FISH OF LAKE MICHIGAN

INTRODUCTION

In this project my topic is all about the fish of Lake Michigan. I decided to do my project on fish because they are so cool if you think about it fish are like the submarines of the animal world.

Without further a do let's get started!!!

LAKE MICHIGAN

Lake Michigan is the second largest Great Lake and is 925 feet deep. The lake consists of freshwater, which does not contain as much salt as seawater. This means that only some fish can live in the lake (some fish can only live in seawater as well).

In this project I have decided to focus on five of the fish that live in Lake Michigan.

FISH #1 - Muskellunge

I thought why not start with my favorite fish which is none other than the Muskalunnge!

The Muskellunges nickname is Muskie.

The Muskellunge is the national fish of Wisconsin and grows up to 4 foot long. Some extreme specimens have been found that are even bigger, up to 8 foot or more long. It takes over 10 years for Muskie to grow. It is a type of Pike fish.

Muskellunge is the apex predator of Lake Michigan so it eats almost everything else in the lake.

It is not allowed to kill a Muskie and fishermens throw them back in the water after catching them. This lets the Muskies keep growing and keeps the lake ecosystem in balance.

Muskie are hard to catch because they are so strong. Sometimes after they are caught they beat up the fisherman and throw them in the water and drive the boat instead and steal the fishermans entire life.

FISH #2 - Yellow Perch

Yellow perch are called bottom feeders. This is because they swim near to the lake floor and eat almost anything that sinks down to them.

It is a popular fish that people like to catch and eat. Usually they are found swimming in big groups (called schools) of fish. They are much smaller than Muskies and so they are a lot easier to catch. They are only 1 foot in maximum size.

FISH #3 - Lake Trout

Lake Trout is in the middle size between the Muskie and the Yellow Perch. They can grow to around 2 foot in length.

Lake Trout like cold water and live in the deepest and coldest parts of the lake.

There used to be a lot of Lake Trout until people fished too many. There are also bad fish that attack them (more on that later!).

Because of that people have been making efforts to boost the population of Lake Trout by breeding them in hatcheries and adding them to the lake.

FISH #4 - Chinook Salmon

Chinook Salmon were introduced into the Great Lakes in the olden days.

Chinook Salmon were introduced into the Great Lakes for sports-fishers and also to help fight against invasive fish species like alewifes.

Chinook Salmon are known by fisherman for their tenacious ability to not back down. They fight hard and move quickly, making a good challenge for those who catch spirit for sport. They can also grow up to 3feet long making them the second biggest fish I studied.

FISH #5 - Sea Lamprey *Evil*

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, Lake Michigan is a complicated ecosystem of fish. Humans have caused lots of problems in the lake by introducing species that didn't live there. But nowdays people are trying to help the lake by growing more fish and making it illegal to catch certain fish.

My project was only on five fish in the lake but estimates say lots more types of fish live there.

Muskie is my favourite fish because it is the biggest and isn't afraid of the other fish.

One day I hope all the Lamprey are killed off.

The best part of this project was learning about different types of fish in Lake Michigan.

THE END

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