# Whitefish fishing > Whitefish fishing in Norway: why whitefish are hard on lures, which fine tackle actually produces, when the spawning run gathers them, and why all rakfisk is whitefish. Source: https://finnfisk.no/en/sikfiske Language: en Alternate: https://finnfisk.no/sikfiske (nb-NO) --- Species guide Coregonus lavaretus Underrated as a sport fish, indispensable as food, and the species all rakfisk is made from. - **Size**: Whitefish are rarely over one kilo, though fish of over six kilos are known. In lightly harvested stocks they can live past 30 years. - **Where it lives**: Found on Jæren, in the south from the Tovdal watercourse eastwards, in eastern Norway north to Femunden and Feragen and west to Mjøsa. Scattered in Trøndelag, Nordland and Troms, and common in Finnmark from the Alta-Kautokeino watercourse eastwards. - **Best time**: October to November during the spawning run, and through the ice in winter. ## How to tell it apart A silver, laterally compressed body with an underslung mouth, clearly a salmonid with an adipose fin. The underbite is the key: whitefish graze downwards towards the bottom, and the mouth is built for it. Can be confused with vendace, which is smaller and has a more forward-set mouth. ## Where it holds Lakes and rivers, and in some places out into brackish water, as at Øra outside Fredrikstad and in Iddefjorden. Whitefish occur in several forms in the same water: shallow-spawners on shoals along the shore, river-spawners in running water, and deep-spawners in deep water. Femunden holds at least five separate stocks. ## The season ### Summer Whitefish often hold deep and are hard to reach with sport tackle. Bait fishing with maggot or small bottom-fauna imitations at the right depth is what produces. ### October to November The spawning run gathers whitefish on shallows and in rivers, and makes them far more accessible. This is traditionally the main season, and when the rakfisk is caught. ### Winter, through the ice Whitefish are taken regularly on the ice with small mormyshka and maggot. It demands fine tackle and patience, but it is entirely possible. [See the season month by month](https://finnfisk.no/fiskesesong) for every species, in the lowlands and in the mountains. ## Gear Bait ### Fine tackle, small hooks The whitefish’s way in for the sport angler. Hook 14-18, maggot or small larvae, thin leader down towards 0.12 mm, and enough weight to hold the bait at the bottom. Patience is the main piece of tackle. [Gear](https://finnfisk.no/utstyr) Fly ### Class 3-5, small nymphs Entirely possible, and underrated. Small nymphs and pupae in size 16-20 fished deep. It requires that you find the fish first, because whitefish do not hold where trout hold. [Fly guide](https://finnfisk.no/flueguide) ## Baits and lures - **Maggot**: By far the most effective whitefish bait, on a small hook. - **Small mormyshka**: Ice fishing, ideally with a maggot on the hook. - **Small nymphs size 16-20**: Fly fishing. Imitates the bottom fauna whitefish actually eat. [Pick a colour for the light and water](https://finnfisk.no/fargeguide) ## Spawning and diet ### Spawning Mainly October to November, but the spawning time varies from watercourse to watercourse, and there are both winter- and spring-spawning forms. ### Diet Larvae live on zooplankton. Older whitefish graze mostly on various bottom fauna: insects, snails, mussels and crustaceans. Some stocks specialise in zooplankton and then resemble vendace in habits. ## Rules Applies to all inland fish - There is no longer a national minimum size for inland fish. Minimum and maximum sizes, daily bag limits and closed seasons are set locally, and two waters in the same municipality can have different rules. - You need a fishing card from the rights holder wherever one is sold. The card is an agreement with the landowner, not a state fee. - Children under 16 fish free with rod and hand line from 1 January to 20 August, except in watercourses with