The History of the Cisco Disco
Bryce Nielson
Annual event started small in the
mid 1980’s. A good friend, Don Archer and I would get together to catch a limit
of cisco each year. Since it was cold, Don would bring a Coleman stove to make
a pot of coffee. People would stop by for a cup and wonder what we were going
to do with the cisco. When we said, “eat them” many folks wondered what they
tasted like so we shared.
Don started bringing a fry pan,
flour and oil. When you cook cisco, eat them fresh. Usually, fishermen are so
sick of cisco after cleaning a hundred, they put them in the freezer and forget
about them. A couple of months later they thaw and cook them and wonder why
they taste so fishy. After they tasted them, fresh, on the tailgate of the
truck, they changed their minds.
As the years passed, the cooking
of Bonneville cisco, fresh, grew. It really took off when Ralph Blotter and
Andy Bolos became involved. As an organizer by nature, Ralph decided to take it
to the next level and cook his world famous scones and have Andy provide the
fresh cut fries from his restaurant in Ogden. He planned to feed everyone on
the beach. The crowds exploded and there was always a big fire and lots of
antifreeze and socialization.
My dear friend, Doug Miller, Utah
Outdoors, showed up one year when it was well below zero. He noticed everyone
standing around the fire in the normal, duck coverall dress jumping up and
down, hands in their pockets, trying to stay warm. The only one sitting in a
chair was Heber Stock, of original pioneer heritage, of Fish Haven. He was our
oldest participant and was there every year until he passed away at 85. He
could remember gill netting cisco under the ice as a boy filling buckets with
fish on a sleigh pulled by a pony. Doug
wanted a parting shot with all the crazy fishermen including Heber so we all
stood in a line dancing back and forth trying to keep warm at which point Doug
dubbed the movement, the “Cisco Disco”. It has been a tradition ever since.
People come and go and for the last few years Scott Tolentino, with lots of friends,
have continued to host the Cisco Disco. It was great to see kids and adults,
coming out in the cold, eating freshly caught cisco with tarter sauce, hot
fries and scones, slathered in honey butter.
It was always free, with a tip jar to help buy supplies.
As the years passed, the
volunteers grew and the word spread. Soon members of the local LDS Wards
started to come in increased numbers. The Jessica Ward, a local gal, organized
a polar plunge at the Bear Lake State Park Marina to raise money for charity.
That event also grew and it was natural for them to combine forces. Both
outings started to have hundreds of participants, so the Bear Lake Rendezvous
Chamber of Commerce got on board, and publicized the “Cisco Disco” which
brought more visitors to Bear Lake during January. Utah Parks and Recreation
facilities were filled around the third Saturday in January, so they became
more involved and didn’t charge Park entrance fees. It continues to grow and
there are many other things going on during that time.
I am pleasantly surprised so see
what happened over the last 30+ years. In the 1980’s, interest in cisco fishing
had declined since the heydays in the 1960’s. Fishermen had always worried how
it would affect the fish population, few fished with cisco as bait and it was
too damned cold. Now, the crowds have returned. Not all of them fish for cisco,
but many are dressed in crazy outfits it jump in the lake and always a ton of
families and kids. It is still cold, but they don’t care. It is all part of the annual Cisco Disco FUN.
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