There’s no question that Maine ice fishermen play favorites. Pine Tree hard water anglers have favorite lakes, favorite hot spots, favorite baits, and many sports even have a favorite game fish. Landlocked salmon, brook trout, and togue make up the trophy trio of most popular finned quarry for regional outdoorsmen. Some anglers, however, will happily do battle with any fish that grabs a bait, no matter how unusual the species, and a few sports even set out to play tug of war with these novel varieties of fish.

Handlining for smelt was a wonderful winter pastime when I was growing up, and Pleasant Lake in Island Falls was a regular haunt. Smelting was often fast and furious and catching a quart of more of those tasty silver darters in an evening was common. Every once in awhile, however, I would miscalculate and lower my line too far, allowing the cut bait to rest near or on bottom. When a bite occurred under those circumstances, it was often an unpleasant event.

The kitchen match or strike indicator on the hand line would twitch, then bob and tilt as the monofilament line moved through the water as the fish took the bait. I would grab the match and snatch the line upward expecting the light resistance of an 8-inch smelt, only to have the mono stop and stretch as the hook set into a much heftier quarry. Over the next few minutes every line left in the water was tangled, and if my line didn’t break or the hook pull free, the state’s ugliest aquatic denizen lay flopping about the floor of the shanty.

Frightful fish

To my mind, then and now, cusk are the result of some mad experiment between an ugly eel and a hideous hornpout gone awry. Cusk are long, slimy specimens with large bewhiskered mouths and an unpleasant smell, and for years I’d cut the line and deposit the fish back into the hole rather than handle it to remove and save my hook. Then I was introduced to my first batch of homemade, mouthwatering, taste bud-tickling cusk chowder and my outlook on this odd Maine fish took a 180-degree turn.

Basil Trombley was our town barber, and while in his chair one winter day, he asked me how the ice fishing was going. When I complained about dealing with disgusting cusk, Basil spun the chair and all trimming came to a halt. Looking me in the eye, he explained I was making a big mistake. He told me to consider how ugly lobster and crabs were, but how delicious the meat was. Basil asked me to bring him every cusk I caught from that point on.

I was in my late teens and Basil was in his 60s at that time. Over the next 20 years I lugged him enough cusk to fill a dump truck. It was he who showed me how to skin a cusk and filet out the surprisingly firm white meat. Basil prepared and cooked the first bowl of cusk chowder I ever tasted and gave me his secret recipe. Basil’s gone now, but he was still cutting my hair and filleting and freezing cusk meat for year-round chowder well into his 80s.

Catching cusk

Unlike many game fish, cusk aren’t finicky feeders and therefore can be caught regularly. Cusk are also widespread, being found foraging for food near bottom, generally after dark, in most cold-water lakes. Because of the very different baits and methods between summer and winter fishing, most cusk are caught through the ice rather than during open water season.

Cusk, called burbot in many states, is the only freshwater member of the codfish family and greatly resembles a saltwater cod. These are deepwater dwellers which spawn during winter under the ice. Cusk average 11/2 to 21/2 pounds; a 5-pounder is a big one.

The largest cusk I ever saw was pulled through a hole on Square Lake a couple of years ago by my fishing buddy, Tom Tardiff. The ugly brute weighed 101/2 pounds and, contrary to custom, took a live smelt just 10 feet below the ice during midday. Once on the ice, the huge cusk regurgitated fully intact a 12-inch salmon and 14-inch trout that it had just devoured. None of the more favored game fish could have fought harder than this often forgotten winter quarry.

Average-size cusk seldom take live bait, jigs, or cut bait suspended well above bottom. For sure cusk action, use a dead minnow or smelt cut in half, or a large chunk of cut bait, fished right on bottom. One of these sucker-mouthed bottom feeders will locate it by smell during a cruise for food. Some cusk do forage during the day, but the most consistent action occurs after dusk.

Fishing from a smelt hut is the only comfortable method of night fishing for cusk. One or two cusk lines go on bottom and the smelt handlines are kept at shallow to medium depths. When a cusk is hooked, let it run for a bit until the other lines can be pulled in or the result will be tangles, bird nests, and profound cursing. A size 4 or 6 hook will work well, and 8- to 12-pound monofilament or 20-pound Dacron line with a 4-foot leader will handle most cusk and still give anglers a fine fight.

Cusk have relatively small mouths compared to other game fish, so allow them time to suck in the bait before setting the hook. Once hooked the tough texture of the lips and mouth seldom allows a hook to pull free. When no other fish seems willing to bite, cusk will cooperate. So fish deep, fish after dark, and don’t be put off by their appearance. This odd species fights well and tastes great.

Wonderful whitefish

Whitefish are another species of lesser-known Maine game fish and far fewer lakes harbor fishable populations of whitefish than cusk. Despite the limited availability, whitefish are a challenging quarry, tough fighters on a handline or jigging rod, and excellent table fare. Like cusk, winter is the best time to hook whitefish, but on the plus side, they are very active during daylight hours.

The lake whitefish is the species encountered by most Pine Tree anglers. A satin silver/white sheen with a light green tint to the back is the coloration of its large smooth scales, and it sports a wide forked tail. Many folks compare the lake whitefish’s appearance to a giant herring.

Whitefish tend to gather around shoals, gravel bars, and near spring or brook inlets. Ice drillers will do best with cut baits set at 20 to 50 feet or by working colorful jigs and small wobblers up and down from just below the ice to bottom. Drop and retrieve the jig slowly with 15-20 seconds of hesitation every 10 feet and a good deal of rod-tip action.

Whitefish have soft mouths so care must be taken during the fight not to exert undue pressure and tear the hook free. Size 6 or 8 hooks work best for cut bait or small dead minnows. Whitefish fight much like a brook trout under the ice with extensive rolling, twisting, and then attempting to run deep. Use steady pressure, allowing the fish to run rather than trying to snub it, and once led into the hole, be prepared to use the other hand to lift the whitefish rather than allowing the hook and line to support the full weight.

Lake whitefish average 1 to 2 pounds and measure 16 to 18 inches, but 3- and 4-pounders are common on some waterways. Whitefish are very school and depth oriented, so when one is caught, get every bait to that depth quickly and steady action is likely. Locations and levels where fish are suspended or feeding change daily, so experiment liberally when jig fishing.

Smoked whitefish is a true delicacy, but I recommend slow baking a filet to best savor the sweet, delicate flavor. Due to the scarcity in some lakes, I also suggest keeping only a fish or two for food and releasing the rest to grow and fight again.

I understand that cusk and whitefish are low on the hierarchy of Maine’s favorite and respected game fish, but part of that is just hype. Regardless of looks, they fight well and make great table fare, and more importantly both species are often more receptive to feeding and fighting than the more popular trophy trio. Give cusk and whitefish ice fishing a try; perhaps you’ll be as pleasantly surprised as I have been.

Outdoor feature writer Bill Graves can be reached via e-mail at bgravesoutdoors@ainop.com