I am no expert but if I understand correctly a thermocline is less likely to set up in moving water like your creek mouth.
I understand some about the how and why. I've been targeting night crappie in deeper locations and believe I see the thermocline when fishing in these deeper places as I try to keep in the vicinity of the creek channels. I ventured into less deep water recently and didn't see the line indicating a definite thermocline but the water was deeper here than where the thermocline appeared on my HB when over deeper water. Will the thermocline set up over the whole lake (smaller body of water) the same? I would think cooler water streaming in a shallower area might be different. On another note, many of the fish I handle have an obvious warmer feel to them but sometimes I'll boat one that is noticeably cooler to the touch. Did he just join the frenzy from a cooler, deeper level?
"Where am I going and why am I in this handbasket ?"
I am no expert but if I understand correctly a thermocline is less likely to set up in moving water like your creek mouth.
skeetbum LIKED above post
Yes ... thermoclines can & will set up at different levels in different parts of the lake. Many times when I quote the thermocline level from the COE Lake Level website, I get responses that other's observations of the levels are different. I, then, have to quantify the fact that most COE thermocline levels are taken at the dam of that lake, where the water is deeper and more stable than many other areas of the lake.
It is quite possible that the "cooler feeling" fish did, in fact, come from deeper water ... but, depending on how close to the thermocline you were fishing, they may not have come from a "much deeper" depth (they could have been simply at the lower portion of the thermocline, where the water temps are cooler, but the O2 content was still at a sufficient level).
I duck hunt with 2 P-3 orion drivers and all they did is hunt subs.
There stories about thermocline and sonar is unreal.
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Pomoxis LIKED above post
Thermoclines cannot set up if the water is moving. (This is why rivers & streams do not set up that way.) Most reservoirs, unless they are really large, cannot set one up either, due to moving water. If you do take a fish and it's noticeably colder than some of the others you've caught, it may be from an underground spring near bottom structure that is attractive to the fish.
If you've ever did any swimming in a river, you know that some areas and depths are colder than others. Springs.
"A voyage in search of knowledge need never abandon the spirit of adventure."
The most recent spot chosen to set up for night fishing did indeed have a slight...very slight current there due to a creek channel I suppose. Consider me more educated on thermoclines. I actually have been avoiding the thermocline and keeping my offerings well above but it appears I may have been limiting myself. I might need to dip a little lower and maybe even in the line. I was under the apparently wrong impression that there was zero oxygen available there but now it seems I should focus a bit deeper with a couple rods in these hotter months. I will report back. Never too late for old dogs to learn new stuff. I thought I knew everything cause my wife always tells me I'm a know-it-all anyway.
"Where am I going and why am I in this handbasket ?"
Good information
Every day is a holiday and every meal is a picnic.
if there is a definite thermocline in a water body you will notice NO fish below the line in most cases . most graphs indicate it as a horizontal line with clutter below it and no fish .
it can vary from spot to spot on a lake and like the posted before if the lake has current or "bubblers" / aerators as we call them there wont be one to the best of my knowledge .
one thing for certain if it sets up good in a deeper lake the fish get REALLY easy to find and ketch because they have less spots to visit ....
sum kawl me tha outlaw ketchn whales
There are different thermoclines, and you have to know and understand what is going on also!
You can have temperature thermoclines in Summer or Winter, and they are ended by "turnovers"....fish can be at any level still.
Then you also have thermoclines that are oxygenated in one layer and "dead" in the other...Normally in late summer the bottom of the Thermocline is void of oxygen (Dead), and in the Winter (Northern Areas) the top layer is void of Oxygen!
Normally if you have sufficient Summer Storms, a thermocline will not set up...it takes a lot of stagnant weather and heat!
Crappie are considered a cool water fish, they prefer temps in the low 70's and will seek out cooler or higher oxygenated water in the summer.
At 80 degrees+ they can no longer consume enough calories to offset their metabolism...they will suspend during the heat of the day, and hunt at night when their night vision gives them an easier advantage.
And Yes, IN THE DAYTIME, if you provide them with an easy meal right in front of them, especially if they do not have to work for it, they will eat it...they are opportunistic!
Keitech USA Pro Staff
Maybe this will help:Reservoir Stratification, Thermoclines, and Turnover - Lakecaster Online - 9/04