by Jason Brooks, January 29, 2015

February is prime month to catch some of the best eating freshwater fish in Washington, the Burbot. If you are asking yourself, “What the heck is a Burbot?” you might know it as one of its nicknames such as freshwater lingcod, eelpout or coney-fish. Genetically speaking it is a “Lota lota” and part of the cod family. In fact it is the only freshwater fish that is in the cod family. Mostly found in cold water lakes and reservoirs the burbot lives on the bottom in muddy and rocky areas where temperatures remain cold. One of the reasons why February is a great month to try and catch Burbot is that the fish will group up this time of year for the spawning season. One female will be surrounded by many males and spawn using a broadcast of the eggs not like salmon or trout that use “redds” or a bed in rocks. The eggs float along and land in the mud or rocks until maturity.

Burbot are a very unique looking fish, just like any other cod, they have a single “whisker” or “barbel” on their chin. Their fins are long and they look more like an eel, though they are not. With camouflaged green and brown sides and back and a white belly these fish average around 2 to 6 pounds. The current Washington State record is 17.37 pounds out of Bead Lake in Pend Oreille County. In fact the WDFW “Fish Washington” website only list nine bodies of water that have Burbot in them. They are: Lake Chelan, Banks Lake, Cle Elum Lake, Kachess Lake, Keechelus Lake, Palmer Lake, Bead Lake, Sullivan Lake and Lake Roosevelt. Burbot are not unique to Washington, or the United States for that matter. They are found all across the world but only in the northern regions. Once plentiful in the United Kingdom they were overfished and are now believed to be extinct. However in other European countries the Burbot is still fishable and in fact are revered and honored in a few festivals. Their liver is extremely high in oil and is often used as a nutritional supplement.

Since this fish is a bottom dweller the lakes that have them which freeze over makes for a very unique ice fishery. For the larger bodies of water, such as my home waters of Lake Chelan the angling consists of jigging for them out of a boat. Bob Loomis of Mack’s Lure in Wenatchee, who also grew up on Lake Chelan, reminded me of the good old days and how we used to fish for them; “We used to use 50 hook set lines” with a big fish fry at the end of the day. He added, “Back in the 80’s and early 90’s when the salmon fishery was at its peak in Chelan, every weekend during the winter people were out jigging for Burbot. I don’t know what happened to the fishery, but the numbers in the lower basin seem to have dropped significantly.”

It could be that the Mackinaw in the lake who also feed in the deep depths of Chelan compete with and eat Burbot. The Mackinaw or “Lake Trout” are vicious predators that are a transplant into Lake Chelan around 1980 and grow at a fairly slow rate, much like the Burbot, but the Mackinaw also thrive in all water columns in the lake eating the mysis shrimp as well as any and all other fish. The Burbot pretty much sticks to the bottom of the lakes. The last time I jigged for them we caught both Lake Trout and Burbot on the same trip using the same tackle.

Another popular fishery is Lake Roosevelt were the fish seem to be doing pretty well. Craig Dowdy of YJ Guide Service (509-999-0717) fishes this lake often and likes to spend his winters chasing Burbot; “The best thing is their table fare and it’s something to fish for in winter.” He stressed that normally these fish are found at the very deepest parts of the lake making it difficult to locate and fish for them, except during winter. “It’s the spawn. From mid to late February and into early March they come shallow to spawn” making it possible to fish for them. To get a good idea on how Craig likes to target Burbot and what kind of fishery he can guide you to check out the video by WDFW at the Fish Washington tab on their website. There you will find an informative video where WDFW biologist spent the day with Craig as they target Lake Roosevelt Burbot. I also highly recommend hiring him for a day and let him teach you how to catch these great eating fish.

The set lines that Bob Loomis and I grew up using can no longer be used so angling for them is primarily done by jigging. Burbot eat just about anything and everything with a large part of their diet being smaller fish, crawfish, sculpins and leaches in waters where they are abundant. Since they live on the bottom of the lakes and reservoirs it’s important to use a jig that can get down and stay down deep even when the boat moves a bit from wind or waives. Burbot are not big fish and I prefer to use a hook around 1/0 or 2/0 in size and a weight of a 3/8 oz. to 1 oz. lead jig. On the jig is usually a rubber grub or minnow tipped with a piece of bait, such as a slice of pikeminnow, herring or anchovy. Craig Dowdy likes to use a piece of worm and a 5” rubber grub on a 3/8 oz. jig. My preferred plastic bait I use for predator fish jigging is a 5” Panic Minnow Swimbait or the 4 ½” Panic Minnow Swimtail by Density-Tackle, a local company out of Puyallup. The reason why I prefer these baits is because of their live action with the swim tail and articulating body that is ribbed. Plus the baits themselves are super soft and I believe that when the fish grabs ahold of it they hang on a little longer as it feels like a natural baitfish as its being chomped on. I used them last year for Lingcod in the salt water and out fished others on the boat using whole herring.

Braided line is preferred for its thin diameter as it drops and cuts through the water easier at great depths. Braid is very sensitive as it does not stretch and when you might have 200 feet of line out that can make a big difference in feeling the bite. Along with braid the rod you use can make a big difference in catching fish. A rod that has an extra fast tip for sensitivity and yet a fairly strong action or “power” is needed to set the hook. These fish don’t fight like a steelhead or salmon as they are in cold water at great depths but you need the sensitive rod to feel the bite, especially if you are wearing gloves. This is where a rod that is normally used for hover fishing for fall salmon comes into play. Personally I use a North Fork Customs Series One 790. This rod is 7’9” medium-extra fast action with a line rating of 8-15 pound test and made of IMX graphite. What that means is IMX is “intermediate modules” graphite that is supersensitive yet very strong. My level wind reel is spooled with 20 pound braid and I can feel anything that bumps my line. Again, Craig Dowdy from YJ Guide Service on Lake Roosevelt added that he runs 10 pound braid on medium action 6 to 7 foot spinning rods. He feels the braid is not only super sensitive but also it won’t twist like monofilament, “Burbot seem to spin as they fight towards the boat and this causes line twist. If you use mono then by the end of the day your line will be all twisted up.”
Burbot are a white fleshed fish with long thin fillets. It takes a little practice to fillet and skin them out and an electric fillet knife helps. Once you have your boneless fillets the most common way to cook them is to coat them with your favorite batter and deep fry them like their saltwater cousins. Most people say their flesh is sweeter that other types of cod and some even equate it to lobster, and it is sometimes referred to as “Poor man’s lobster” because of this. If you get a chance to go fishing for a day this February head on out to one of the few lakes in our state that offer such a unique fishery and surprise yourself with a freshwater cod fish fry.