12-02-2003, 06:28 PM
You're right there are two types of whitefish in the Bear. The Bonneville are the ones that spawn now. They grow large (state record is over 4 lbs.) and they readily eat fish for their diet once they reach adult size. The other whitefish is the Bear Lake whitefish. These fish spawn in late February or March and rarely reach 9", therefore they are not really sought after by fishermen to eat. They can be caught on small "ice flies" but most people might snag one while fishing for cisco. Remember all foul-hooked whitefish must be released (unlike the cisco) or you can get a pricey ticket. It is difficult to tell the two species apart outside of the spawning times or when they are juveniles. We have to subsample our whitefish catch of fish less than about 10 inches and then count scales both above and along the lateral line to separate the two species at the small sizes.
I'm sure both species use the "rockpile" for spawning, as does the cisco. However, when the lake is at higher elevations and more rock in in the water then the Bonneville will use the rocky shorelines. Bear Lake whitefish spawn in the rocky depths off Cisco Beach and the Rockpile. There is some evidence that both species may also use shell-substrate or even weed beds to spawn over. A grad student at USU will be working to more definitively answer these questions the next two years.
[signature]
I'm sure both species use the "rockpile" for spawning, as does the cisco. However, when the lake is at higher elevations and more rock in in the water then the Bonneville will use the rocky shorelines. Bear Lake whitefish spawn in the rocky depths off Cisco Beach and the Rockpile. There is some evidence that both species may also use shell-substrate or even weed beds to spawn over. A grad student at USU will be working to more definitively answer these questions the next two years.
[signature]