Cisco Fishing Guide

The cisco (Coregonus artedi), also called lake herring or tullibee, was once so abundant in the Great Lakes and northern lakes of the upper Midwest that it supported one of the most productive commercial freshwater fisheries in North American history. Lake Erie cisco were harvested by the hundreds of millions of pounds annually before stocks collapsed in the early 20th century under relentless commercial pressure. Cisco are the primary prey fish supporting lake trout, walleye, and northern pike in oligotrophic northern lake systems — their abundance or absence fundamentally shapes the entire predator community. They are distinctly herring-like in appearance and behavior: silver-scaled, schooling, and pelagic, found in open water rather than near the bottom. Restoration of lake trout in the Great Lakes has been impeded by the collapse of cisco populations that are critically important as forage.

Cisco is a freshwater species.

Habitat

Deep, cold, oligotrophic lakes of the Great Lakes basin, northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Canadian Shield; also in large northern rivers. Require cold, well-oxygenated, deep water — cisco are killed by summer temperatures above 68°F and occupy the coldest depths available. Fall spawning occurs in shallow water near shore.

Diet

Filter-feeding on zooplankton, particularly Daphnia and other cladocerans, in the open water column. Switch to small fish and aquatic insects opportunistically; in shallow fall spawning aggregations, they may feed on surface insects — the only time they are reliably taken on flies.

Fishing Techniques

• Ice fishing with small jigging spoons tipped with waxworms
• Open-water trolling small spoons in fall
• Casting small spinners at night when they surface

Best Seasons

Fall, Winter

Size & Records

Average weight: 0.75 lbs. World record: 7 lbs (Sabaskong Bay, Ontario, Canada (1986)).