Thermocline?

[perchy]

I saw this on my FF.. Is this a thermocline?

image.jpg

[Cowpokey]

Could be, pretty close to the surface and pretty thick though.

I've seen thermoclines while diving, they are weird looking and get your attention when you pass through them...brrrr. lol

[Turtle135]

Is that only 5 feet down? Rocky Gorge? That would be unusually shallow for the thermocline. I would expect it somewhere around 20 to 30 feet down this time of year.

Watch this youtube video when you get a chance, he shows the thermocline on his fish finder.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8155r8G5Eqw

[Cowpokey]

Is that only 5 feet down? Rocky Gorge? That would be unusually shallow for the thermocline. I would expect it somewhere around 20 to 30 feet down this time of year.

Watch this youtube video when you get a chance, he shows the thermocline on his fish finder.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8155r8G5Eqw

That's a good video. I should spend more time fiddling with my sonar, to get more out of it.

[perchy]

The water level was about 3-5 ft lower today. I wonder if that shifted the thermocline up? I hear Burke Lake thermoclines at 8ft.

[perchy]

From: http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/thermocline.html

The level of thermocline usually follows clarity. The clearer the water, the deeper the thermocline. On dingier lakes, it may be only six or eight feet. In clearer ones it may be as deep as 30 feet.
The way I find the "cline" is to turn on my depth finder and set the sensitivity on manual. I then run the sensitivity up to about 90 percent. As I cruise out into the lake, it will show a distinct line and usually have black streaks below that.
If you don't know for sure where the thermocline is, let the bass and bait tell you. If there is a thermocline present, bait will be above it. You will see a three- or four-foot zone where the majority of fish are holding. This is how I first approach my decision on depth. If I'm seeing a bunch of fish at 15 to 18 feet, I'm going to target structure at this depth. If a lot of shad are present above this line, I promise you there's bass right there close.

[perchy]

Yeah it was at Rocky Gorge today.

I had a nice sized slab Crappie throw my hook and landed a 12 inch catfish before the monsoon forced me to go home. Fish were caught between Scott's Cove and the stumps.

10527718_10100937505263859_8463170765617782220_n.jpg

Water clarity was about 3-4 ft. I noticed a lot of healthy looking fingerling bass in the shallows.

[Turtle135]

Wind, current and them pulling water at the dam could effect the depth of the thermocline. Five feet down still seems unusual for that reservoir but something was causing that band on your fish finder.

[perchy]

FWIW it was reading closer to 8-10 ft on the Montgomery county side. Also last weekend the band appeared around 12 ft down.

I just noticed that all the larger fish were sitting in the band or slightly above it. I'm going to try trolling some lures that run that depth at sunrise or sunset. Shallow shad rap, DT6 and husky jerks should work.

[Turtle135]

That definitely sounds like the thermocline then. I was out on Little Seneca Lake last Sunday and the bass I caught were almost white (which means they just moved up from deep water). I was catching them 15 to 18 feet down and I suspect they moved up because the thermocline has formed there, forcing them out of deep water due to lowering oxygen levels at depth.

[perchy]

Nice job. Did you use cranks or are you jig fishing structure that happens to be 15 ft down?

[Turtle135]

Nice job. Did you use cranks or are you jig fishing structure that happens to be 15 ft down?

10" ribbontail plastic worm around any cover I can find on the depth finder