Ice Fishing for Ciscoes: Tips for Catching and Cooking These Hard-Fighting Winter Fish

Ice fishing for ciscoes is an uncommon pursuit, but they are really fun to catch and they are great smoked, fried or baked.
Ciscoes aren't found in every lake, and even where they are found, sometimes they don't grow large. Ice fishing for ciscoes is best in deep, clear lakes where they grow to beefcake proportions, like this pair of ciscoes the author caught from Lake of the Woods in Minnesota.
Ciscoes aren't found in every lake, and even where they are found, sometimes they don't grow large. Ice fishing for ciscoes is best in deep, clear lakes where they grow to beefcake proportions, like this pair of ciscoes the author caught from Lake of the Woods in Minnesota. / Joe Shead

Walleyes and panfish are a big deal for ice anglers come winter. And of course there are the trout chasers and even people who pursue northern pike. I like fishing for all of these species, but I really like fishing for ciscoes.

What Are Ciscoes? Understanding This Winter Fishing Target

Ciscoes, also known as tullibees (tullies) or lake herring, are closely related to whitefish. Need to tell the two species apart? Whitefish have an overbite, with longer top jaws than bottom jaws, while ciscoes have an underbite.
Ciscoes are just plain cool fish. They fight hard – a lot like trout – and they form large schools, so when you catch one, you can often catch a bunch. They reach a nice average size in some lakes, but are stunted in others. They are shaped and fight sort of like white bass, but without the stripes.

One of the most appealing things about chasing ciscoes through the ice is they are somewhat challenging. You’re going to need to use your electronics to find them. They roam open expanses of large lakes and they’ll almost always be suspended, so you’ll have to rely on a flasher. But putting it all together is very satisfying. Best of all, they don’t seem to go into a mid-winter funk like walleyes. They are willing biters and they can provide great sport all winter long.

An ice angler holds a cisco caught while fishing for ciscoes
Ciscoes are uncommon catches, but ice fishing for ciscoes is exciting because they form large schools that can provide great action. / Joe Shead

Where to Find Ciscoes: Best Lakes and Habitat

Before you begin your quest for ciscoes, you’ve got to find a lake that has them. Realize not all cisco lakes are the same. Some only grow stunted fish that measure from 6 to 10 inches. These are great high-fat forage for pike, muskies and big walleyes, but they’re not what I’m after. I want the beefcakes that measure 15 inches.

Ciscoes are only found in select deep, clear lakes. They require high oxygen levels and cool water, which usually equates to deep lakes. If it gets too warm in summer and ciscoes can’t find sufficient oxygen in the cool depths, they die off en masse. In that sense, they are sort of the canary in the coal mine of the aquatic world and there is some concern about their long-term sustainability in an increasingly warming world with lakes that receive more nutrients and algae blooms that rob oxygen from the depths.

Ciscoes roam deep water, even during winter. You’ll find them suspended over main-lake basins where they feed mostly on aquatic insects and zooplankton. I recently examined the stomach contents of a cisco and it was nothing but brown mush – a clear indicator of a bug-eater instead of a minnow-muncher.

On my favorite tullibee lake I look for mud flats that bottom out from 30 to 40 feet of water. These flats are bordered by good walleye humps that top out around 20 feet. I drill holes in that deep basin and hop around. Ciscoes seem to be always on the move, so I give each hole a fair shake, waiting a few minutes to see if anything comes through suspended. The fish on bottom I ignore. They are usually perch and at that depth, you’d kill them pulling them from the bottom. When I see a few flickers come through suspended, I quickly get my lure to that depth and begin jigging in earnest.

A fish of many names, cisco are a commonly caught target by ice anglers! ❄️ 🐟 Cisco, also called tulibee or herring (or...

