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By Louie Stout

Dustin Meeter with State Record WhitefishDustin Meeter with State Record Whitefish

Another state record whitefish caught from Lake Michigan is a pretty good indication those delectable native fish may be coming back on the south end of the lake.

The Indiana record has been broken five times in six years, with the most recent occurring April 13 by a Crown Point angler fishing near Burns Harbor.

Dustin Meeter broke the record last month by nearly a half pound with a 6-pound, 3-ounce fish that erased the record set last year. He was jigging for lake trout at the time.

Lake Michigan biologist Brian Breidert said there hasn’t been any whitefish population studies conducted on the south end of the lake, but the surge in angler catches is an indication the population is on an upswing.

“It could be we are seeing more caught because more people are fishing for them as more anglers are figuring out how to catch them,” he added. “They also are a very good eating fish.”

Breidert also noted that whitefish are bottom feeders with small mouths; hence they are taking advantage of the growing population of small gobies, an exotic forage fish that invaded the Great Lakes via the shipping industry a few decades ago.

“The whitefish population seems to be fairly young since most of the fish being caught down here are 3 to 5 pounds,” Breidert said. “We have one on the wall (at his Michigan City office) that weighed 12-9, but that was caught back in the 1990s. We suspect the record will be broken again next year as these fish continue to grow.”

Lake Whitefish are native to the Great Lakes although catches have been rare on this end of the lake until the past few years.

They are heavily sought by commercial fishermen in the northern sections of Lake Michigan and are extremely popular in Wisconsin waters. There is no commercial fishing in Indiana.

“We don’t think our population is large enough to allow commercial fishing,” Breidert said. “We want to maintain what we can.”

The fish, also known as a “humpback,” is related to the salmon family although not as revered as salmon or trout cousins. But they are considered popular table fare. Unlike salmon, they have a mild, sweet flesh that is good smoked, fried or pickled.

The best fishing occurs near shore in spring and again in the fall, the latter of which is when they spawn. They are a cool-water fish, following gobies as they move close to shore when lake water temperatures approach the 50s. Once the water warms much above that, they move back out to deeper water.

Some anglers fish for them with a small piece of nightcrawler, a single salmon egg or other small natural baits, close to the bottom.

Several get caught by anglers fishing jigging spoons or spinner rigs for lake trout, Breidert said.

Meeter caught his first-ever whitefish in the same spot last year while jigging for lakers and said last year’s fish may have been bigger than the record he caught recently. He filleted and ate that fish before a friend pointed out it might have been a state record.

Breidert said the bag limit is 12 per person and that best fishing is around marinas and breakwaters in early spring and in fall when the fish move in.