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Best cisco (lake herring) lakes in Manitoba

11 Manitoba waters hold cisco (lake herring), 11 mapped with real state-agency depth surveys. Ranked below by size and depth-data quality — open any water to see exactly where to fish it: depth contours, scored spots with plain-English reasons, seasonal windows and bait picks. Pelagic coldwater herring — suspends over deep basins chasing plankton, spawns on late-fall shoals, and shines as a winter ice target.

1. Little Limestone Lake — 33 ft max · survey depth data · Walleye, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch, Lake Whitefish
2. Falcon Lake — 79 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Yellow Perch, Brown Trout
3. Wanipigow Lake — 16 ft max · survey depth data · Walleye, Sauger, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch
4. West Hawk Lake — 394 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Lake Trout
5. Black Lake — 20 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch
6. Bird Lake — 33 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Sauger, Northern Pike
7. Tooth Lake — 56 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch
8. Jessica Lake — 10 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch
9. Booster Lake — 39 ft max · survey depth data · Walleye, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch, Burbot
10. Whitefish Lake — 59 ft max · survey depth data · Walleye, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch, Lake Trout
11. Payuk Lake — 79 ft max · survey depth data · Walleye, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch, Lake Whitefish

When to fish cisco (lake herring) in Manitoba

• Spring 10–40 ft — Post-ice-out schools roam the upper column over deep water — follow the bait clouds on the graph, not the bank.
• Summer 40–80 ft — Locked below the thermocline, suspended over the deepest basins. Vertical presentations at the school's exact depth or nothing.
• Fall 5–25 ft — The late-fall spawn puts silver schools on shallow gravel shoals and windswept rock — the one time they're everyone's fish.
• Winter 20–60 ft — A premier ice species — suspended schools cruise the basin mid-column. Watch the flasher and chase the marks.

Also in Manitoba: best smallmouth bass lakes · best walleye lakes · best northern pike lakes · best yellow perch lakes · best lake whitefish lakes · best burbot lakes

Cisco (Lake Herring) elsewhere: Minnesota · Michigan