe
11:00
has some monster white fish and the
11:02
biggest one that was ever caught was
11:04
just over 14 pounds in the late 1990s
11:07
and interestingly enough the biggest
11:10
white fish ever caught in the world was
11:12
caught right here in Ontario 1477 it
11:16
weighed pounds a monster white fish that
11:19
was caught right in Georgian Bay you
11:21
know one of the great things about Lake
11:22
Simcoe is that the Coldwater fishery is
11:24
starting to rebound you've got some
11:26
white fish showing up that are natural
11:28
you've got some lake trout that are
11:29
showing up that are natural and the
11:31
other cold water species that a lot of
11:33
people may have forgotten about are the
11:34
Cisco or the lake herring these fish are
11:37
starting to reproduce again in Lake
11:38
Simcoe and that's great news for the
11:41
time being though what we've done is
11:42
we've closed the Cisco season or the
11:44
herring season so that you cannot keep
11:46
any of them until a population
11:48
reestablishes so anglers need to know
11:51
that they they may catch the odd Cisco
11:54
out there but they have to be able to
11:55
properly identify it and tell the
11:57
difference between that and a whitefish
11:59
we put together an identification
12:02
program we've got both little cards
12:04
wallet size cards that show the
12:06
difference and tell people how to
12:07
distinguish between the two species and
12:10
we've got full-size posters we're trying
12:11
to get these posters and all the fish
12:13
shots all the commercial huts and even
12:15
offering the posters free for those
12:16
individuals that want to put them in the
12:18
hot and it basically it focuses on the
12:21
mouth of the fish and the white fish
12:23
that has that underslung mouth and the
12:25
Cisco or the Lake herring that has that
12:27
pointed mode and that is the key
12:29
distinguishing characteristic but the
12:31
posters and the wall
12:32
besides cards just make it that much
12:33
easier so become involved and feel that
12:37
you have a stake in the future of that
12:38
fishery the beauty of fish in the lake
12:41
lake simcoe is even though you're
12:42
fishing from one species there's a good
12:44
chance you're gonna hook into one of the
12:45
many other species that lives in this
12:46
huge body of water when you're fishing
12:48
for white fish there's a good chance
12:49
you're gonna catch a Laker to hang out
12:51
don't forget oh boy that's a Laker than
13:00
that great it's funny - the anticipation
13:10
is a huge able to get a big first of
13:12
using a place get your feet on a
13:15
screaming rod on my arms burning bro
13:20
Spicer whitey
13:21
it's a Laker in it oh yes are we
13:25
gonna burping oh there we go he's gonna
13:28
run it's a long skinny leg I can't
13:32
believe this Vegas doing this to me
13:38
it's not like I got my drag loose their
13:40
hands I see in the Adelman back up and
13:43
scoop them on this bad
13:47
it'll be talked about okay here he comes
13:54
buddy here he comes here comes my god
13:59
that's a heavy fish waiting wow I've
14:02
never cut me no Laker like that out here
14:07
where's your glove
14:09
oh you notice slimy look at nice like a
14:12
biker right
14:12
he's clip see these missing a fin back
14:14
here by the tail Gary there so that's
14:18
the stalker
14:18
that's the full-size man in a small
14:21
little brother 40 minutes north of
14:24
Toronto right underneath the boat oh
14:33
he's coming back up
14:34
because nobody wants to go there he goes
14:39
look it up let's escape across the
14:41
surface there that was pretty awesome
14:45
if you really want to take advantage of
14:47
fishing deep water like we're on today
14:48
using the braided line through a carbon
14:50
or a combination of both
14:52
they're like I'm stretch on such a long
14:54
line will help you feel the bites and
14:55
set the hook do you want under my boat
14:57
right now but I think it a nice big one
15:02
right underneath the boat right now
15:03
while you're gonna catch it is great you
15:09
look around you think what are these
15:11
guys on fishing for out here in the
15:13
middle of nowhere
15:16
that's a good fish Laker little lake
15:20
trout just like I said kiss the other
15:26
nothing wrong with that so here you old
15:29
old digger catches more than just weight
15:32
fish
15:38
pretty awesome though ap absolute I mean
15:42
out in the middle of nowhere yeah and
15:45
it's you know you got a lot of guys go
15:47
to way up north to catch fish like this
15:50
lake trout whitefish man simples
15:53
jam-packed look at all these boats every
15:55
boat over there's gonna most of the fish
16:02
lake trout and white fish aren't
16:03
naturally reproducing the lake simcoe
16:05
they're stocked
16:07
