The Feeding Zone

Locating feeding fish is one of the most important skills a fisherman can develop. You can mark fish on your fish finder and not entice them to strike your lure if they are not in their "feeding zone"!

Most species of fish have a preferred temperature of water that they will actively feed in. Find this area of temperature with fish present and you will greatly increase your chances of catching fish. Remember, fish are cold blooded. In water too cold, fish will be dormant, sluggish and will not feed. In water too warm, they will be seeking a more comfortable environment. So, an understanding of how different temperatures of water break up will help you locate feeding fish.

Here are the two main ways different temperatures of water will break up.

On inland lakes, water temperatures tend to settle into horizontal layers of warm and cold water that are separated by a moderating layer known as the "thermocline". The thermocline will be the most active "feeding zone". On larger bodies of water like the oceans and Great Lakes, masses of water temperature are much larger and in a constant state of change. The location of these large masses of temperature are highly affected by the changes in weather conditions. These large masses of warm and cold water also have a moderating layer known as a "temperature break". Because of the constant shifting of the warm and cold masses, temperature breaks often appear as a vertical layer. The area of, and immediately around the temperature break is the most active "feeding zone".

In recent years, Great Lakes charter captains and tournament fishermen have gained access to surface temperature maps, showing the break up of warm and cold waters on the Great Lakes. These maps are gathered by satellite and updated daily. Learning to read these maps will help take the guess work out of where to fish on the Great Lakes.