A slender, silvery pelagic forage fish (also called lake herring) that schools in open, cold water.
Fishing patterns describe when and how fish may feed, not when fishing is legally open. Check zone regulations and waterbody exceptions before you fish.
🌡️ Preferred water temp
8–14°C (46–57°F).
⏰ Best time to catch
Shallow at ice-out and briefly in late fall around spawning; suspended deep the rest of the year.
Cisco habitat and preferred water temperature
Open cold water — pelagic schools suspending over deep basins; keystone forage that fights above its weight.
Best time to catch Cisco
Shallow at ice-out and briefly in late fall around spawning; suspended deep the rest of the year.
Cisco fishing techniques by season
Spring
Near the surface at ice-out, sometimes catchable from shore on tiny lures.
Summer
Suspends at the thermocline; find the band on sonar and count lures down.
Fall
Shoals up before a late-fall shoal spawn.
Winter
Suspended over deep basins under the ice — small flashy jigs worked in the school.
Best lures for Cisco
Tiny spoons, small jigs with plastics, sabiki-style flies; light line.
Lakes with recorded Cisco
A selection of larger named waterbodies from the survey records. Open a profile for lake details and regulations, or see its location on the map.
Lake Abitibi
Lake Nipissing
Lake Simcoe
Big Trout Lake
Trout Lake
Lake Timiskaming
Winisk Lake
Sturgeon Lake
Lake Temagami
Kesagami Lake
Stull Lake
Open the map and filter by Cisco to see every Ontario waterbody where it's been recorded, with depth, regulations and live conditions for each one.