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Best cisco (lake herring) lakes in Ontario

819 Ontario waters hold cisco (lake herring), 819 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. Lake Abitibi — 49 ft max · survey depth data · Walleye, Sauger, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch
2. Sandy Lake — 50 ft max · survey depth data · Walleye, Sauger, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch
3. Long Lake — 400 ft max · survey depth data · Walleye, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch, Lake Trout
4. Lake Nipissing — 230 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass
5. Lake Nipissing — 230 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass
6. Lake Simcoe — 135 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
7. Deer Lake — 217 ft max · survey depth data · Walleye, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch, Lake Trout
8. Red Lake — 140 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Sauger, Northern Pike
9. Missinaibi Lake — 250 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch
10. Lac des Mille Lacs — 90 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch
11. Trout Lake — 150 ft max · survey depth data · Walleye, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch, Lake Trout
12. Lac la Croix — 168 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Sauger, Northern Pike
13. Kesagami Lake — 13 ft max · survey depth data · Walleye, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch, Lake Whitefish
14. Birch Lake — 118 ft max · survey depth data · Walleye, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch, Lake Trout
15. Onaping Lake — 160 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Muskellunge
16. Kabinakagami Lake — 50 ft max · survey depth data · Walleye, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch, Lake Whitefish
17. Miniss Lake — 120 ft max · survey depth data · Walleye, Sauger, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch
18. Kenogamisis Lake — 98 ft max · survey depth data · Walleye, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch, Lake Whitefish
19. Pigeon Lake — 40 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Crappie
20. Stout Lake — 72 ft max · survey depth data · Walleye, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch, Lake Whitefish
21. Atikwa Lake — 180 ft max · survey depth data · Walleye, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch, Lake Trout
22. Favourable Lake — 39 ft max · survey depth data · Walleye, Sauger, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch
23. Lake of Bays — 200 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
24. Dryberry Lake — 340 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Muskellunge, Yellow Perch
25. Kakagi Lake — 180 ft max · survey depth data · Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Muskellunge, Yellow Perch

…plus 794 more Ontario waters holding cisco (lake herring).

When to fish cisco (lake herring) in Ontario

• 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 Ontario: best largemouth bass lakes · best smallmouth bass lakes · best walleye lakes · best white bass lakes · best sauger lakes · best northern pike lakes · best crappie lakes · best bluegill lakes · best channel catfish lakes · best rainbow trout lakes · best muskellunge lakes · best yellow perch lakes · best freshwater drum lakes · best common carp lakes · best longnose gar lakes · best chinook salmon lakes · best coho salmon lakes · best lake trout lakes · best brown trout lakes · best brook trout lakes · best landlocked salmon lakes · best lake whitefish lakes · best burbot lakes · best rock bass lakes · best white perch lakes · best splake lakes · best pumpkinseed lakes · best brown bullhead lakes · best lake sturgeon lakes

Cisco (Lake Herring) elsewhere: Minnesota · Québec · Michigan · Manitoba