Members can see more Boards, Topics, Picture Galleries, Videos, Games and more. Register NOW...
Recent Pictures (List All)

Rating: (None)
Views: 34
Comments (0)

Rating: (None)
Views: 37
Comments (0)

Rating: (None)
Views: 35
Comments (4)

Rating: (None)
Views: 25
Comments (0)
*

Author Topic: water temperature, does anyone care?  (Read 9567 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Member

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Thank You
  • -Given: 25
  • -Receive: 22
  • Posts: 102
  • Liked: 1
  • Karma: 25
  • Gender: Male
  • View Gallery
water temperature, does anyone care?
« on: November 01, 2010, 09:27:42 PM »
Responded to a thread on another forum. A guy asked about installing a transducer. The issue of temperature reading came up. I responded as follows. Am I the only one thinking this way?

Quote
Just a bit of a query about water temperature readings. Does it really matter what the temperature readings are?
 1,In summer its gonna be warmer than in winter. 2, The temperature is what it happens to be in that time/place. 3, We already know by paddling in shallow water and swimming in deeper water there will be a variation due to depth. 4, You can't get an accurate temperature reading before you leave home to launch your yak. 5,So temperature is not gonna be a deciding factor whether or not to go fishing. 6,Your wife/work are the main deciding factors :twisted: 7, Once you have launched your yak you're not gonna go home early 'cos you don't like the temperature reading. 8, If you see a fishy looking snag are you gonna ignore it because the temperature isn't right?
 Finally isn't the temperature read from the bottom of the sensor, which in a yak might be about 4-5 inches below sea/water level. :?  Put your hand into an unused swimming pool on a hot day. The top few inches will be hot as buggery.
What happens below that will be a totally different story.  Just my thoughts on temperature readings. Never have taken a lot of notice of them. I would be more likely to take notice of the temperature above the water.
Cheers John.
Now I know fish respond differently to temperature. But basically most of us fish when the stars align properly for us.
Cheers again. :)



Offline Member

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Thank You
  • -Given: 59
  • -Receive: 29
  • Posts: 160
  • Liked: 4
  • Karma: 34
  • Gender: Male
  • Sweetwater Fishing Fanatic
  • View Gallery
Re: water temperature, does anyone care?
« Reply #1 on: November 02, 2010, 01:31:07 AM »
John,

Cant say as I have ever taken notice of the water temps (maybe I should) however if I were waiting for the right water temp my window of opportunity would never open.  I'm no rocket scientist or anything but I guess if you were catching bass and noted that the water temp was 24c and the next time you donutted with the temp at 21c this could possibly influence your decision making process the next outing.  Like everything with fishing it's a confidence thing and if it makes people feel better then thats great.  I however will continue to take the opportunity to fish at any given time (Day/Night/Wind/Rain/Hail/Work and Wife permitting of course) not to mention water clarity, flow rate etc etc etc..... ;)  Just my uneducated 2 cents worth.

Regards
Colin

Offline Member

  • Fishing Guide
  • Sr. Member
  • *
  • Thank You
  • -Given: 1
  • -Receive: 93
  • Posts: 212
  • Liked: 0
  • Karma: 94
  • Gender: Male
  • Sweetwater Fishing Fanatic
  • View Gallery
Re: water temperature, does anyone care?
« Reply #2 on: November 02, 2010, 04:20:08 AM »
John and Colin,
I'm in your boat there.
Sure, in certain cases, daily water temp movement can be critical for some species, but it might just mean moving a said distance to find a better option- however, the temp is a number that can mess with your head. Confidence can be killed by the little numbers on the screen, but for a positive head that won't take 'no' for an answer, it's possible to 'keep on keeping on' and catch fish from the same water that doesn't seem favourable. The tactic required may be out of the ordinary, but that's what makes fishing really good.
About 3 years ago, I hit a barra lake in a very cold winter with some anglers. The water was by far colder than I had ever had success in. I baulked. I mentioned cancelling the charter before lures hit the water as barra captures in that temp were definitely not typical.
We stayed- we caught fish. Lesson learned.

