Blackfin Cisco
Before commercial nets and invasive species reshaped the Great Lakes, the Blackfin Cisco occupied the deepest, coldest basins of those waters — a planktivore named for its jet-black fins that lived largely out of reach of any recreational fishery.
Now considered extinct or extirpated from the Great Lakes, with only a possibly surviving population in Lake Nipigon, it stands as one of the clearest examples of how quickly a deepwater ecosystem can unravel.
Scientific Name: Coregonus nigripinnis
Also known as cisco à nageoires noires
- The black pigmentation on the outer halves of the fins — often solid black at the tips — is the single most reliable field mark separating this cisco from its close relatives in the Coregonus artedi complex.
- Coloration runs dark silvery overall, with pink or purple iridescence on the flanks, a dark green-to-black back, and a pale belly; the body is deep and strongly compressed, with the greatest depth sitting forward of the dorsal fin.
- Large eye, blunt snout, and a terminal mouth where the lower jaw typically projects slightly past the upper — a subtle but consistent feature shared with several related ciscoes, making fin color the go-to ID cue.
- Adults ranged from roughly 27–44 cm; maximum reported length was about 41.5 cm, with a common length around 33 cm.
What to know
Habitat Distribution
- Restricted to the Laurentian Great Lakes — primarily Lakes Huron and Michigan — and Lake Nipigon; now extirpated from the Great Lakes, with a possibly surviving population only in Lake Nipigon.
- The Great Lakes populations lived at depths of 90–160 m in the coldest, most oxygen-rich offshore basins; in the shallower Lake Nipigon, the same thermal preference translated to roughly 33–37 m.
- Strictly freshwater and non-migratory, spending its entire life in the deep, clear basins of large oligotrophic lakes — waters with low nutrient loads and high transparency.
Specific Spots
- In the Great Lakes, the species held in the deepest offshore basins beyond 90 m — not because of structure, but because that's where water temperatures stayed cold enough and zooplankton concentrations persisted year-round in the open water column.
- Lake Nipigon's shallower basin compressed that same cold-water niche into the 33–37 m range, where thermal conditions matched the abyssal zones the Great Lakes populations depended on.
Blackfin Cisco FAQ
Answers from onWater's species guide.
What are the best lures and bait for Blackfin Cisco?
No documented recreational lure or bait fishery; the species' deep-water planktivorous habits and current near-extinction status mean no practical tackle guidance exists.
What do Blackfin Cisco eat?
Zooplankton in the open water column was the core forage, this was a filter-feeding planktivore, not a species that chased baitfish or invertebrates along the bottom, which is part of why it never developed a recreational following.
Where do Blackfin Cisco live?
Restricted to the Laurentian Great Lakes, primarily Lakes Huron and Michigan, and Lake Nipigon; now extirpated from the Great Lakes, with a possibly surviving population only in Lake Nipigon.
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