I’ve never caught a burbot and it’s on my list for this summer. I know odds are better in the winter but I’m not much of an ice angler.

We are looking to spend a night or two targeting the elusive eelpout this July on Saganaga. Other than fishing the bottom with the stinkiest bait possible, does anyone have any tips for presentations or locations to target? My plan of attack is to hit some deep water spots on the canadian side during some late nights. We stay in Canada and have access to crawlers purchased on the Canadian side.

Any advice greatly appreciated!

Really? Deep, dark, and rocky. I caught one in summer on a dead smelt in Lake Superior. I don't know man... :)

lundojam: "Really? Deep, dark, and rocky. I caught one in summer on a dead smelt in Lake Superior. I don't know man... :)"

What can I say LJ, I have just gotten so dang good at catching my grand slam every year it’s kind of getting a little stale ;)

I just like the added challenge of checking off another species from my list. Interested in whitefish as well. And at that point I guess I’ll have to start packing the snoopy pole and targeting panfish.

I have heard burbot compared to poor man’s lobster when dipped in melted butter, but I probably won’t be testing that. we tend to just aim for one trout dinner and one walleye/pike fry.

^^^ if you want to catch one, why wouldnt you eat one ? i also havent caught one but yes have heard it's a very good white flaky meat. basically you get the loin part above the ribs. also seen videos of boiling in sprite ?

If you are in Quetico you can't use bait...

mapsguy1955: "If you are in Quetico you can't use bait... "

I’m not in quetico I’m on the Canadian side of Sag far east of the quetico line.

Shock— I’ve heard of the sprite boil as well! It’s not that I wouldn’t want to try it, just not my primary goal. I have heard the meat is better and tastes “fresher” in the winter so I definitely wouldn’t hesitate to give it a shot then. But some folks say that can be mushy during warmer months. That seems odd to me since they’re likely still gonna be down in deep cold water. Maybe I need to test that theory out.

My buddy caught this one on Thomas 11 years ago in May. We were fishing with Frozen Ciscoes dropped on the bottom that we got from Jim / TGO. Did pretty good on Trout. I don't think you can get Frozen Ciscoes any more these days due to that shakedown on bait trapping. Frozen suckers probably work.

I've eaten it "poor man's shrimp in a basket." Chop it into shrimp-sized pieces, bread it up shrimp-style, and serve with cocktail sauce. its fine.

I found a fresh dead cisco floating on the surface at Takumich in early August. Brought it back to camp and flung it as far out as I could. We tried to revive the 16" pout that inhaled it but it died. We put it out on the rocky point the next morning and we watched a bald eagle gulp it down. I think it wished for butter but was glad no spiny fins..

thegildedgopher: "

mapsguy1955: "If you are in Quetico you can't use bait... "

I’m not in quetico I’m on the Canadian side of Sag far east of the quetico line.


Shock— I’ve heard of the sprite boil as well! It’s not that I wouldn’t want to try it, just not my primary goal. I have heard the meat is better and tastes “fresher” in the winter so I definitely wouldn’t hesitate to give it a shot then. But some folks say that can be mushy during warmer months. That seems odd to me since they’re likely still gonna be down in deep cold water. Maybe I need to test that theory out."

a friend of mine is up on leech (right now) and one of their goals is to catch/eat some Pout !

Burbot aka eelpout, genus species Lota lota is the only fresh water species of cod. The meat is very good, most people describe the taste like lobster hence poor mans lobster, but people are freaked out by it "skin" which is more similar to a catfish or bullhead and is scales not skin. Also the body shape is not like most freshwater fish more similar to dog fish or bowfin. They feed and breed in winter under the ice. If you are luck to catch one in summer it's more by luck than anything as they go into a sort of reverse hibernation and eat or do much of anything in the summer. It could be possible to catch one but it is extremally rare. You are almost as likely to snag one as catch one. Good Luck and if you figure out how to catch them in the summer let us know as I've never heard of what they taste like in the summer because catching them then is kind of a unicorn.

shock: "

thegildedgopher: "

mapsguy1955: "If you are in Quetico you can't use bait... "

I’m not in quetico I’m on the Canadian side of Sag far east of the quetico line.



Shock— I’ve heard of the sprite boil as well! It’s not that I wouldn’t want to try it, just not my primary goal. I have heard the meat is better and tastes “fresher” in the winter so I definitely wouldn’t hesitate to give it a shot then. But some folks say that can be mushy during warmer months. That seems odd to me since they’re likely still gonna be down in deep cold water. Maybe I need to test that theory out."

a friend of mine is up on leech (right now) and one of their goals is to catch/eat some Pout ! "

There is huge ones in Leech

Packer1022: "Burbot aka eelpout, genus species Lota lota is the only fresh water species of cod. The meat is very good, most people describe the taste like lobster hence poor mans lobster, but people are freaked out by it "skin" which is more similar to a catfish or bullhead and is scales not skin. Also the body shape is not like most freshwater fish more similar to dog fish or bowfin. They feed and breed in winter under the ice. If you are luck to catch one in summer it's more by luck than anything as they go into a sort of reverse hibernation and eat or do much of anything in the summer. It could be possible to catch one but it is extremally rare. You are almost as likely to snag one as catch one. Good Luck and if you figure out how to catch them in the summer let us know as I've never heard of what they taste like in the summer because catching them then is kind of a unicorn.
"

Ok, interesting stuff. I wasn’t aware they didn’t feed as actively in the summer. That seems kind of crazy but worth further research. A lot of what I’ve been able to find online is specific to Alaska since they are more common there.

Ever watch the Werner Herzog documentary "Happy People"? Burbot is a staple for the small fishing village in Siberia featured in the documentary.

DougD: "Ever watch the Werner Herzog documentary "Happy People"? Burbot is a staple for the small fishing village in Siberia featured in the documentary."

Great documentary, watched it a few times.