---
type: fish_guide
title: "How to Catch Tullibee (Cisco) and Whitefish in Minnesota: Ice Fishing & Netting"
description: "How to catch tullibee (cisco) and lake whitefish in Minnesota through the ice, the 2026 angling limits, and how the fall sport gill netting season works."
updated: 2026-10-01
url: https://www.minnelakes.org/fish/tullibee
---

# How to Catch Tullibee (Cisco) and Whitefish in Minnesota: Ice Fishing & Netting

## Key Takeaways

- Tullibee and cisco are the same fish. They and lake whitefish live in deep, cold, well-oxygenated lakes, mostly in northern and central Minnesota.
- Angling is open all year. The 2026 statewide limit is 15 cisco and 15 whitefish, counting fish over 7 inches.
- Late-winter ice fishing is the main event: tullibee suspend over deep basins and take tiny jigs tipped with waxworms.
- Minnesota residents can also net whitefish and cisco in fall with a 10 dollar netting license, on listed lakes during dates the DNR posts each year.
- Both species are oily and bony, which makes them ordinary fried and outstanding smoked.

Tullibee, properly called cisco, and their larger cousin the lake whitefish are cold-water fish of Minnesota's deep northern and central lakes. Most are caught through the ice in February and March on tiny jigs tipped with waxworms, with tullibee suspended over deep water and whitefish closer to the bottom. Angling is open year-round with a 2026 limit of 15 of each species. Minnesota residents can also take them with a gill net in fall under a separate 10 dollar license, on specific lakes and dates the DNR posts each year.

## Identification and habits

Both fish are silvery, large-scaled members of the salmon and trout family and carry the small fleshy **adipose fin** between the dorsal fin and tail. People confuse them with each other and with invasive or bait species, so look at the mouth:

| | Tullibee (cisco) | Lake whitefish |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Mouth | At the tip of the head; lower jaw even with or slightly longer than the upper | Under an overhanging, rounded snout |
| Typical size | 10 to 16 inches; larger in fertile lakes | 16 to 24 inches, several pounds |
| Where in the water | Suspended, in open water over the basin | On or near the bottom |
| Diet | Zooplankton, insect larvae, small fish | Bottom insects, snails, small clams, fish eggs |

Both need cold water with enough oxygen through the summer. In a hot, calm summer, the layer of water that is both cold enough and oxygenated enough can shrink to nothing, and tullibee die-offs follow. That is why the DNR treats cisco as an indicator of lake health, and why keeping nutrients out of deep lakes matters for these fish in a warming climate.

They spawn in late fall, in November and into December, over shallow gravel and rock as the lakes are about to freeze. The fall netting season is built around that movement into the shallows.

## Where they live

- **Big walleye lakes.** Mille Lacs, Leech, Winnibigoshish, Cass and Lake of the Woods all hold tullibee, and Leech and Lake of the Woods hold good whitefish too.
- **Deep lakes of the Brainerd and Park Rapids areas.** Many of the deeper lakes in Crow Wing, Cass and Hubbard counties have tullibee. See [/lakes/crow-wing-county](https://www.minnelakes.org/lakes/crow-wing-county) and [/lakes/cass-county](https://www.minnelakes.org/lakes/cass-county).
- **Otter Tail County.** A scattering of deep, fertile lakes produces very large tullibee, including Sybil Lake, source of the state record. See [/lakes/otter-tail-county](https://www.minnelakes.org/lakes/otter-tail-county).
- **The Arrowhead and border country.** Vermilion, Rainy, Kabetogama, Namakan, Shagawa, Basswood and many lake trout lakes hold cisco, whitefish or both. See [/lakes/st-louis-county](https://www.minnelakes.org/lakes/st-louis-county).
- **Lake Superior**, where cisco are called lake herring and support a commercial fishery, and where anglers catch whitefish from shore and through the ice in protected bays.

Shallow, warm lakes in the southern third of the state generally do not have them.

## Season by season

| Period | What is happening | How people fish |
| --- | --- | --- |
| May and June | Fish are still shallow enough to reach; tullibee rise to insect hatches on calm evenings | Small jigs and flies near the surface; often incidental |
| July to September | Both species hold in the cold layer near and below the thermocline | Rarely targeted |
| October to December | Spawning run into the shallows | Sport gill netting season on listed lakes |
| December and January | Fish return to the basins | Ice fishing begins, scattered |
| February and March | Schools concentrate over deep water and feed on emerging insect larvae | Peak ice fishing |

## Ice fishing techniques

### Tullibee

1. Drill over the basin, off the edge of a flat or point, commonly in 25 to 50 feet of water. On Mille Lacs, the edges of the mud flats are the traditional spots.
2. Watch the flasher. Tullibee can come through at any depth, from just under the ice to near the bottom, and usually in groups.
3. Use a small tungsten jig, a tiny spoon or a small ice fly tipped with two or three waxworms or spikes. Some anglers hang a small fly on a dropper below a spoon that acts as an attractor.
4. Bring the bait to just above the fish and jiggle it gently while slowly lifting. Tullibee feed upward and will follow it.
5. Fight them gently. The mouth is paper-thin and hooks tear out under heavy pressure.

