Best cisco (lake herring) lakes in Minnesota
37 Minnesota waters hold cisco (lake herring), 37 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.
- Leech Lake — 135 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
- Lake Vermilion — 70 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
- Lake Kabetogama — 75 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Sauger
- Namakan Lake — 150 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Sauger, Northern Pike
- Birch — 30 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
- Sand Point Lake — 180 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Sauger
- Trout — 90 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
- Brule — 60 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
- Loon — 75 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Sauger
- Fall — 30 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
- White Iron — 40 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
- Snowbank — 140 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
- Crane Lake — 80 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Sauger
- Elbow — 50 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
- Little Vermilion — 50 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Sauger
- Bear Island — 60 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
- Johnson — 80 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
- Shagawa — 40 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
- Greenwood — 100 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
- Six Mile — 60 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
- Loon — 210 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
- Farm — 55 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
- Andrusia — 55 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
- Garden — 50 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
- Little Boy — 70 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
…plus 12 more Minnesota waters holding cisco (lake herring).
When to fish cisco (lake herring) in Minnesota
- 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.
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