The Michigan Department of Natural Resources confirmed a new state record cisco (formerly known as lake herring). The fish was caught Friday, June 9, by Michael Lemanski of Florence, Wisconsin, on Lake Ottawa in Iron County in the western Upper Peninsula. The fish weighed 6.36 pounds and measured 21.8 inches.
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DNR fisheries biologist Jennifer Johnson verified the catch.
“Although this fish was caught in June, we only recently verified it as a state record,” said Gary Whelan, the DNR’s fisheries research manager. “The reason for the delay stemmed from the fact we wanted to ensure this fish was not a hybrid between a cisco and a lake whitefish. These fish look extremely similar so we gathered DNA from the fish to test its compatibility with what we know about cisco. That test, done by Michigan State University, proved to be a match.”
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For a current list of Michigan state-record fish, visit michigan.gov/staterecordfish.
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