The author's Sheefish caught on the Aniak River in Alaska on a small silver spinner
Sheefish
Stenodus leucichthysHome
Other Species
Sheefish Description
Sheefish, also known as Iconnu, are an elusive gamefish found in cold northern rivers in Alaska, Canada, and Russia. They are the largest members of the Whitefish family. Sometimes referred to as the Tarpon of the North, they sometimes make acrobatic leaps when hooked.
Sheefish are primarily found in rivers, although they may migrate to bays during the winter. They are known to migrate large distances; up to 1,000 miles in a single summer. As juveniles, they primarily eat insects. As they grow to be adults, they feed on smaller fish including baby Sheefish.
Sheefish are broadcast spawners and females can produce 100,000-400,000 eggs. Unlike salmon, they do not die after spawning. They can reach sizes of up to 60lbs, but in most areas they tend to max out closer to 30lbs.
Sheefish are not a robust fish and must be handled with care if you want to release them. Fortunately, if you catch one that doesn't make it, they are very tasty.
Sheefish Pound for Pound Fight Rating - 6 out of 10 on the Freshwater Scale
Sheefish pull decently hard and make an occasional jump which can have you praying they stay hooked.
Sheefish Tackle
Sheefish can grow to large sizes, but they are not overpowering fighters. A medium light action spinning rod or a 6 or 7 weight fly rod should be fine for most Sheefish. They tend to like smaller lures and flies, so scale tackle accordingly.
Sheefish Techniques
Sheefish can be seen rising to the surface to chase baitfish. Finding them is the easy part, if you are in one of the few rivers where they live. The hard part is getting them to bite. I have only hooked four of them in my life (and landed the two pictured), so I don't have lots of helpful tips on getting them to bite, but what worked for me was a slow retrieve with occasional small twitches.
Sheefish often rest on the bottom and then ball up baitfish and chase them to the top. Try fishing different parts of the water column until you get a hit. They can be finicky.
Sheefish Lures
It pays to try to use lures and flies that mimic the small baitfish they feed on. The one pictured above was caught on a small silver spinner fished slowly along the bottom with some split shots added. The one pictured below was caught on a small flashy streamer, similarly fished slow close to the bottom.
Where to get the big Sheefish
The biggest Sheefish are found in the northwestern part of Alaska, in the Selawik-Kobuk region.
The Sheefish pictured on this page were caught in the Aniak River in Alaska. This lodge is a great place to target Sheefish: www.aniakriverlodge.com.
Stenodus leucichthysHome
Other Species
Sheefish Description
Sheefish, also known as Iconnu, are an elusive gamefish found in cold northern rivers in Alaska, Canada, and Russia. They are the largest members of the Whitefish family. Sometimes referred to as the Tarpon of the North, they sometimes make acrobatic leaps when hooked.
Sheefish are primarily found in rivers, although they may migrate to bays during the winter. They are known to migrate large distances; up to 1,000 miles in a single summer. As juveniles, they primarily eat insects. As they grow to be adults, they feed on smaller fish including baby Sheefish.
Sheefish are broadcast spawners and females can produce 100,000-400,000 eggs. Unlike salmon, they do not die after spawning. They can reach sizes of up to 60lbs, but in most areas they tend to max out closer to 30lbs.
Sheefish are not a robust fish and must be handled with care if you want to release them. Fortunately, if you catch one that doesn't make it, they are very tasty.
Sheefish Pound for Pound Fight Rating - 6 out of 10 on the Freshwater Scale
Sheefish pull decently hard and make an occasional jump which can have you praying they stay hooked.
Sheefish Tackle
Sheefish can grow to large sizes, but they are not overpowering fighters. A medium light action spinning rod or a 6 or 7 weight fly rod should be fine for most Sheefish. They tend to like smaller lures and flies, so scale tackle accordingly.
Sheefish Techniques
Sheefish can be seen rising to the surface to chase baitfish. Finding them is the easy part, if you are in one of the few rivers where they live. The hard part is getting them to bite. I have only hooked four of them in my life (and landed the two pictured), so I don't have lots of helpful tips on getting them to bite, but what worked for me was a slow retrieve with occasional small twitches.
Sheefish often rest on the bottom and then ball up baitfish and chase them to the top. Try fishing different parts of the water column until you get a hit. They can be finicky.
Sheefish Lures
It pays to try to use lures and flies that mimic the small baitfish they feed on. The one pictured above was caught on a small silver spinner fished slowly along the bottom with some split shots added. The one pictured below was caught on a small flashy streamer, similarly fished slow close to the bottom.
Where to get the big Sheefish
The biggest Sheefish are found in the northwestern part of Alaska, in the Selawik-Kobuk region.
The Sheefish pictured on this page were caught in the Aniak River in Alaska. This lodge is a great place to target Sheefish: www.aniakriverlodge.com.
Sheefish caught on a small flashy streamer fly