10-11-2010, 06:00 PM
And what it ends up meaning from a from a fish-standpoint is to seek what's called a thermocline. You've got changes in temperature that affect the amount of dissolved oxygen available.
Warmer water = less oxygen. But then there's a trade-off of temperature to activity. Gets too cold, fish get less active = lockjaw. So the fish will seek out their optimum balance and preference.
Different points for different fish. Bass like warmer water, while trout prefer cooler temps. Often in the heat of summer, and in response to the power-squadron - you'll often find trout holding in deeper water. But as turnover occurs, and the warmer surface water cools, and then sinks, and the cooler water below moves up - you'll find more trout feeding at the top of the water column.
You end up with seasonal migrations of fish based on these shifts in temperature too. The way bass move into the shallows to spawn in spring, then move to deeper water after spawning. I have a couple books on downriggers, and they spend a fair amount of time discussing thermal affects on fish location. Different fish have ranges of preferred temperatures where they are most likely to be feeding. I'll try to remember to scan one of the charts and post it.
Couple references:
http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/thermocline.html
http://www.bobberstop.com/thermocline.html
structure fishing:
http://www.bassdozer.com/articles/crawfo...e101.shtml
Warmer water = less oxygen. But then there's a trade-off of temperature to activity. Gets too cold, fish get less active = lockjaw. So the fish will seek out their optimum balance and preference.
Different points for different fish. Bass like warmer water, while trout prefer cooler temps. Often in the heat of summer, and in response to the power-squadron - you'll often find trout holding in deeper water. But as turnover occurs, and the warmer surface water cools, and then sinks, and the cooler water below moves up - you'll find more trout feeding at the top of the water column.
You end up with seasonal migrations of fish based on these shifts in temperature too. The way bass move into the shallows to spawn in spring, then move to deeper water after spawning. I have a couple books on downriggers, and they spend a fair amount of time discussing thermal affects on fish location. Different fish have ranges of preferred temperatures where they are most likely to be feeding. I'll try to remember to scan one of the charts and post it.
Couple references:
http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/thermocline.html
http://www.bobberstop.com/thermocline.html
structure fishing:
http://www.bassdozer.com/articles/crawfo...e101.shtml