Of course, since burbot are winter fish, ice fishing is another method, which calls for a different approach and tackle, however, baits are the same. There are two main fishing techniques for burbot: still-fishing with rather heavy sinkers and stink baits, dead or live bait, or active fishing with heavier lures, of various types. So, if you really want to score one or two decent burbots, you kinda have to prepare for some cold, late-winter nights. Within this interval, they move from the deepest parts of the lakes, to the gravelly and sandy shoals, to reproduce, and they can be caught in a depth range of 50-30ft. On the Great Lakes, but also in general, the best burbot fishing is done from December to March. They can live at depths up to 300 m (over 950 ft.). Since burbot are bottom feeders, evidently you’re going to have to look for them on lake or river bottoms, and during summer, in deeper, colder water substrats. They spawn during the winter months, when they migrate to shallower waters near shoals, or leave the lakes for rivers. They tolerate quite a variety of bottom compositions, their feeding grounds can include sand, silt, rubble, gravel or mud.

They’re bottom feeders, crepuscular and night hunters, highly piscivorous. Although they prefer, and they’re usually found, in cold rivers, lakes and water reservoirs, they can also live in brackish waters. Where to Catch Burbotīurbot are specific to the 40°N latitude, most common in lakes and streams of North America and Europe, quite common in the Great Lakes.

So, if you would like to try something new, and burbot are on your list, here are a few words about their diet, habitat, and some tackle tips. But despite their rather ugly appearance, they’re really tasty fish. If you haven’t caught burbot so far, they look something between catfish and eel. Plus, they’re nocturnal, they’re “winter” fish, and they’re not that easy to catch any time during daytime, especially in summer time.

That’s because in most cases, they share the same habitats with other, more interesting game fish, like steelheads, pike, walleye, smallmouths or largemouths. Burbot are fish that don’t generate a lot of buzz, in general, among anglers.

Fishing planet alberta burbot