Why Target Them
Nothing else in Utah fishing works like this. The guidebook gives cisco their own set of rules: a handheld dipnet is legal gear, the net opening cannot exceed 18 inches in any dimension, snagged fish may be kept, and dead cisco can be used as bait only in Bear Lake. The limit is 30, which sounds like a lot until you see how small they are; the state record weighed 3.2 ounces at nine inches. Dress for standing in shallow water at sunrise in January, because that is the whole event.
How To Catch Them
Where: Bear Lake ONLY (found nowhere else on Earth)
Go-to rig: Dip net through the ice or from shore at Cisco Beach
Best bait and lures: None - you net them during the spawn
Best time: Late January, sunrise, when they run the rocky shoreline
A true Utah tradition: 30-fish limit, netted by hand in freezing dawn. Bucket list!
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Where To Catch Them (1 waters)
Quick Answers
- How do you catch Bonneville Cisco in Utah?
- Go-to rig: Dip net through the ice or from shore at Cisco Beach Best bait: None - you net them during the spawn
- Where can I catch Bonneville Cisco in Utah?
- Bear Lake.
- When do Bonneville Cisco bite best?
- Late January, sunrise, when they run the rocky shoreline
- Why fish for Bonneville Cisco in Utah?
- Because you cannot do it anywhere else. Bonneville cisco live only in Bear Lake, and for a few mornings each winter they push into the rocky shallows to spawn, where Utah lets you take them with a handheld dipnet. The limit is 30, and the good netting happens at first light.