Feb 18, 2021
What exactly do fish do all winter under the ice? It's a surprisingly ambiguous question. Almost everything we know about fish comes from studying them in warm weather. Aquatic Ecologist Bailey McMeans joins us to talk about what fish are up to in the depth of winter. Did you know fish brains are actually bigger in the winter than in the summer? Join us for a peek at what fish are up to under the ice.
3:00 What nudges a warmth-loving person to dwell in a cold place? The Greenland shark, for starters
5:00 How can the same fish cope with vast temperature extremes?
6:00 "Booger-freezing cold"
8:00 Canadian lakes: Wonderful systems for studying seasonal variations and the effect on marina fauna
12:00 Do you notice a difference in the quantity of fish caught when you're fishing under an ice tent versus au plein air? Light pouring into the water column... does it make a difference to fish?
13:00 Almost everything we know about fish comes from studying them in the summer
15:00 Studying fish brains in summer versus winter. WUUUT?! The size of the fish brain changes, everyone!
18:00 Is winter actually a time of scarcity for top-of-the-food-web fish in frozen lakes?
24:00 Does brain size increase/decrease in sync with cognitive demands? Like spawning, or navigation, maybe?
27:00 Fish are like most species, they have an optimal temperature range. But even for coldwater fish species, cold temps are still a challenge
33:00 Cold water: Colder; less light; and under a layer of ice, there's less oxygen exchange with the atmosphere
37:00 Isn't it kind of cool how much we still don't know?
38:00 Experiential knowledge from ice fishers is a huge boon to the study of winter ecology and fish... they're also integral to the whole 'catching fish' part of the study
46:00 What fish strike at also tells us about their underwater winter life
47:00 Spear(ice)fishing for muskie and northern pike with a decoy
49:00 Finding prey without vision (like possibly by using smell, movement sensing)
51:00 Do we care more about species we know intimately?
55:00 In the winter, the coldest water CAN be at the surface
57:00 Dr. McMeans wants to hear from you! Does the type/size of bait you use in winter differ than what you use in open-water season? Do you ever catch warm-water species, like bass, under the ice? If so, how do you catch them? If you have ideas to share, find us in the Artemis Facebook group.
58:00 How do you learn ice-fishing?
1:00:01 Hank Shaw's kidney pie #offal #notawful
1:00:03 Winter lake ice is changing/melting in the same vein as sea ice
1:00:06 Artemis Turkey Tactics! Join us for a webinar series on turkey-everything. Plus, swag, everyone! A huge thank you to GotGameTech (awesome mobile apps to teach you how to call game) and PegLegs Customs (beautiful handmade turkey calls) for their generous support of this event! Go check ‘em out.