Lifer cisco from Big Green Lake

Finally, my lifer cisco! After one trip to MN and four trips to Big Green Lake, WI, I finally caught a cisco. I was beginning to fear that I was going to miss out on catching one this season. Fished from 7am to 10am on Green Lake, caught the cisco a little after 9am. Hooked into him at a depth of 70 feet in 110 feet of water. Used a super glow rainbow buckshot rattle spoon without any additional bait. I think the trick to Green Lake is to pull the lure up fast, 18 inches or so, let it flutter back down, rest for half a second, and repeat. If the fish hits your lure at the bottom then the hookset is almost guaranteed on the next pull. Small jigging motions just don't seem to get them riled up enough. Ice was 15.5" thick.

Cisco (Coregonus artedi) - new hook & line species #90

Micros from Illinois and Ohio

Today I stopped at a stream near Rantoul, IL. I was hoping to find creek chubsuckers here, but apparently a stoneroller convention was in town, and the chubsuckers weren't invited. The stonerollers look like they've been getting busy. Also caught redfin shiners, female orangethroat darters, and a bunch of bluntnose minnows (not pictured).

Central Stoneroller male (Campostoma anomalum)

Central Stoneroller female (Campostoma anomalum)

Central Stoneroller juvenile (Campostoma anomalum)

Redfin Shiner (Lythrurus umbratilis)




Orangethroat Darter female (Etheostoma spectabile)

This morning I stopped at some of the forks of the Vermilion River in Champaign and Vermilion Counties. Water clarity wasn't as good as I was hoping, so my netting was pretty much done blindly. Here are a few of the notables. Not pictured is a brook silverside (not sure why I didn't take a picture of it) and small shiners that were probably either emerald or carmine.

Central Greenside Darter (Etheostoma blennioides pholidotum)




Rock Bass juvenile (Ambloplites rupestris)

 Longear Sunfish juvenile (Lepomis megalotis)

Stonecat (Noturus flavus)


Blackstripe Topminnow (Fundulus notatus)


Met up with Skipjack in the SW corner of Ohio today. It was my first time seining. Had a great time, thanks Matt! We weren't able to track down any variegate darters, but turned up quite a few mountain madtoms. Fish not pictured include stonecats, rainbow darters, greenside darters, banded darters, central stonerollers, bluntnose minnows, and a few shiner species. The male darters are beginning to show signs of spawning colors, but still have a ways to go.

Mountain Madtom (Noturus eleutherus)