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| I have to concur with Todd M., I fished Webster Monday and at the start of the day surface temp., was 72 and at the end of the day in spots was 76 degrees. I start worring when it hits 78 degrees and I was wondering what your opinons are. Al |
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Posts: 459
Location: New Baden IL | Al,
I fish Kinkaid 90% of my time, and we usually stop fishing when the surface temp hits 80 degrees.
I fished with a buddy of mine Monday, and we took a temperature gauge along with us.
The surface temp was 81.6 degrees. TEN feet down it was still 80 degrees. At FIFTEEN feet, it was 76, then at TWENTY feet, it started to really cool down, and the thermocline was definatly noticable. I think that is just too hot to fish for them. If you did catch one down there deeper and cooler, I dont think the heat from 10' to the surface is too good for them.
I know this is somewhat of a hot button topic, but I'd rather not have a bunch of dead fish on my conscince, so I stop fishing for them at 80.
Before we knew of the hot water stress, there were dead fish floating on spots where guys caught fish the day before. I dont think that was much of a random chance. I hope other guys weigh in on this subject too.
Rodney LaCaze
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Posts: 2894
Location: Yahara River Chain | Correct surface temps should be taken in the morning before the sun does any of its warming and the cooler water has its chance to effect the surface temps. |
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Posts: 1936
Location: Eau Claire, WI | I tend to use 80 degrees as a benchmark. Gives me a few weeks to get caught up on a few things around the house. Sometimes the river temps are a little lower so I still have a few places to fish if I want to. |
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| Yes it is about time for 3 months off down here in KY. But it does depend on where the oxygen is, if there is still 72-74 degree water above the sharp drop in temp/thermocline, you COULD probably fish for them, but you are fighting a fish in that warm water and handling that fish in warm water so it does get to be a question of survival. Down here in the main basins we often keep 25 feet of water above the thermocline but soon it will ALL be 78 degrees and up, so it is NOT a good deal for the fish. I usually just hang it up until surface temps dip below 80 in the fall, fish seem to not show up until around 76.
You can always watch for rainfall induced, and cold front induced temperature depressions until late June. |
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| If you can catch them in 80 water, aren't they doing just fine? I would understand better if they stopped biting at 80. |
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Posts: 132
Location: Elkhart, IN | I am quitting at 80. I have no biological basis for that number just experience. It is a choice I am making because I believe it is going to save a few fish. I also believe it is in my best interests in the long run. Kinda like catch and release is. I also noticed taking them out of the water for a quick picture takes a lot out of them in warm water.
Silly, the fish biting has nothing to do with why some people are choosing to stop fishing for them when the water temps get high. I'm sure some people used a similar argument for releasing gut hooked fish. It swam away strong so it will live.
If you fish warm water you have to have noticed catching them takes a lot out of them. I personally believe a lot more are going to die from delayed mortality in the warm water.
Brian |
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | No, not Silly at all ... they do eat throughout the hot water times, but after they eat a baitfish meal they don't get stressed. it's the stress and the lower oxygen and hot water temps. that can really kill fish. if you are into c&r, then you will also be into staying out of hot water situations. if not, well then ...... you answer the question. |
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Posts: 2037
Location: lansing, il | high 70s and im thinkin about not goin. use in water measuring stick, get it unhooked fast, instead of holding it up for a photo do a relase photo of it, they look just as cool!!
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| Surface temp is surface temp. It could be 80f in the first 1ft of water and only 70f 3ft down. What is more important to fish survival is not temp but disolved oxygen. Many lakes have great disolved oxy levels in high water temps. |
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Posts: 152
| There is a direct relationship beween water temperature and the amount of dissolved O2 it can hold. The warmer the water, the less it can hold. Muskies need high amounts of dissolved O2. A Musky exerting itself in high water temperatures would be like a human trying to climb Mt. Everest without taking oxygen with them. The surface temp can be higher than the water a foot down, but not for long. A law of physics is that heat goes to cold. At sunrise the surface can be cooler than one foot down if the air is cooler than the water becouse of the same law. Surface temperature is not accarate and temps should be taken a few feet down. |
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Posts: 2894
Location: Yahara River Chain | Guest - and a lot of lakes don't have good oxygen content! And how can you tell if you don't have a DO meter? I've worked in the wastewater field for 20 years and there IS a corrilation between high water temps and low oxygen content. If you don't care about the resource then I suggest that folks go ahead and fish when the temps get high. Its dragging those fish up through the top few feet of water that could kill them. Guides like Cain, Grant, & Mullins all realize the damage they were doing when they continued to fish during the summer months in Southern area waters. If these hot spells continue, you can bet I will use my temp gauge to find out if I should be fishing or not.
Just a few years ago we all thought swallow rigs were okay, if you just cut them. We know better now and when guides start seeing fish belly up after releasing them in water too warm to hold enough oxygen, well maybe we can learn from that as well. Or do you guys need a study to find out what these southern water guides already know? |
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Posts: 32924
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Easy nut, the comment about dissolved oxygen was correct if taken in it's context, especially if surface temps are only a narrow band of the water column. I get 80 degree surface temps sometimes on flat, sunny July days on Pelican, and the water down 3 feet is 68 degrees. The next morning temps are in the low 70's again. If the temps are too warm throughout the water column consistently, then don't fish muskies. |
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Posts: 41
Location: Minneapolis, MN | There is no doubt that DO and temp are linked. Like stated before, it is commonly accepted theory in the scientific community that cold water can hold more O than warm.
But what about a polymictic lakes like Mille Lacs? I've heard from DNR fisheries people that Mille Lacs does not have different DO levels at deeper depths and that the lake has essentialy the same DO levels throughout the water column. Obviously when the wind stops blowing for several days stratification will occur and DO will follow the temps. Like said before , just the very top surface waters (<2 ft) will warm). But when the wind blows it's mixing O into the water and wiping out any temperature stratification that has occured (just what I've learned).
This may be a moot point because I've only seen 80 degree water twice in the past five years and it didn't last for long.
66 degrees yesterday.
Edited by MuskieSlayer 6/12/2005 11:54 PM
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