### Whitefish

Whitefish feed on the bottom, so keep the bait within a foot of it. A small jigging spoon or a jig tipped with a minnow head or waxworms works, fished with short lifts and long pauses. On Lake of the Woods and Leech they are often caught by walleye anglers.

### Dark house spearing

Whitefish may be speared from a dark house during the spearing season, which in 2026-27 runs November 15, 2026 through February 28, 2027, with a limit of 15. A spearing license is required for most adults.

## Gear

- **Rod:** A light or ultralight ice rod, 26 to 32 inches, with a soft tip or spring bobber.
- **Line:** 3 to 4 pound monofilament or fluorocarbon. Go to 6 pound for whitefish.
- **Lures:** Tungsten jigs in sizes 3 to 5 millimeters, small spoons, ice flies, waxworms and spikes.
- **Electronics:** A flasher is close to essential for tullibee, because the whole game is matching your depth to suspended fish.
- **Shelter:** A portable helps on the open basins of big lakes. See the [Minnesota ice fishing guide](https://www.minnelakes.org/guides/ice-fishing-minnesota-guide) and [/ice-fishing](https://www.minnelakes.org/ice-fishing).

## Angling regulations for 2026

Verified against the 2026 [Minnesota DNR fishing regulations](https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/regulations/fishing/index.html), effective March 1, 2026 through February 28, 2027:

| Species | Season | Statewide possession limit |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cisco (tullibee) | Continuous | 15 (fish over 7 inches) |
| Lake whitefish | Continuous | 15 (fish over 7 inches) |

Notes:

- Whitefish and cisco cannot be bought or sold by sport anglers.
- Mille Lacs Lake regulations, including for tullibee, are published separately and can change during the year.
- Cisco under 7 inches fall under bait rules, and there are restrictions on using cisco as bait away from the water where they were taken. Read the bait section before using them.

## Sport gill netting

Netting whitefish and tullibee in late fall is a long-standing northern Minnesota tradition, and it is tightly regulated. The rules below are from the DNR's [whitefish and cisco sport gill netting](https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/regulations/fishing/whitefish-sport-netting.html) page.

- **Who:** Minnesota residents only, with an angling license and the netting license (10 dollars in 2026).
- **Gear:** One gill net per person, at most 100 feet long and 3 feet deep, marked with a pole or buoy and tagged with the owner's name and address. Minimum mesh size is set lake by lake, either 3.5 inches or 1.75 inches stretch measure.
- **Where in the lake:** Nets may not be set in water deeper than 6 feet or within 50 feet of another net.
- **When:** Nets may not be set or lifted between sunset and sunrise and must be tended at least every 24 hours by the license holder.
- **Bycatch:** Native rough fish and common carp caught in the net may be kept; every other non-target fish, including all game fish, must be returned to the water immediately. You may not have angling gear with you while netting.
- **Limits:** The netted harvest of whitefish and cisco is not capped on most waters. Within the Leech Lake Reservation the possession limits are 25 whitefish and 50 cisco.
- **Invasive species:** A net used in a lake infested with zebra mussels or spiny water fleas may not be used in any other water. Nets from other infested waters must be dried 10 days or frozen 2 days first. See [clean, drain, dispose](https://www.minnelakes.org/guides/aquatic-invasive-species-minnesota-clean-drain-dispose).

Lakes fall into two groups. Schedule II lakes, which include Leech, Lake of the Woods, Kabetogama, Cass, Gull and Pokegama, open on preset dates. The most recent schedule posted when this was checked in October 2026 showed windows beginning in mid-October or the first half of November and ending in mid-December. Schedule I lakes, including Vermilion, Shagawa and Basswood, open and close on 48-hour notice posted at accesses, based on fish abundance and water temperature. Do not rely on last year's dates; check the DNR page each fall.

