Burbot?

[MapleRiverSalmon]

I want all an any information I can get about ice fishing for burbot. Anything will help. I need to catch one to finish my one of every fish checklist. Thanks.

[teacup13]

i dont know where to catch them in Michigan (ontario native originally) but at home we ususally catch them sitting right on the bottom with a dead minnow, but have also caught them jigging..

as long as you stay close to the bottom, say 1 foot off bottom, u will catch one eventually

[WHITE BEAR]

I know in late winter/early spring some guys fish for them at night off the pier in Oscoda. Most of the time they use dead smelt for bait. You can pick up a few steelhead this way too. I know this because when I tried it I didn't catch any burbot but I did catch a steelhead.

[WHITE BEAR]

Oops, I just realized you said "ICE"fishing for burbot. Well, if the pier being covered with ice counts there you go.

[HunterHawk]

i heard they were catching them out of little bay denoc last year.... in very shallow water

[gamebird_guy]

Stomp on a smelt and throw it on bottom on a tip up and you will get one.

[wartfroggy]

I have fished them on Crystal in Benzie a few times. Alot of times we'll put out a tip-up while smelt fishing. Lay a smelt on bottom, cut it's belly to let off more smell. Or you can jig for them. After dark is best. Try jigging a glow buckshot or any other glow spoon. I think the rattles help attract the burbot. You can catch them in the daytime in deeper water, near the lake trout grounds. Alot of deep inland lakes have them, people just don't care much about them. Most are caught by accident. But they are great to eat, just UGLY. But they fight good and if you can find them and they are active, it is a blast. I like to bring a gaff, as they will curl up as you try to bring them up the hole. I had a nice one last winter up in the hole and I could barely budge him through. He had his tail curled up under the ice so I had to reach down and grab him by the head. You can also try Burt, Higgins, Torch, alot of deep cold lakes or most any with trout or smelt.

[kype138]

Do a search on Eel Pout Festival.
It's in Walker City, MN and it's a whole festival devoted to burbot (and beer, if you check out their pics...)

[FishingJoe]

Torch Lake - Deep Water point, on the bottom with dead smelt of nightcrawlers. Tip up or rod of you choice, anywhere from 80 to 120 fow, Night or early morning best. When you pull one up, do not drop it in your shanty, get it outside. They bleed more then a heart-shot pig. ;)

[MapleRiverSalmon]

Thanks for the help guys. I have heard torch lake and crystal had them but I am shure Higgins dous'nt. I fish it all winter long. Did manage to catch a 14" mudpuppy once though. Anyways, anymore info would be apreciated.

[MapleRiverSalmon]

Open water fishing is fine to. I just read that icefishing for them was the most productive way and I live for hard water.

[GettinBucky]

As mentioned earlier...we have caught them off the pier in Oscoda. Fished them at night with dead smelt. Mainly did that while waiting for the sun to break and then switched over for steelhead!!

[y2ba]

As wartfroggy said...take a gaff. we caught a few while fishing in minnesota a few yrs ago. Late at night, after a few beers, its a real surprise when you think you are grabbing a big ole' walleye and you reach your hand into the hole and grab ahold of a big ole' eel pout. Dang thing curled up on my arm and i thought it was attacking me! :smile-madi still catch slack from my buddies who witnessed me running out of our sleeper shanty with that thing in tow:yikes: they are ugly but they taste darn gooooooot:corkysm55

[Steffeyis]

A friend and I were out at Tim's Lake in Jackson County today fishing in about a 20 foot deep hole and there was a bunch of Burbot down there. I had my camera down a hole and everytime the gills took off, a Burbot would swim by. We always called them dogfish but got home and looked up Burbot on Google and that is what they are. So now we are going to fish for them and try eating one. Looking forward to tasting it after reading the link someone else posted here about them. Thanks for all the learning.:lol:

[BBELLINO]

I have seen them on TV, but never caught one.

Last winter, when the mouth fo the Huron River froze over we fishing behind the marina next to Point Mouillee. The place was packed, but we found a spot near the back of the marina. 3 - 4 FOW sight fishing for gills and perch.

I had a fish swim up into my hole. It was about 12" long and looked as though it was gasping. It surfaced as if it was taking a breath, then just swam away.

Based on the shape and the spots, it had to be a burbot. I know that they like deep, cold water, but I have no idea what else it could have been.

