I heard from a fishing buddy that there are whitefish in Pelican Lake, but I’ve never caught any. Have you guys ever caught any there? If not, are there any other lakes in the Detroit Lakes area that have whitefish in them?
I heard from a fishing buddy that there are whitefish in Pelican Lake, but I’ve never caught any. Have you guys ever caught any there? If not, are there any other lakes in the Detroit Lakes area that have whitefish in them?
There’s no whitefish in Peli. You’re buddy is surely talking about tullibee, and people mix those up all the time. There’s a whole pile of lakes in the Vergas area that have a fishable population of tullibee.
If you’re looking for actual whitefish, the closest options that come to mind are Leech or the Whitefish Chain.
x2 on what tswoboda said.
Star Lake in the DL area has a Good population of Tullibee. To be honest I cant even tell the difference between Tullibee and white fish. I normally just think of white fish as larger Tullibee. All I know is they both are yummy smoked. When I was young ( Along time ago ) we could bring brined fish into Morey’s in Motley and they would smoke them for us. We use to take in 100’s of them at a time. Smoked fish freezes real well and we’d still be eating them in July or Aug. some years. A buddy had a dedicated freezer in his Garage just for freezing smoked fish.
Thanks for the info, guys.
Star Lake in the DL area has a Good population of Tullibee. To be honest I cant even tell the difference between Tullibee and white fish. I normally just think of white fish as larger Tullibee. All I know is they both are yummy smoked. When I was young ( Along time ago ) we could bring brined fish into Morey’s in Motley and they would smoke them for us. We use to take in 100’s of them at a time. Smoked fish freezes real well and we’d still be eating them in July or Aug. some years. A buddy had a dedicated freezer in his Garage just for freezing smoked fish.
I might try out Star, thanks!
To be honest I cant even tell the difference between Tullibee and white fish. I normally just think of white fish as larger Tullibee. All I know is they both are yummy smoked.
Fry, bake, or grill a fillet of each and you’ll know the difference real quick. Whitefish (fresh, never frozen) are one of -if not the- best eating fish in our waters. I think it’s ridiculous that most people smoke them for the simple reason that they look like a tullibee.
Most fish taste fine smoked, but smoking whitefish is a waste IMO.
PSA: Don’t smoke whities.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>fishthumper wrote:</div>
To be honest I cant even tell the difference between Tullibee and white fish. I normally just think of white fish as larger Tullibee. All I know is they both are yummy smoked.Fry, bake, or grill a fillet of each and you’ll know the difference real quick. Whitefish (fresh, never frozen) are one of -if not the- best eating fish in our waters. I think it’s ridiculous that most people smoke them for the simple reason that they look like a tullibee.
Most fish taste fine smoked, but smoking whitefish is a waste IMO.
PSA: Don’t smoke whities.
Aren’t cisco, Tullibee, and whitefish all in the same family of fish? I thought that one was just a larger version of the other. What is the easiest way to tell the difference between a Big Tullibee and a smaller whitefish? – Other than to fry, Bake , or grill it to find out 
Aren’t cisco, Tullibee, and whitefish all in the same family of fish? I thought that one was just a larger version of the other. What is the easiest way to tell the difference between a Big Tullibee and a smaller whitefish? – Other than to fry, Bake , or grill it to find out
Same family, yes. Same genus actually. But they are different species, just like a walleye and sauger are different species. Just like smallmouth bass and largemouth bass are different species. Just like northern pike and muskie are different species. Common Cisco and Tullibee are in fact the same species. Lake Whitefish are a different species altogether. They’re not hard to differentiate, they have very different mouths.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>fishthumper wrote:</div>
Aren’t cisco, Tullibee, and whitefish all in the same family of fish? I thought that one was just a larger version of the other. What is the easiest way to tell the difference between a Big Tullibee and a smaller whitefish? – Other than to fry, Bake , or grill it to find outSame family, yes. Same genus actually. But they are different species, just like a <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>walleye and sauger are different species. Just like smallmouth bass and largemouth <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>bass are different species. Just like northern pike and muskie are different species. Common Cisco and Tullibee are in fact the same species. Lake Whitefish are a different species altogether. They’re not hard to differentiate, they have very different mouths.
I seem to remember it comes down to what Jaw is longer. The upper or lower. I believe that on whitefish the upper Jaw overhangs the lower. Or it may be the other way. Its been a fair amount of years since I’ve fished for them. Each year we catch a few while Walleye fishing in Canada. I believe these are all Whitefish because of their size. 5-6 Lbs. They are a Great fighting fish. I may have to keep one and Fry it up on our next Canadian trip
If I remember correctly, it has been a while since I have fished on a lake with both, the Tullie/Cisco mouth is turned down like that of a sucker. Not as extreme of course, but the mouth is more downward facing that that of a whitefish. The whitefish has a jaw/mouth that opens more similar to most other gamefish without the down turn.
If I remember correctly, it has been a while since I have fished on a lake with both, the Tullie/Cisco mouth is turned down like that of a sucker. Not as extreme of course, but the mouth is more downward facing that that of a whitefish. The whitefish has a jaw/mouth that opens more similar to most other gamefish without the down turn.
The opposite of this, pictures help tell the difference.
https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/areas/fisheries/baudette/whitefish.html
Fry, bake, or grill a fillet of each and you’ll know the difference real quick. Whitefish (fresh, never frozen) are one of -if not the- best eating fish in our waters. I think it’s ridiculous that most people smoke them for the simple reason that they look like a tullibee.
Most fish taste fine smoked, but smoking whitefish is a waste IMO.
PSA: Don’t smoke whities.
100% agree, lake whitefish is super delicious and an automatic order for me when it’s on a north shore restaurant menu, usually baked or pan fried.
This may be a dumb question, but is there any particular way to clean or prepare whitefish for frying or baking? I’ve heard to put them on ice and not in your livewell after catching due to the oily mess they make in the well. Any truth to that?
Lastly, do they have a vented swim bladder? I know they are very deep and would hate to target them just for fun if they’ll just die after releasing.
NEVER freeze them eat them fresh or release them. They release very well as long as the gills are not touched. Fried, baked, grilled, smoked, pickled there is no wrong way to enjoy them. If you must freeze them leave the skin and scales on and smoke them but brine them for a shorter time as after they are frozen the salt seems to get into the meat more and they turn out very salty.
Whitefish- downturned ‘sucker’ like mouth. Cisco/herring/tullibee (same fish)- upturned ‘pouty’ mouth. Whitefish are better eating, but both great for smoking, frying, fish cakes, etc fresh. Whitefish bruise very easily: I’ve found that a quick thump on the head right away keeps them from flopping on the ice and ruining meat. Ciscos get a lot of worms depending on the lake they are in.
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