Bait Profile - Deepwater Sculpin
While we typically have hit on species that are forage for largemouth and smallmouth bass. Although I would bet at some point in history a smallmouth has eaten one. We are going to switch it up a little bit this time, as this one is more of just a fun fact. It's likely you've never ever heard of this fish and even more likely that you never have and never will see one.
As their name suggests they like deep water, really deep water. It's unlikely that they're paths would ever cross with a bass but they are absolutely prey for other species. Other deep dwellers like lake trout and burbot will not hesitate to snack on a deepwater sculpin. Deepwater sculpin are a glacial relict from the last ice age and you’ll find them inhabiting the same waters as another well known glacial relict the oppossum shrimp (mysis relicta or mysis diluviana, at work we just call them mysis). Great lakes like Michigan, Huron, Superior, and Ontario all contain both species. I do not know their status in Lake Erie. The pictured deepwater sculpin were caught in a bottom trawl in Lake Michigan in 225 feet of water. One of the perks of being a scientist is getting to see this stuff in real life. I’ve also done extensive diet studies on Lake Michigan deepwater sculpins and find that the mysis is their favored prey item. The shallowest I’ve seen them in my research out there is around 150 feet but I also have never gone looking for them shallower in months of cold water. Their temperature preference of water in the low 40s might allow them to explore new habitat in winter months.
With them being a glacial relict species, they are in some other water bodies that are cold, deep, and clear. There are not many possibilities inland in Michigan but I do have a couple personal observations. I observed deepwater sculpins in lake trout stomachs that I caught ice fishing on Elk Lake. I also observed mysis while ice fishing Torch Lake at night. So with those 2 lakes connected and Torch being even deeper than Elk and a mysis population. I’m guessing they are in there too. I don’t know how heavily they are preyed upon in those bodies of water but I definitely factor them into my game plan when ice fishing those lakes.
They look like they would blend in with the lake bottom as you can see with the ones pictured below. That’s where they live most of their lives, although they do spend some time in the water column as juveniles. I’ve observed juveniles caught in plankton nets in March through October, suggesting they have long spawning season and it is known that deepwater sculpins are nest guarders. I haven’t observed that but it is supposed to be documented in the underwater documentary All Too Clear. We do often see clusters of eggs that match the description of a deepwater sculpin on moorings we have out in the lake for months at a time. The ones pictured in my hands are good sized ones, around 4 inches long. Those are adults and they don’t get much bigger than that.