Offline Member

  • Fish Restocker
  • Legend Member
  • *
  • Thank You
  • -Given: 52
  • -Receive: 309
  • Posts: 1344
  • Liked: 34
  • Karma: 328
  • Gender: Male
  • Sweetwater Fishing Fanatic
  • View Gallery
  • Favourite Fishing Spot is: Baroon Pocket Dam
Re: water temperature, does anyone care?
« Reply #3 on: November 02, 2010, 04:23:08 AM »
Water temp is the number 1 excuse for not catching barra.  ::)

Me. I agree with some of the sentiments expressed in your quote, I fish when I can, not when I think conditions are best. That will change when I win lotto!

Offline Member

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Thank You
  • -Given: 0
  • -Receive: 18
  • Posts: 127
  • Liked: 11
  • Karma: 22
  • Gender: Male
  • Sweetwater Fishing Fanatic
  • View Gallery
  • Favourite Fishing Spot is: Diamond(JB)
Re: water temperature, does anyone care?
« Reply #4 on: November 02, 2010, 06:50:19 AM »
I personally swing both ways on this issue. I will often go fishing regardless of what the water temp is doing but always like to know what the temp is when I am there. I won't always fish the warmest water but will always take note of temp if I find active fish or even bait and I will then start using that as a guide when searching for a pattern.

Offline Member

  • Fishing Guide
  • Sr. Member
  • *
  • Thank You
  • -Given: 1
  • -Receive: 93
  • Posts: 212
  • Liked: 0
  • Karma: 94
  • Gender: Male
  • Sweetwater Fishing Fanatic
  • View Gallery
Re: water temperature, does anyone care?
« Reply #5 on: November 03, 2010, 06:46:15 AM »
The other bit to consider is what's causing the variations in temperature. What is the weather doing to the water, and to the fish. The temp may be dropping, the fish may not be moving- so they may need to be targetted in their rest position- wherever that is in the system you fish. It might mean fishing deeper rather than shallower, bla bla bla. I'm sure you all know your own target species and have an idea of what I'm refering.
Johnny

Offline Member

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Thank You
  • -Given: 25
  • -Receive: 22
  • Posts: 102
  • Liked: 1
  • Karma: 25
  • Gender: Male
  • View Gallery
Re: water temperature, does anyone care?
« Reply #6 on: November 03, 2010, 09:58:33 AM »
I spose I ought to clear up a few bits about me initial post. The original query on the other site was whether or not to mount a transducer in the water or shoot it through the hull, and whether or not that would affect the temp readout.
To qualify my point I would think that the temp reading from most transducers is realy only applicable to the top few inches of the water.
Thermoclines which can sometimes be guesstimated at by either a thin line or fish activity are a whole different matter.
As a rule I do not fish large bodies of deep water, and prefer moving water at that. Thermoclines don't usually exist in creeks and shallow rivers. I probly use a FF 3 to 4 times a year.

Cheers John.

Offline Member

  • Sweetwater Fishing Australia
  • Administrator
  • Legend Member
  • *****
  • Thank You
  • -Given: 2751
  • -Receive: 1294
  • Posts: 3628
  • Liked: 88
  • Karma: 1340
  • Gender: Male
  • Sweetwater Fishing Australia
  • View Gallery
  • Favourite Fishing Spot is: Connors River
Re: water temperature, does anyone care?
« Reply #7 on: December 01, 2010, 09:35:00 PM »
I most definately look at water temps, some situations more than others. Yep, its only a surface temp reading from fish finders, but it all adds info to be taken on board.
Variances from one area to the next can give an indication of where currents may be pushing, but can also fluctuate with the wind mixing the water.
In many riverine situations, temp can be tantamount. I recall fishing an upland river for cod last season & the water temp (in flowing water) was 11 degrees. My "guess" by using the "toe in the water" method was about 16C; this was in summer.

If I've got the option to have temperature readout on my fish finder, I will every time. Even if it only helps build my confidence on a given day or to possibly eliminate the negatives to find a positive. I've got a prefered temperature window for hitting te bass in the river, the temp reading alone could change my attack method from surface to sub-surface or vice versa.

IMHO, shooting through the hull in a plastic or glass kayak makes little difference. The hull temp gets pretty close to the water temp outside. However variances in readouts could be delayed when moving into different temp zones.

