What do lake trout eat?
In a healthy big lake: coldwater baitfish, overwhelmingly. Adult lakers are built around pelagic prey — cisco (lake herring) and smelt where they occur, plus whitefish, sculpins, and burbot — and the cisco connection is the master key to laker location, because the trout simply live where those schools live, inside the cold band. This diet is also the growth engine behind 15–20 kg (33–44 lb) fish. The revealing exception: in lakes without pelagic baitfish, lake trout eat plankton and insects their whole lives and stay small and slim — two lakes a few kilometers (a couple of miles) apart can hold 20 kg (44 lb) fish and 1.5 kg (3 lb) fish of the same species and age. Before targeting trophies, ask one question: does this lake have cisco or smelt?
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