[RyGuy525]

That would be a bowfin. ALso known as a dogfish

[WHITE BEAR]

Dogfish are actually bowfin and are not burbot. They both have eel like bodies but the bowfin are more colorful where as the burbot are darker, almost colored like a cod. I believe burbot might actually be a freshwater cod.

[Big Frank 25]

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/fishing_articles/luring_the_wily_lawyer.htm

[wartfroggy]

I have seen them on TV, but never caught one.

Last winter, when the mouth fo the Huron River froze over we fishing behind the marina next to Point Mouillee. The place was packed, but we found a spot near the back of the marina. 3 - 4 FOW sight fishing for gills and perch.

I had a fish swim up into my hole. It was about 12" long and looked as though it was gasping. It surfaced as if it was taking a breath, then just swam away.

Based on the shape and the spots, it had to be a burbot. I know that they like deep, cold water, but I have no idea what else it could have been.

sounds more like a dogfish than a burbot to me. Burbot are more of a bottom fish, but dogfish will come to the surface a suck air. They can swallow air and absorb oxygen through their stomach lining, that is why you can find them in shallow stagnant water. Also, 3-4 FOW is pretty shallow to be finding burbot in a marina. Not saying it couldn't happen, but it seems more likely it was a dogfish. Burbot have a single barbel under their chin, no spot on the tail, and are more eel like in their body.

[Ralph Smith]

Easiest way to tell is the tail if you can see it. Dogfish(bowfin) have a large round tail larger than rear of body it connects to, where a burbot has a tapered rear body section with small round tail and fin along back and belly all the way to tail, like an eel,(eelpout).

[WHITE BEAR]

Never met a fish I didn't like so I think I'll try my hand at burbot fishing this winter. Is there any special way of cleaning them that I need to know about? I'll be hitting Green Lk. in Feb. for some smelt so hopefully I can get some bait that way then ice permitting go try one of the burbot holding lakes in the same trip.

[wartfroggy]

Never met a fish I didn't like so I think I'll try my hand at burbot fishing this winter. Is there any special way of cleaning them that I need to know about? I'll be hitting Green Lk. in Feb. for some smelt so hopefully I can get some bait that way then ice permitting go try one of the burbot holding lakes in the same trip.


I have cleaned them like a bullhead, pulling the skin back with pliers and then steaked them but you get alot of bones. You can try to fillet them but they have the nastiest thickest rib bones I have seen. The best I have found is to just cut out the "loins" from the back, which is the majority of the meat anyways. Kinda like cutting the backstraps from a deer. No bones, no fuss, nice white meat. Boil it up, dip it in butter, hmmmm....now I want to get a couple myself! Or you can always fry it up! I prefer the poor mans lobster myself.

[wartfroggy]

you don't always have to waste smelt though, you can use blues or greys, or save your smelt heads when you clean them and tip a glow jigging spoon with that. Smelt do work good, but between using them for tip-up bait for lake trout or dead for pike, and in the fry pan for me, I have a hard time using them for burbot all the time.

[WHITE BEAR]

Thanks for the cleaning tips!

[Steffeyis]

:dizzy: Those must be Bowfin we are seeing and not Burbot. After see what you all are saying and looking on the net, need to go back out there with my camera and look again but must be Bowfins. Are they good for anything? We did end up with 41 gils on Thursday, nice day on the lake.

Dave

[RyGuy525]

Dogfish are good for a fight and thats about it. The can bend a spinnerbait up like you have never seen!

[Boardman Brookies]

I have caught them on Torch Lake in deep water. They are creepy fish!! I have never eaten them, but I heard a guy calling them "poor man's lobster" GROSS!!!!

[WHITE BEAR]

They are not gross. They are fresh water cod. Do you eat fish and chips at a restaurant? Have you ever seen a cod? Talk about ugly but they sure are tasty. Think about it. Burbot live in deep, cold, clear and relatively clean waters. That sounds like a recipe for some delicious fish to me.

[wartfroggy]

I agree. Nothing gross about them. Actually, once you dip them in drakes beer batter and fry them up, they look very attractive next to some slaw!

[huffduf41]

2 years ago my buddies and I caught one on a tip up in Canada at dusk(Dog Lake, missinabe ON) by the time we got the hook out it was dead and the air was around -30f so it froze pretty quick.

We thought it was a dogfish so we used it as a football out on the ice (alcohol was believed to be a factor)

Told the locals about it at the bar that night and they asked were we left our football so they could go get it -they said its better than walleye????

