Lakes

Northern Michigan lakes, freshwater life, and a childhood spent exploring the inland waters of the Great Lakes region.

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Freediving the Inland Lakes

Northern Michigan’s inland lakes are clearer than most people expect — visibility that rivals coastal waters, and an underwater world that rewards attention. In 2014, freediver Chris Morey took me out on North Twin Lake, where we explored submerged deadfall structures that function as habitat for fish and other wildlife.

Chris Morey, freediver, pointing at a freshwater jellyfish (Craspedacusta sowerbii) in North Twin Lake, Michigan, 2014. Freshwater jellyfish are native to the Yangtze River but have established in inland lakes across North America — small, translucent, and easy to miss. (Photo: Jeff A. Tracey)

Jeff Tracey freediving in North Twin Lake, Michigan, 2014. Selfie stick visible at lower frame — the green water and soft ambient light are characteristic of Michigan’s inland lakes. (Photo: Jeff A. Tracey)

A bass sheltering in submerged deadwood structure, North Twin Lake, Michigan, 2014. Submerged logs are critical habitat — they concentrate fish, invertebrates, and aquatic insects. (Photo: Jeff A. Tracey)

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Lake Michigan

Aquatic vegetation on the sandy bottom of Lake Michigan, 2014. The water clarity here is partly due to zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) — an invasive species that filters the water column, increasing light penetration and shifting the ecology of the lake. (Photo: Jeff A. Tracey)

Sunset over Lake Michigan, 2014. (Photo: Jeff A. Tracey)

More to come.