Netting for harvesting cisco, also referred to as tullibee, and whitefish for personal use will be open this fall on designated lakes. Whitefish and cisco sport netting is open to Minnesota residents only. About 700 Minnesotans participate each year.
Netting schedules vary by lake and are based on expected water temperatures. As the water temperatures cool, game fish head to deeper water while cisco and whitefish come to shallow water for fall spawning.
Some lakes that are more susceptible to factors impacting water temperatures will open and close to netting with a 48-hour notice posted at lake accesses, other public places and the DNR website. These are known as Schedule I lakes and include Basswood, Bear Island, Fall, Newton, Ojibway, Shagawa and Vermilion.
Other lakes, known as Schedule 2 lakes, are open to netting based on the set netting schedules listed on the DNR website (mndnr.gov/regulations/fishing/whitefish-sport-netting.html).
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources allows netting when there is little chance that fish other than cisco and whitefish will be caught. Game fish incidentally taken in nets must be returned to the water immediately.
