The effects of thermacline on Crappie?

[trypman1]

At 72 yrs old, I am still learning how to catch crappie, My question--Will crappie go under the thermocline? The thermacline is at 12' ,here in the area, in most lakes, I fish.

[ezgoing]

At 76 I am still learning how to catch crappie. I have read that they may occasionally go under the thermacline but they will not stay there due to the lack of oxygen. I have seen fish in the thermacline area on my finder but have always assumed they were catfish or carp. So I am interested in the answer to this question.

[trypman1]

Thanks- ezgoing, hope we get some good answers!

[frugalfisherman]

I hope to hear a good answer as well


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[ClearCreek]

At 76 I am still learning how to catch crappie. I have read that they may occasionally go under the thermacline but they will not stay there due to the lack of oxygen. I have seen fish in the thermacline area on my finder but have always assumed they were catfish or carp. So I am interested in the answer to this question.

What ezgoing says is correct; fish may venture into the hypolimnion (the layer of water below the thermacline) for brief periods but will not stay there for too long. I would not spend time fishing below the thermacline in a thermally stratified lake. Spend your time fishing in the epilimnion (the layer of water above the thermacline) during the time the lake is thermally stratified.

tight lines,

ClearCreek

[Special K]

I have heard people say many times during the summer months that the lake they are fishing is "...like the dead sea." I have studied water stratification at some length and have schooled many on this phenomenon both on and off the water. One such example was a time when I was fishing for an catching crappie on Harris Lake when a boat came by with two men on board who were very quick to begin this "Dead Sea" conversation and how they didn't understand why it was that they couldn't catch a single crappie while fishing the same tried and true fishing spots where they caught plenty during the fall and winter months. They were tightlining minnows twenty some feet down.

I knew immediately what the problems was, so I asked them if they were having a problem with their minnows dying too. They both responded in unison: Yeah, are you having that problem too?? I answered: No, not at all, and I've been catching fish all day too. After giving them a quick lesson on thermocline and basic water stratification principles; it was like a light bulb turned on in their heads. It was also a bit more convincing to them when our conversation was interrupted multiple times by me catching fish while I was explaining the principle.

Once they processed what I was saying to them they both reeled in all of their lines, tossed the dead minnows, re-baited and tossed their baits only about ten feet from their boat and locked the bales on their open-faced reels as I suggested. Immediately they started catching fish too. They were amazed at how quickly I was able to cast such a powerful spell to revitalize the Dead Sea.

[M R Dux]

We rarely see much of a thermocline here in Ky or Barkley Lakes. I always look for it with my 2D sonar with the sensitivity turned up very high or max. If I see a thermocline, I change all my tactics to fish the depth above and down to the top of the thermocline.
A few years ago with 90 degree surface temp we had a 12’ thermocline in a major bay where I had been catching good crappie on deep diving cranks. I changed to medium divers and ran less line out to where my baits were no more than 10 feet deep. I caught limits of good crappie two trips in a row when the spider rig guys were catching very few.


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[ClearCreek]

Yup, Special K, makes perfect sense. I always wonder about those "dead sea" reports; are anglers fishing just like you mentioned in your post?

I hear anglers say to fish deep in the middle of the summer, because the fish go deep to "get to the cooler water". Probably why they have a hard time catching fish.

ClearCreek

[trypman1]

I appreciate the comeback, many thanks!

[Special K]

Yup, Special K, makes perfect sense. I always wonder about those "dead sea" reports; are anglers fishing just like you mentioned in your post?

I hear anglers say to fish deep in the middle of the summer, because the fish go deep to "get to the cooler water". Probably why they have a hard time catching fish.

ClearCreek

Exactly. Another point I would make is: often times the water temperature or ph levels of this water (above the thermocline) may not be exactly what the fish prefer which can also account for why these suspended fish seem so lethargic and slow to bite too. My brother used to call these as fish suspending "in lala land". It's also like Dux says: I don't know about the lakes he is referring to, but usually river fed lakes and reservoirs with current, don't have as much stratification unless it's in areas of the lake where the water is away from the main current. Water stratification is what causes the natural action of turnover which usually occurs in the spring and fall.