Find Thermocline To Improve Warm Weather Fishing
One of my regular contacts I use to get current fishing reports is crappie guide, Wesley Miller. On my visit with him last week, he mentioned something that whetted my interest. He told me that this time of year, he keeps his eye on his electronics to locate a thin line that shows up and he fishes along this line or just above it to locate crappie.
Kade Hillestad is a young and very successful bass angler who told me basically the same thing when locating bass when the weather is warm to hot.
Both Miller and Hillestad mentioned the word “thermocline”, which created enough curiosity for me to learn more about what why this magic line is so important to catch fish in summer in reservoirs with sufficient depth to make the thermocline an important issue.
Exactly, what is the thermocline? I looked it up on-line. The definition is “a middle transition layer in a large body of water where water temperatures change rapidly in depth, separating warm oxygen-rich surface water with water where temperatures fall and oxygen is greatly reduced.”
I always thought that in summer, you needed to fish deeper because water more shallow would be too uncomfortable for fish to live. Not so, says Miller and Hillestad.
“It all depends on the depth of the thermocline,” said Miller. “Fish have to eat all year long and this time of year, where they find the minnows and small fry from hatches will usually be in shallow water because that’s where they’re most comfortable.
“On lakes deep enough to have a thermocline, Lake Claiborne for example, locate the line on your electronics. The line can move deeper or more shallow during the course of a day and the key is to stay above it because below that line, oxygen is absent and where there is no oxygen, you won’t find fish,” he added.
Hillestad said basically the same thing when targeting bass. He caught his impressive stringer of bass using the Prickly Pear, one of the new bass lures that looks nothing like something a fish would want to eat.
“I was targeting the thermocline during this tournament where we fished all day and all night,” said Hillestad. “By keeping up with it on my electronics, I noted that the depth of the thermocline varied from deep to more shallow especially during the day as water temperatures warmed up. My goal was to keep my lure at or just above the thermocline where I caught all my fish. It is pointless to fish below that line because the water is colder with little or no oxygen, and where this is absent, you won’t find fish,” he said.
Some of the comments I read about the thermocline is that the top layer of water above that line is known as the “sweet spot” offering a mixture of water with dissolved oxygen whereas the area below that line is cold and stagnant with decaying organic matter on the bottom, which uses up all the oxygen and creating a dead zone. Fish and bait fish avoid this area.
Another bit of information suggests looking for areas where the thermocline intersects with structure, such as falling trees or stumps. These areas are more likely to hold fish, not only because of oxygen but also this is where bait fish are more likely to be hanging out.
Next time you head for the lake, locate the thermocline to improve your chances at bringing home a fine mess of fish.
FISHING REPORT
CANEY LAKE – Bass are fair around the grass early on topwaters. Later they’re around deep drops and channels. Soft plastics and cranks baits are working fair. Crappie are around the deeper tops and are hitting jigs and shiners. Bream are slow to fair. For information contact Caney Lake Landing at 259-6649, Hooks Marina at 249-2347, Terzia Tackle at 278-4498 or the Honey Hole Tackle Shop at 323-8707.
BUSSEY BRAKE – Crappie are deep and are fair on shiners or jigs. Some bass are being caught early on topwaters and later by flipping the trees and lily pads with oversized soft plastics. The bream bite Fishing overall has slowed because of water temps being so warm. For latest information, contact the Honey Hole Tackle Shop at 323-8707.
OUACHITA RIVER – Bass fishing is fair on crank baits and soft plastics. Crappie are fair in the river lakes. For latest information, contact the Honey Hole Tackle Shop at 323-8707.
LAKE D’ARBONNE – Bass are overall slow but best on topwaters early and crank baits and soft plastics later on secondary points. Crappie are in deep water in the channel and channel edges and fair on jigs and shiners. The bream have slowed now that the water and air temperature has warmed. Catfish are fair on red wigglers and night crawlers fished just off the banks. For latest information, call Anderson Sport Center at 368-9669 or Honey Hole Tackle Shop at 323-8707.
LAKE CLAIBORNE – Crappie are around and just above the thermocline where there is more oxygen. Bass are in the shallows early hitting topwaters and in deeper water around around the channel edges later. Soft plastics and crank baits are picking up a few. Night fishing is best now that the weather is turning hot. Bream are slow. For latest information, call Kel’s Cove at 927-2264 or Terzia Tackle at 278-4498.
LAKE YUCATAN – The water level is falling. Barfish are being caught on crank baits. Catfish are being caught on trotlines and buffalo caught in nets. Crappie and bass have not started to hit. For info call Surplus City Landing at 318/467-2259.