SPOONING

As cisco populations in the Great Lakes continue to rebound and expand so do the angling opportunities. Compared to many of their inland counterparts, Great Lakes ciscoes are bigger and more piscivorous. That steady diet of fish means that almost everyone you catch qualifies for a “master angler” patch here in Michigan. Cold water and productive drowned river mouth lakes connected to Lake Michigan offer a unique opportunity to catch them on the ice.

Adult ciscoes hit these waters in the searching for pelagic bait. Mostly young of year alewives but I’m sure they don’t refuse shad or shiners if they are encountered. They do most of their hunting in the deep basins of these waters (35 -100+ feet). On the few fisheries I frequent, I’ve found the basins closest to the Lake Michigan connection point to be the most productive.

Things are vastly different depending on the fishery. Places that they’ve established as winter feeding grounds can have MEGA schools of them. Drilling holes and looking with electronics is the deal here. I’ve often found fish in these places will relate to the bottom and it’s possible to come across schools that are 10 feet or more thick. It’s not quite as easy on other fisheries that are still gaining traction from the recovery and expansion of ciscoes. Those fish are total roamers and generally there’s only 1-3 at a time down there. They’ll always be suspended in the upper half of the water column and be on the move. If you don’t get a bait in their area quickly they are gone, it’s like chasing ghosts at times.

Once you get around them it’s time to get to the fun part. These things are aggressive and if they don’t react right away to your spoon it’s safe to say it’s not a cisco. I think you can catch them on a lot of different things but for me various Clam Pro Tackle spoons are the deal. If I’m on a big school of them it is hard to beat a Leech Flutter Spoon (1/8 on up

COMPARED TO MANY OF THEIR INLAND COUNTERPARTS, GREAT LAKES CISCOES ARE BIGGER AND MORE PISCIVOROUS.

to the ½ ounce Super Leech), the feathered treble is often in the back of their throats! The new Pinhead Pro in the 1/8 or ¼ ounce size is also going to be a great choice and is going to get back to the school faster. Other times I’m targeting a mixed bag of perch and cisco. While perching I’m constantly watching that top half of the water column for any sort of mark. If I see anything I’ll reel up a speed spoon tipped with spikes and usually capture one of those roaming ciscoes.

Regardless of what you are using for bait, making them chase it is the key to success. Keep it above them and keep it away from them. They charge it hard and then often miss only to come back again and again until they get it. I’ve brought them up high enough that I can look down the hole in 50 feet of water and see them trying to eat the spoon. While aggressive they have small mouths and it is common for them to need several attempts. If they seem to get stale, moving it even faster seems to get them interested again. The bite is often an “up bite” and you’ll have to watch for slack after one of those hard charges.

Delicate mouths and small hooks make battles tedious and intense. Especially when they can power back to the bottom on runs, peeling out 20 feet of drag or more. Many of them are 2-3.5 lbs and can really be feisty (and a lot of fun) in that cold water.

It’s one of the more unique fisheries we have. I only expect it to get better and increase in popularity in the years to come.

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