Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Creating the food chain Stocking ciscoes

Does anyone in the upper midwest know where to get ciscoes for stocking? I know their requirements are strict.
Robert B

I would also be very interested in hearing about these fish. I know that huge smallies and walleye spend the summer months chasing these fish in or above the thermoclime at some local lakes.

If I was interested in keeping Ciscos (aka Lake Herring) in a lake as forage for big smallies, I would assume that my lake would have to be at least 30 feet deep in places, and I would have to allow the lake to stratify. Is this a plausible scenario in Southern Ontario?

For any others interested in learning about ciscos, there was a great article in In-Fisherman about 3 months ago ALL ABOUT CISCOS! Everything about their breeding habits, feeding patterns, population dynamics, habitat, everything. If anyone is interested I could fax them the article, I think you would find it quite useful.

From what I have read about ciscoes, they are even less tolerant than trout for survival and reproduction. Their upper limit of temperature tolerance is around 65F. You mght get them to survive in a deep spring fed pond but they would not successfully spawn so you would have to restock young or large fry.

Ciscoes thrive in nonfertile lakes so the numbers that could be raised in a pond or small lake would be few, due to very low fish biomass supported by infertile waters. Very doubtful an infertile pond could raise enough zooplankton to feed ciscoes who are heavy zooplankton feeders. Enrichment to produce plankton results in depletion of oxygen in the cold waters and forces the ciscoes up into the upper warm water where temps above 65F kills them.