CISCO IMMITATORS

[MD]

I'M GOING TO START FISHING A LOCAL LAKE THATS DEEP AND CLEAR AND HAS A LOT OF DAYTIME BOATING ACTIVITY. IT ALSO HAS A DECENT CISCO POPULATION AND I HAVE A HUNCH THE BIG WALLEYE ARE FEEDING ON THESE CISCO AFTER DARK, SUSPENDED, OVER THE DEEPEST PART OF THE LAKE. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY OPINIONS ON WHAT CRANKBAITS IMMITATE A CISCO THE BEST? HAS ANYONE FISHED AFTER DARK UNDER THESE SAME CONDITIONS FOR SUSPENDED FISH AND HAD SUCCESS? ANY THOUGHTS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED.

[mckoz]

I have fished and continue to fish a lake which is stikingly similar. We do not have the boat traffic but do have depths primarily in the 40 to 90' range. I have tried every crankbait mentioned on this board and can not get into the large fish - you are correct in that they are over the deepest middle of nowhere parts of the lake, all day and night. I see the large fish in spring and not again until fall - I'll be watching this post as well - hope somebody else has some ideas.

Mike

[Deep Troller]

Hey all,
Found this thread on another forum. (Please forgive me:))
http://fishingminnesota.com/ubb/Forum18/HTML/000233.html
It talks about what you are asking as well as some great ideas.
DT

[cisco]

Best immatators are blue/silver and black/silver Rapalas. It is tough to get them down without downriggers, but large predator fish will follow them at times they move shallower -- those times are sporadic and difficult to plot, but they occur.

A technique that sometimes works is to vertical jig just above the forage (ciscoes) when they are deep. One of the best for vertical jigging is a silver Swedish pimple. Give it a shot.

In the fall, you can have fun catching the ciscoes on Jig-a-Whoppers and Swedish pimples in depths of 30 to 50 feet. They are fall spawners and move to the deep reefs just before dropping their eggs. Ciscoes are great fighters and are very good table fare when baked or broiled.

Good luck.

[mckoz]

Thanks for the info - the thread mentioned above talked about walleyes relating to structure being much smaller - these are the walleyes which have been easy to catch. Looks like I've been ignoring the best part of the lake. Better get out my Deepwoods OFF and give it a try.

[Hawgeye]

I fish a lake that is very similiar. I wait until a full moon cycle when the moon is out with a bright clear night, hook on a few #9 Shad Raps, Thundersticks or Reef runners and get them to run at the 20'+ range. This lake that I fish really sets up a thermocline and is easy to see. When I see that, that is when I really hit the lake hard after dark. I have caught 5 walleyes over 8 pounds in the last two years with one topping 11 on that lake. I run fairly fast while pulling the cranks (3 MPH +). I am getting close to starting on that lake soon.

[MD]

THANKS TO SUPERTROLLER AND EVERYONE ELSE ON THEIR INPUT. NOW I'M COMPLETELY FIRED UP TO GET OUT THERE CATCH SOME HAWGS! THIS SITE ROCKS !

[mckoz]

Hey MD

Just wondering how often you see the Ciscoes - many times we see active feeding on the surface but it turns out to be white bass. Also, how deep do you generally see the ciscoes schooled up?

Mike

[Backwater Eddy]

Take a look at the great lure line from SALMO.

SALMO has a couple of models that are excellent trollers on riggers or straight line trolling, the STING, WHITEFISH, and BULLHEAD for example. They make some great whitefish and Cisco patterns with dig deep lips. They are high quality lures and finish's that produce very well!

The Whitefish line is a great replacement for the old #18 Rapala Husky that is no longer in production by Rapala.

SALMO also has many of these models with metal lips for tough conditions.

http://www.salmo.com.pl/home_right.htm

I hope this is of help to you.

Backwater Eddy.........><,,>