Fish in the Zone

During the year, fish travel between zones of plant and animal life.

by Roland Sigurdson

Fish all have their favorite spots in a lake. If you fish, you'll learn where certain fish are most likely to be found. Why does a fish choose to live in one part of the lake rather than another?

Where fish hang out depends on the time of year. As weather changes from season to season, conditions in a lake change. For example, as weather gets warmer, some parts of the lake warm up. Then fish might move to a different place, or zone, to find food and shelter.

Fish also change zones as they grow. Like babies, newly hatched fish need different kinds of food and shelter than grown-up fish do. This story follows young yellow perch from spring through winter. As the seasons change and the perch grow, they travel to new lake zones.

To read this entire Young Naturalists story, download the PDF below.

			Read "Life of a Pike" May–June 2010 for a story about the life cycle of northern pike.
Full-color PDF of Fish in the Zone	Teachers Guide for Fish in the Zone