How do fish eat in frozen lakes?

Body functions slow down in the winter, and although they do eat, fish eat much less. Prey fish will hang out in vegetative cover where they can hide and eat at the same time. Predator fish will then slowly swim by these areas to look for a quick and easy meal.



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As a lake freezes, the ice floats on the surface, insulating the water below and keeping most lakes—and the fish within them—from freezing solid. You would still, however, be very cold. Lake fish have to lower their metabolism and enter a state called torpor to reduce their energy demands enough to survive the winter.

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In water that is around the freezing point, a person is likely to survive only 15 to 45 minutes with flotation and possibly up to an hour or so with flotation and protective gear before the brain and heart stop (Table 1). The surface temperature of Lake Superior in early to mid-summer is about 40 to 50 F.

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Once the surface water cools to approximately 32 degrees Fahrenheit, the water molecules crystallize into interlocking lattice-like patterns and ice is formed.

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Therefore, below freezing temperatures are needed for a week or more to form ice on a large lake. As I have mentioned before, water is a unique substance in that the solid form (ice) is lighter than the liquid form (water).

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