Whitefish, lake Coregonus clupeaformis

Mitchell, 1818

SALMONIDAE FAMILY
Also called high back, bow back, buffalo back, or humpback whitefish, common whitefish, eastern whitefish, Great Lakes whitefish, inland whitefish, Sault whitefish, gizzard fish

This species is found throughout Canada and Alaska and into the extreme northeastern portions of the U.S., throughout the Great Lakes as well as from New York to Maine. Transplanted populations exist in Washington, Idaho, and Montana in the northwestern U.S. The lake whitefish is much more widespread and attains a much larger size than either the mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni) or the round whitefish (P. cylindraceum).

This is a member of the salmon family, as can be noted by the presence of the adipose fin and pelvic axillary process. Overall coloration is silvery to satiny white with olive to pale greenish brown on the back. The back may be dark brown to black in some inland lake specimens. The mouth is subterminal and the snout protrudes beyond it. Because the head is small in relation to the length of the body, older fish may develop a hump behind the head; thus the name “humpback”. The lake whitefish has more pyloric caeca, 140 222, than either the round with 50 130, or the mountain whitefish which has 50 146. The body is more laterally compressed than the round or mountain whitefish, which belong to a group, referred to as “round whitefishes.”

The lake whitefish is more highly regarded as a game fish than the other whitefishes. The flavor is considered supreme

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