How to Identify Cisco

Formerly known as Lake Herring, are members of the trout and salmon family that inhabit the midwater regions of the Great Lakes and high quality inland lakes. Cisco have slender, elongate bodies with two dorsal fins, a pointed snout with long lower jaw, and in side view are decidedly elliptical. Cisco are silvery with faint pink to purple iridescence on the sides, blue-green to gray backs and white below. Fin colorations vary, but in general the outer portions of the dorsal and caudal fins are darkly pigmented.

Where to Catch Cisco

Cisco inhabit the open waters of lakes, rivers and the coastal waters of Hudson Bay. They specifically require cold, oxygenated water to thrive and normally are found in the cooler water below the thermocline in lakes where thermal stratification develops. Lake herring are found in the St. Lawrence River, the Great Lakes and the Arctic Ocean. In Canada they extend from Quebec to the Northwest Territories and Alberta. Within the United States, Lake herring can be found in northern Ohio, Illinois and Minnesota.