## State records

From the DNR [state record fish program](https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fishing/staterecords.html):

- **Cisco (tullibee):** 5 pounds 13 ounces, 20.75 inches, Sybil Lake, Otter Tail County, March 9, 2015.
- **Lake whitefish:** 13 pounds 9 ounces, 29.5 inches, Lake of the Woods, April 6, 2019.

## Handling, release and the table

- **Deep-water release is unreliable.** Tullibee pulled up from 40 feet often cannot get back down. If you are fishing deep, keep what you catch up to what you will use and then stop, instead of catching and releasing dozens.
- **Handle gently and quickly.** Scales come off easily and the fish are delicate. Unhook in the hole when you can.
- **Smoke them.** Brine overnight, then smoke until golden. Smoked tullibee and whitefish are the reason most people fish for them. Whitefish are also good baked or pickled.

## Before you go

- Find a deep, cold lake with a known cisco population, bring a flasher and the smallest jigs you own, and go in late winter.
- The angling limit is 15 of each species in 2026; netting is a separate license, residents only, with dates that change every fall.
- Have a plan for the fish. A smoker is the right tool.

## Top Minnesota Lakes for This Species

| Lake | County | Acres | Lake Score |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Leech Lake](https://www.minnelakes.org/lakes/cass-county/leech-lake) | Cass County | 103,444 | 92/100 |
| [Lake of the Woods](https://www.minnelakes.org/lakes/lake-of-the-woods-county/lake-of-the-woods) | Lake of the Woods County | 725,583 | 84/100 |
| [Lake Vermilion](https://www.minnelakes.org/lakes/st-louis-county/lake-vermilion) | St. Louis County | 39,272 | 80/100 |
| [Mille Lacs Lake](https://www.minnelakes.org/lakes/mille-lacs-county/mille-lacs-lake) | Mille Lacs County | 128,250 | 81/100 |
| [Lake Kabetogama](https://www.minnelakes.org/lakes/st-louis-county/lake-kabetogama) | St. Louis County | 24,034 | 74/100 |
| [Cass Lake](https://www.minnelakes.org/lakes/beltrami-county/cass-lake) | Beltrami County | 15,958 | 92/100 |
| [Rainy Lake](https://www.minnelakes.org/lakes/st-louis-county/rainy-lake) | St. Louis County | 210,200 | 89/100 |
| [Lake Winnibigoshish](https://www.minnelakes.org/lakes/cass-county/lake-winnibigoshish) | Cass County | 56,471 | 79/100 |
| [Pike Bay](https://www.minnelakes.org/lakes/cass-county/pike-bay) | Cass County | 4,756 | 78/100 |
| [Deer Lake](https://www.minnelakes.org/lakes/itasca-county/deer-lake) | Itasca County | 4,093 | 72/100 |
| [Gull Lake](https://www.minnelakes.org/lakes/cass-county/gull-lake) | Cass County | 10,010 | 90/100 |
| [Kabekona Lake](https://www.minnelakes.org/lakes/hubbard-county/kabekona-lake) | Hubbard County | 2,433 | 68/100 |

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Are tullibee and cisco the same fish?

Yes. Cisco is the standard name and tullibee is the common Minnesota name. Lake herring is another name for the same species, used mostly on Lake Superior. Lake whitefish are a close relative but a separate, larger species.

### What is the limit on tullibee in Minnesota?

Under the 2026 regulations the statewide angling possession limit is 15 cisco and, separately, 15 whitefish, with a continuous season. The limit applies to fish over 7 inches. Mille Lacs and some other waters have their own rules.

### When is whitefish netting season in Minnesota?

It varies by lake and year. Some lakes open on fixed schedules running from mid-October or November into mid-December, and others open on 48-hour notice when the DNR decides conditions are right. The DNR posts each fall's dates on its whitefish and cisco sport gill netting page.

### Do I need a special license to net whitefish?

Yes. Netting is open to Minnesota residents only and requires a valid angling license plus a whitefish and cisco netting license, which cost 10 dollars in 2026. You may use one gill net no longer than 100 feet and no deeper than 3 feet.

### How do you catch tullibee through the ice?

Set up over a deep basin or the edge of a mud flat, watch a flasher for fish suspended anywhere in the water column, and raise or lower a small jig or spoon tipped with waxworms to just above them. Light line and a soft rod tip help because tullibee have soft mouths.

### What are the Minnesota state records for tullibee and whitefish?

The certified weight record cisco is 5 pounds 13 ounces from Sybil Lake in Otter Tail County, caught in March 2015. The record lake whitefish is 13 pounds 9 ounces from Lake of the Woods, caught in April 2019.

---
*Source: [MinneLakes.org](https://www.minnelakes.org/fish/tullibee)*