anadromous salmonids. This follows from section 18 of the Norwegian salmon and inland fish act. - The state fishing fee does not apply to inland fish. It covers only salmon, sea trout and sea char. - Releasing fish or moving live fish between waters is prohibited. Spreading species to new watercourses is one of the biggest threats to Norwegian fish stocks. Specific to whitefish - Whitefish are hard to take on lures, and in many waters they are traditionally caught in nets where the rights holder permits it. Net fishing requires its own permission and has its own mesh size rules. - Several waters have their own rules for whitefish during the spawning season, partly because rakfisk production is tied to exactly that period. - Whitefish have been spread to waters where they do not belong and can outcompete trout and char for food. Moving live fish is prohibited. All of the above is advisory. The rules are set locally and do change, so always confirm with the rights holder or an official source before you fish. ## Waters holding whitefish [Gudbrandsdalslågen, Sone 1](https://finnfisk.no/fiskeplass/lagen-sone-1)[Feiring (Feiring JFF)](https://finnfisk.no/fiskeplass/feiring)[Espedalsvatnet (Espedalen)](https://finnfisk.no/fiskeplass/espedalsvatnet)[Isteren (Engerdal)](https://finnfisk.no/fiskeplass/isteren)[Essandsjøen & Nesjøen (Tydal)](https://finnfisk.no/fiskeplass/tydal-essandsjoen)[Vråvatn & øvre Nisser (Vrådal)](https://finnfisk.no/fiskeplass/vravatn-nisser)[Nordmarka (Oslo)](https://finnfisk.no/fiskeplass/nordmarka)[Aursunden (Røros)](https://finnfisk.no/fiskeplass/aursunden)[Feragen statsallmenning (Røros)](https://finnfisk.no/fiskeplass/feragen-roros)[Fyresdal](https://finnfisk.no/fiskeplass/fyresdal)[Tokkeåi & Bandak (Tokke)](https://finnfisk.no/fiskeplass/tokkeai-bandak)[Gudbrandsdalslågen, Sone 2 (Øyer)](https://finnfisk.no/fiskeplass/lagen-sone-2)[Gudbrandsdalslågen, Sone 3 (Ringebu)](https://finnfisk.no/fiskeplass/lagen-sone-3)[Gudbrandsdalslågen, Sone 4 (Fron)](https://finnfisk.no/fiskeplass/lagen-sone-4)[Alvdal fellesfiskekort](https://finnfisk.no/fiskeplass/alvdal-fellesfiskekort) Municipalities [Lillehammer](https://finnfisk.no/fiske/lillehammer)[Eidsvoll](https://finnfisk.no/fiske/eidsvoll)[Gausdal](https://finnfisk.no/fiske/gausdal)[Engerdal](https://finnfisk.no/fiske/engerdal)[Tydal](https://finnfisk.no/fiske/tydal)[Kviteseid](https://finnfisk.no/fiske/kviteseid)[Nissedal](https://finnfisk.no/fiske/nissedal)[Oslo](https://finnfisk.no/fiske/oslo)[Røros](https://finnfisk.no/fiske/roros)[Fyresdal](https://finnfisk.no/fiske/fyresdal)[Tokke](https://finnfisk.no/fiske/tokke)[Øyer](https://finnfisk.no/fiske/oyer) ## Common questions ### Can you catch whitefish on a lure? - Rarely. Whitefish have an underslung mouth and graze on bottom fauna, so they take lures very reluctantly. The way in is fine tackle: a hook in size 14 to 18 with maggot, a thin leader and enough weight to hold the bait at the bottom. Small nymphs in size 16 to 20 fished deep also work. In many waters whitefish are traditionally caught in nets where the rights holder allows it. ### When does whitefish spawn? - Late in autumn in most places, but the answer is less clear-cut for whitefish than for other species: in one and the same lake, several whitefish forms can spawn in different places and at different times, some near shore, others deep or up in the river. So it is the water’s own provisions that decide, not a date you can work out, and they can differ from the rest of the year. ### What is rakfisk made from? - Whitefish, salted and matured without heat treatment. The fish are taken during the autumn spawning run, the one period in the year when the species is gathered and within reach, and in many valleys this is a fishery with a far longer tradition than sport fishing for the same fish. If you want to try it yourself, the rules for the water decide both the gear and the period. Sources - [Store norske leksikon: sik](https://snl.no/sik)