Check temperature for better fishing
As we enter the “dog days” of summer, fishing gets tougher and tougher. Don’t get me wrong, any fish can decide to bite at any time, but it takes more skill than just dumb luck to do really well when the temperature rises.
This past week was rough on man and beast and tested the mettle of even the most diehard anglers.
The last few times out, I was happy to catch anything that was biting.
I still like to fish, but will limit my trips to the pond to just after daylight and right before dusk.
Most fish are more active then and feed more aggressively before the water warms up and as it starts to cool down.
Serious anglers know about and understand the season patterns that fish go through based on water temperature.
I used to always routinely check the water temperature when fly fishing for trout. As the season wears on water temperatures start to rise on lowland streams and lakes.
When the water temperature rises or falls, fish seek a comfort zone. In other words, they move to a place where they fee more comfortable.
I keep a fishing thermometer in my fishing vest to check water temperatures when fly-fishing and transfer it to my tackle bag as walleye and bass seasons approach.
In small ponds, streams and lakes, the temperature is usually the same on the surface as it is on the bottom in the summer.
For that reason many hunting and fishing clubs that stock trout in their impoundments prefer to have them caught so they will not die is the water becomes extremely warm over the summer.
The same is true in deeper impoundments. The first 15 to 25 feet will be the same temperature. There is a second layer, or thermocline, which is 25 to 40 feet deep down. It separates the top warm layer of water from the cold water, which is on the bottom.
It is within the thermocline that we want to fish, whether it is near the shore or in the middle of an impoundment, but fishing is usually best closer to shore in the summer.
Fishing too deep in large impoundments is usually unproductive for most lakes lack sufficient oxygen or food for fish to survive at their greatest depths.
A fish finder, or better yet, a fish finder coupled with a thermometer is the best way of locating fish.
The fish finder will show you at what depth fish are holding in the thermocline, and a thermometer will give you the exact temperature at that depth, giving you a good key as to what species may be present and what would be the best bait or lure to use.
Walleye and smallmouth bass fishermen often catch one or both species for they prefer roughly the same temperature – walleye thrive at 60 degrees and smallmouth bass are most active at 65 degrees.
Largemouth bass are found nearer the surface, where the temperature is more to their liking with 72 degrees being the ideal.
Crappies also prefer 72-degree water, as do muskellunge, which feed freely in water that is between 60 and 75 degrees.
Some say it is never too hot to catch bluegills, but that is not true. While it may not be too hot, bluegills also retreat to deeper, cooler water when the surface temperature gets around 80 degrees.
My brother-in-law and I found out just how much they share the same space when were pulling in one crappie after another one day at Ryerson Station State Park’s Duke Lake only to have them stop biting as though the diner had closed.
After about five minutes one rod nearly jumped out of the boat, and it was all my brother-in-law could do to grab it before it was pulled in. The light line snapped instantly, and at that point, we saw the silhouette of the very large muskie, which scared off the crappie and nearly made off with one of our rigs as well.
If we learned one thing that day, it is to never relax for the unexpected can happen at any time.
Northern pike settle a little further down in the thermocline, where the temperature hovers around 60 degrees.
Rainbow trout prefer 60-65 degree water. For that reason the state stocks rainbows in most slowly moving streams and shallow impoundments.
Brown trout prefer temperatures a bit warmer than rainbows, but brook trout are most active when the water temperature is between 55 and 60 degrees.
Surface temperatures can vary widely on any one impoundment. Temperature can be affected by such things as shade or the inflow of water from a river or stream.
These may not only bring in cooler water, but they often carry in food as well, causing various species to congregate at the mouth, some merely as bottom feeders and others just as predators.
If you go out and the fish don’t seem to be biting, check the water temperature. If you don’t have a thermometer, stick your hand in the water. If the water feels extremely warm, fish accordingly, which in most cases means going deep. Slide your bobber down a foot or two, and if that doesn’t work, take it off altogether and fish the bottom.
Fish like to feed where they are most comfortable, so find where they are at and provide them with lunch.
Good fishing!
Herald-Standard outdoors writer Rod Schoener can be reached on line at rschoener@heraldstandard.com