The cisco, also called lake herring or tullibee, is a member of the trout and salmon family of fish. Cisco are identified by general body shape and presence of an adipose fin.
Cisco and lake whitefish are similar in appearance and are sometimes mis-identified by anglers. The two species can be distinguished by the position of the mouth in relation to the snout. The cisco’s mouth extends up to or slightly beyond the tip of the snout while lake whitefish have a snout that overhangs the mouth.
Cisco are native to much of Canada from Quebec to Northwest Territories, Alberta, and parts of the Arctic region. In the United States, their range includes the St. Lawrence-Great Lakes region, upper Mississippi River basin, northern Ohio, Illinois, and Minnesota. Cisco are native to all of the Great Lakes and Lake Nipigon.
Cisco have also been stocked in several waterways in the United States. They are established in Montana. In Fort Peck Reservoir, an introduced population of cisco are credited with the lake’s trophy fishery for lake trout. In North Dakota cisco occur in Lake Sakakawea.
In large lakes and impoundments, cisco tend to be important prey for top level predator fish such as lake trout, salmon, pike, and burbot.
Cisco are sometimes caught by anglers for food or use as bait. In some areas, ciscoes are caught in winter by dip-netting along the shoreline or jigging through the ice when conditions allow ice fishing.
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