Cheers,

fitz..

Offline Member

  • Fish Restocker
  • Hero Member
  • *
  • Thank You
  • -Given: 55
  • -Receive: 177
  • Posts: 286
  • Liked: 35
  • Karma: 183
  • Gender: Male
  • Fishin more a religion than a pastime!
  • View Gallery
  • Favourite Fishing Spot is: Barratta Ck, Burdekin North Queensland
Re: water temperature, does anyone care?
« Reply #8 on: December 02, 2010, 05:27:53 AM »
Agree with all above re: is temperature a deciding factor in going fishing - no just about every thing else is though....but have also seen some impressive demonstrations of the influence of water temp on barra pressence and activity - cruising up the Tully River with good friend and local 'ol man of the river fishing maestro' Ross Digman, Ross would stick the mose of the boat into tributary feeder stream confluences - some drained open unshaded floodplain others closed canopy rainforest stream with variable temps also afected by time of the day - and although I cant remember what thge magic numbers on the day were - on the basis of plus or minus a degree or two Ross would predict whether you'd get a barra strike casting into the confluence - and the confidence limits on his outcomes convinced me that he had it sussed!  Still can't say that I cruise around reading my sounder temp all the time, but do interpret river conditions and (particularly barra) fishing spots on the basis of likely temperature relativity and always have - especially in cooler times, i.e. drop offs on the edge of shallow sandy flats, shallow rock races upstream of pools, shallow bays that get the morning sun etc.. Remember hearing a story from locals (someone reading this may be able to verify) about how the warmed cooling water coming out of the power station on the Burrum River(?) use dto be the deadly local barra spot !

Offline Member

  • Fishing Guide
  • Sr. Member
  • *
  • Thank You
  • -Given: 1
  • -Receive: 93
  • Posts: 212
  • Liked: 0
  • Karma: 94
  • Gender: Male
  • Sweetwater Fishing Fanatic
  • View Gallery
Re: water temperature, does anyone care?
« Reply #9 on: December 02, 2010, 08:57:25 AM »
'about how the warmed cooling water coming out of the power station on the Burrum River(?) us d to be the deadly local barra spot !'

Jim,
*Just like Gladstone's hot water outlet from the power station. More oversized barra are captured here than anywhere else in our waters- maninly during winter while the bulk of the river is cooler. Follow the current movement where the hot water flows out the channel and good barra can be captured mid winter miles from the original heat source. When the tide switches, the hot spots change.
Some flood water temperatures moving into parts of Awoonga have been recorded extremely lower than lake body temperatures, with not a barra in sight.  (11C  cooler). That's the extreme I once discovered with temp probes. Other anglers have found schooling fish, hungry ones in other parts where temps were more uniform.
Johnny

Offline Member

  • Hunter
  • Sr. Member
  • *
  • Thank You
  • -Given: 42
  • -Receive: 19
  • Posts: 153
  • Liked: 1
  • Karma: 20
  • Gender: Male
  • Sweetwater Fishing Fanatic
  • View Gallery
  • Favourite Fishing Spot is: Where ever the fish are
Re: water temperature, does anyone care?
« Reply #10 on: December 02, 2010, 01:06:10 PM »
So is it not so much temp at a particular reading but more the stability of the water temp over a period of time that makes the difference ?

From what I've seen of Bass,  in winter they school up for spawn but it normally is in deeper water.  rather than shallow water the would be heated up more throughout the day given the wind isn't cooling it off too much at the time.

Cheers

Geoff

 

Related Topics

  Subject / Started by Replies Last post
0 Replies
3633 Views
Last post June 20, 2012, 07:15:37 PM
by Member
0 Replies
2271 Views
Last post September 06, 2012, 04:00:22 AM
by Qld Fisheries News Feed, Editor
0 Replies
2324 Views
Last post January 22, 2013, 08:11:54 PM
by Member
0 Replies
2193 Views
Last post January 17, 2014, 03:00:57 PM
by Member
0 Replies
2169 Views
Last post February 18, 2015, 10:27:04 PM
by Member

Upcoming Events, Fishing Competitions, Shows, Expos etc.....


Upcoming Events