Posted by Minnesota Fish & Wildlife on Friday, February 9, 2024

Best Ice Fishing Lakes for Cisco

  • North Dakota
    Lake: Lake Audubon
    Location: Northwest of the center of the state
  • Minnesota
    Lake: Lake of the Woods
    Location: Northern Minnesota border with Canada
  • Wisconsin
    Lake: Big Green
    Location: Between Oshkosh and Portage
  • Michigan
    Lake: Cisco Chain of Lakes (particularly Thousand Island Lake and Cisco Lake)
    Location: Western Upper Peninsula straddling the Wisconsin border
  • New York
    Lake: Lake Ontario
    Location: Chaumont Bay of Lake Ontario just west of Watertown and
    Sodus Bay between Rochester and Syracuse

Tips for Locating Suspended Cisco Schools

I like to look for deep, soft-bottomed holes adjacent to drop-offs. It’s better yet if you can find a deep trough in between two humps, which concentrates them. You can often find ciscoes in the same areas you’ll find mid- and late-winter perch, although perch will be right on the bottom. Ciscoes are usually suspended – anywhere from about 3 feet off bottom to about halfway between the surface and the bottom.

On my favorite tullibee lake I look for mud flats that bottom out from 30 to 40 feet of water. These flats are bordered by good walleye humps that top out around 20 feet. I drill holes in that deep basin and hop around. Ciscoes seem to be always on the move, so I give each hole a fair shake, waiting a few minutes to see if anything comes through suspended. The fish on bottom I ignore. They are usually perch and at that depth, you’d kill them pulling them from the bottom. When I see a few flickers come through suspended, I quickly get my lure to that depth and begin jigging in earnest.

Gear and Techniques for Ice Fishing Ciscoes

Lure selection is important. Ciscoes have small mouths and they want small baits. But you need a lure that gets down to fish quickly and that shows up well on your electronics. Plus, you want something that is visible to roaming fish.

My setup of choice is a jigging spoon with a small dropper jig a few inches below it. The VMC Pro Series Rattle Spoon Rattle Spoon fits the bill. It gets down fast and the built-in rattle can't hurt. I replace the treble hook with a VMC Octopus Dropper Chain and tip this with a waxworm. The spoon has sufficient weight to plunge into the depths quickly. But the small hook with a waxworm seals the deal. You also need to change depths rapidly when a school shows up, as you may have only a few seconds to get their attention before they’re gone.

A VMC Pro Series Rattle Spoon fishing lure is a good choice when fishing for ciscoes.
The VMC Pro Series Rattle Spoon with a VMC Octopus Dropper Chain is the perfect lure choice when ice fishing for ciscoes. The spoon calls them in but the small hook is well suited to a cisco's tiny mouth. / Joe Shead

On my last tullie trip, I even had success with small jigging Rapalas. I’m hooked on the UV bright lures because I’ve seen how much more visible they are than standard paint jobs. I had no trouble catching fish on jigging Raps, which was a bit surprising, given a cisco’s insect diet and small mouth.

Why Cisco Fishing Is Worth Trying This Winter

Ciscoes may not be a popular ice fishing species, but I can’t understand why. Finding ciscoes is the hard part. Once you’re on them, they are generally pretty cooperative. When a single fish shows up on your screen, it might be finicky. But if a school shows up, someone is gonna whack it! It is truly exciting to watch your screen go from blank to a 10-foot solid red band. I’ve seen that happen a few times and it’s an incredible sight. Catching a fish when that happens is a given.

They are great eating, too, and you can pickle them, smoke them or even fry them. There are dozens of great cisco cooking videos and suggestions available online like this one from Jeff Elliot Outdoors.

CHECK THESE OUT NEXT!
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a fish cleaning table full of jumbo yellow perch caught while ice fishing.
A table full of jumbo perch is the ultimate reward for a day of successful ice fishing. / Joe Shead
Close-up of a freshly caught crappie, held by an angler’s hand, shimmering in the warm glow of the late afternoon sun during
A beautiful crappie caught through the ice, a perfect example of the rewards of winter fishing in deep, plankton-rich waters. / Dreamstime.com | © Dave Willman | 70741915

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Joe Shead
JOE SHEAD

Joe Shead is an accomplished outdoor writer, hunter, fishing guide and multi-species angler from Minnesota who will fish for anything, even if it won’t bite. Check out more of his work at goshedhunting.com and superiorexperiencecharters.com.