every year and there is a population
16:10
that do reproduce but as you notice some
16:13
of the fish we catch will have a fin
16:15
clip which means they're stocked the
16:19
good thing about this is you do get the
16:22
bolt by the odd bonus lake trout when
16:23
you're digging freeze whitefish you'll
16:26
see a lot of guys are told with
16:27
downriggers and stuff you're especially
16:28
looking for it for our Lakers and you
16:30
can see on the graph 40 50 feet down big
16:33
hooks those are probably lake trout but
16:35
like I said you got time you do you hook
16:37
into one with this late tackle and it's
16:39
a wicked fight you got one there got him
16:45
oh you dirtbag on the spoon oh I brought
16:50
a bag full of a stroll dig three weeks
16:53
ago a month ago for smallmouth I sort of
16:57
got it oh wow
16:59
see that big pump oh lordy 20 pound Lake
17:03
good month you got yourself another 20
17:05
pound whitey free shipping we get up to
17:06
18 pounds in here above it okay I'll
17:08
just be your trolling motor man okay
17:10
team economy mode name oh my God look at
17:13
that down there the amount of white fish
17:15
species is quite astounding there's no
17:17
common lake atlantic round mountain
17:21
pygmy and broad white fish that's a lot
17:24
of white fish hey Bill Hey
17:31
yeah well shot him that's a good one
17:36
beautiful
17:37
Lucas bad you don't drive it down there
17:39
10 12 feet and that guy had a
17:41
goldendoodle she's glad you don't set
17:42
although whitefish span the country and
17:45
geographical dispersion the fishing
17:47
tactics used for them are pretty much
17:49
the same it's like being attacked they
17:51
just feel a sticky thing yeah because
17:53
the species generally feeds in the
17:55
bottom it means that you as an angler
17:57
don't have to worry too much about the
17:59
rest of the water code so by sticking
18:01
anywhere from right on the bottom to
18:03
five or six feet off the bottom you'll
18:05
do well at catching whitefish you'll see
18:08
we're here in 61 62 feet what happens is
18:12
this here I'll do note there's a shelf
18:15
right here
18:16
we'll fish you just off that back side
18:17
of it where it dropped into 80 feet of
18:19
water as far as whitefish side goes
18:22
while that depends on the species to
18:25
date the biggest white fish caught in
18:26
Ontario is 14.7 pounds I truly believe
18:30
that record want me to get the net yeah
18:34
the minitor sure yeah were you digging
18:36
that or dragging it taking that but very
18:38
just barely popping off the bottom there
18:40
he is what do you got
18:41
I don't know yep look at that thing down
18:43
there sneaking around big wave that's a
18:47
white fish nice wait we get the net yeah
18:50
that's a beauty
18:52
look at that thing I know gorgeous
18:54
looking fish I think a big fish that's a
18:57
big white fish brother God look at the
19:01
size of this thing
19:02
Eenie I got Flyers here I kept up Lily
19:06
oh yeah that's the biggest way to fish
19:07
I've ever seen hole up nice and high
19:10
pretty cool little fish don't bring up
19:13
like you just slimy always gonna slam
19:14
you
19:20
that matter yeah boogie is here yeah get
19:28
her heat out there she goes he she come
19:31
on buddy that's a big white what I
19:34
would like to weigh that come here and
19:36
why there go fishin Canada hot spot the
19:41
ultimate fishing guide presents getting
19:44
there
19:46
today's hot spot is the edge of a deep
19:48
flat on Lake Simcoe whitefish travel
19:51
this area during the warming weather of
19:53
late spring to early summer vertical jig
19:55
either a shoal digger or a heavy jigging
19:57
spoon making sure you've hit the bottom
19:59
you will either hit fish on the pull
20:01
upwards or feel the fish barely biting
20:03
as the jig sits on the bottom add a bit
20:05
of scent for some extra insurance for
20:08
more hot spots like this one check out
20:10
our website to get to today's great
20:14
white fish destination we took Lake
20:16
Ridge Road north from highway 2 we then
20:18
turn left on highway 48 heading west and
20:21
then turn north on regional Road 18 from
20:23
there it's a short drive to the Civil
20:25
Point Provincial Park front gates
20:27
there's a park feed enter but that gives
20:30
you access to a great boat launch and
20:31
parking visit fishing canada.com for
20:35
more details
20:38
fish in Canada was brought to you in
20:40
part by the rocket fishing rod my
20:45
outdoor tv.com outdoor television on the
20:48
Internet Sterns the lifejacket experts
20:53
and radio world dot PA closed captioning
21:00
provided by Ontario tourism go fish
21:04
in Ontario comm for more fish in Canada
21:12
visit fishing canada.com
21:16
[Music]
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