Lake Michigan fish (at least ones you will see diving the shallow wrecks and breakwalls)
all photos by Dave Helms
Round Goby. Extremely common. seen on almost every dive irregardless of depth. Relatively unafraid of divers. can be fed by crushing up zebra mussels and letting the remains drift down to them.
Golden Carp. Commonly seen around breakwalls and rock piles. Bottom feeder. Will initially allow a close approach if a diver holds his breath, but will rapidly swim away from divers when they exhale. .
Smallmouth Bass. Very common around breakwalls and shallow wrecks. Completely unafraid of divers. Often come right up to a diver to see what he or she is doing. Can be fed crayfish or shrimp if a slow approach is used.
Yellow Perch. Common around breakwalls from April until Mid July. Travel in schools. Shy away from divers.
Walleye. Relatively uncommon. Seen in the rocks along breakwalls. Tend to shy away from divers at first, but may reapproach if diver remains still.
Gizzard Shad. Seen in certain areas of breakwalls. Usually in the rocky areas just below the surface. Relatively unafraid of divers.
Golden Redhorse. A sucker-like fish seen around shallow breakwalls. Can also be seen on some wrecks. Fairly shy. often hides down between or under wreck timbers.
Freshwater Drum. Seen deeper along breakwalls. Tend to be shy of divers. A slow approach may be possible, but as soon as a diver exhales, they swim away rapidly.
OK, you may be wondering why i have no photos of salmon, trout, etc. That is because they are almost NEVER seen underwater by sport divers.
Alewives. Schools of thousands are common in open water
Rock Bass. These little guys are often right on the rocks inshore or on wrecks.
White Sucker. Usually found hiding under wreckage or crevices under rock piles