[MapleRiverSalmon]

sounds good to me. I will be trying this winter to catch one and if anyone gets any more info than let me know. thanks.

[Fishslayer5789]

Easiest way to tell is the tail if you can see it. Dogfish(bowfin) have a large round tail larger than rear of body it connects to, where a burbot has a tapered rear body section with small round tail and fin along back and belly all the way to tail, like an eel,(eelpout).

And Dogfish have scales and burbot don't.

[krt]

I saw a guy who had one on the ice at the big pier in Tawas a few years ago. He was fishing along the north side in an open pressure crack.

[MapleRiverSalmon]

Im looking for a place I can go and actually target them. If anyone knows were a good place to catch some is I will meet them there. I have a 3 man fish trap and all the gear. I also read last year about a burbot festival in escanaba. anyone ever go?

[bootsie]

We have caught several Burbot on Crystal Lake using jumbo perch tip-ups. Most have been caught in 50-60ft of water in mid afternoon. East end of the lake off the north shore directly south to the right depth. They make a mess of your rigs so be ready for a good fight! We had used a large blue or grey minnow (can't remember) on a 5# leader.
I don't think I would target them specifically, go after those jumbo perch and keep the set line near the shanty!

[teacup13]

burbot/ling/lawyer etc
http://www.cbfishwildlife.org/info/pressrel/media/burbot_450x155.jpg

bowfins have a round black spot for the females on their tails and the males have a black spot with a gold ring around in and they have scales

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/30/48477725_9c4f701ada.jpg?v=0

[Ralph Smith]

sounds good to me. I will be trying this winter to catch one and if anyone gets any more info than let me know. thanks.

A member on here (Linda G.) had a good read on catching them on torch lake. Try pm. It sounded really interesting. I've always wanted to target them sometime, just haven't found anyone else interested. Maybe you can pm her. An outing up that way somewhere might be a good way to get together with other burbot chasers. I've caught 1 from caseville while perch fishing one spring, and I'm here to tell you it was as good as any fish I've ate, including gills and perch. mmmmm.

[bignoccursg]

We target them on Big Bay DeNoc in February. Check out my photos. We fish in 3 feet of water. Its alot of fun and they are great to eat.

[electronic everything]

I fished Burbot in Grand Traverse Bay. Off the tip of Lee's point. water is deep and drops off fast. If the bay gets Ice I would catch them mid day in approx 60 to 80 feet of water. In the area I mentioned this is only about 50 yards off shore. Fished with minnows 3 inches up. The locals call them Lawyers. Guly fish but very tasty.

[bluekim7]

We target them on Big Bay DeNoc in February. Check out my photos. We fish in 3 feet of water. Its alot of fun and they are great to eat.


Big,
Those are some sweet photos you have from fishing bourbot. Looks like fun. Maybe I will have to take a long weekend and go Walleye and Bourbot fishing on The Bay DeNoc's. Thanks for sharing.

[MapleRiverSalmon]

Big, you are my new best friend. I want to catch one in the worst way. Will you take me if the wife will let me out in febuary?

[bignoccursg]

My brother and I are currently trying to figure out which weekend in Feb to head up. Last year we drilled holes and before we could scoop all the ice out we could see them swimming past. If you were to head up earlier than February I wouldnt know where to try for them. Once that time rolls around they are all over in the shallow water. I'll keep you informed, we'll probably make the plans while fishing Saginaw Bay this Sunday.
Gary
Big Noccurs Sportmans Club

[Eutrophicated]

Thanks for the help guys. I have heard torch lake and crystal had them but I am shure Higgins dous'nt. I fish it all winter long. Did manage to catch a 14" mudpuppy once though. Anyways, anymore info would be apreciated.


Here's the rub with Higgins lake. This once pristine oligotrophic lake, with water clear enough to see down 70 feet, and a rocky dropoff out of the little, shallower end into the larger main lake, held some naturally reproducing lake trout, and burbot.

This was true in 1954 when I first fished it.

In 1999, when I finally returned to fish it again, I was and still am, in total disbelief of the man-caused geological aging of the lake. All those houses on that lake, continuously spewing phosphated detergents, lawn fertilizer, and sundry pesticides, for over 40 years, till they stopped, too late for the lake trout, and probably the burbot as well.

The lake has been artificially aged about 5 to 7 thousand years.

Its a crime. Maybe one we should never try to live down.