Summer Heat & Water Temperatures

[Chaz]

I've never gotten a temperature different on the bottom then on the surface unless in a lake.

 

[pcray1231]

It seems to me that if a thermo gives you an accurate air temp, wouldn't it have to give an accurate water temp? Pat?

Could depend somewhat on the type of thermometer. But a mercury thermometer, yes. One mistake I see people make sometimes is not giving this type of thermometer enough time to get down to temp. Dunk it, and the temp falls fast, but gets about 4 or 5 degrees from actual temperature and creeeeeeeps in on it. Most pull it out early, when it appears to stop falling, and thus get too warm of a reading.

I just throw it in the water and let it sit on the bottom. Fish the pool. Maybe take a quick break. Check it 5 minutes later.

I've never gotten a temperature different on the bottom then on the surface unless in a lake.

I have, but it's reasonably rare. I think those situations are due to underwater springs, or small tribs where the cool water goes UNDER the warmer flow. After the first serious riffle, consider it equalized.

 

[troutbert]

pcray1231 wrote:

It seems to me that if a thermo gives you an accurate air temp, wouldn't it have to give an accurate water temp? Pat?

Could depend somewhat on the type of thermometer. But a mercury thermometer, yes. One mistake I see people make sometimes is not giving this type of thermometer enough time to get down to temp. Dunk it, and the temp falls fast, but gets about 4 or 5 degrees from actual temperature and creeeeeeeps in on it. Most pull it out early, when it appears to stop falling, and thus get too warm of a reading.

I just throw it in the water and let it sit on the bottom. Fish the pool. Maybe take a quick break. Check it 5 minutes later.

I've done that, then forgot about the thermometer and left it behind. And I'm probably not the only one to do that. In the previous posts a lot of people said they've lost thermometers. How did you lose them?

Now I "single task" when taking water temperatures. It really doesn't take very long.

 

[wildtrout2]

TB, I have lost track (litterally) of how many stream thermos that I've left behind. Now, I tie an orange fletching to it, so if I remember roughly where I left it, I have a better chance of seeing it.

 

[k-bob]

I like wildtrout2's surveyors tape on a thermometer.

Surveyor's tape is good stuff. But even it didn't stop me from walking away from my second sacked fly rod while hiking to remote brookies this year. I put them down to check a gps or two, got the nav ideas, and just walked away

Thermometers are one thing, I lose fly rods

Infrared is good for me, I guess

 

[PennypackFlyer]

k-bob: Maybe you should attach one of them beeper/pagers on your flyrod. just push the botton and listen for the beep - locate rod. Maybe I should invent it!!

 

[bigslackwater]

I had to take a long drive to day and decided to take a thermometer along. I stopped at three creeks along the way to check water temperatures (didn't fish). All three were in the 66-68 deg F range. These were freestone mountain creeks. I'm thinking these creeks are up over 70 downstream, once they roll in to farm land and town settings. Water levels were medium low. The rain we've had lately seems to have helped keep the creeks in decent fishing condition.

 

[DGC]

As cloudy and cool as it was most of yesterday and today, plus with a couple of showers, I would have to interpret that as quite marginal. But whatever. Better than the last few years without a doubt. Elsewhere in the state there is much colder water then here in SC.

On July 4 for the MD fish free day, Plan A was Big Hunting Creek simply because I enjoy the stream so much but rarely fish it. Smack dab in the middle of the C & R section at 5:30 AM, the temp was 69F.

I went with Plan B.

 

[troutbert]

68-69F is not good.

Try some forested brookie streams, well upstream. With the good flows from the rains, they've been around 56-59F in the afternoons.

 

[Chaz]

troutbert wrote:

I've done that, then forgot about the thermometer and left it behind. And I'm probably not the only one to do that. In the previous posts a lot of people said they've lost thermometers. How did you lose them?

Now I "single task" when taking water temperatures. It really doesn't take very long.

I've lost 3 thermometers that way in the last year. HA HA!

 

[PennypackFlyer]

Wildtrout2 is that what that thermometer is for? My southern kin folks told me it was a rectal therometer and that you never what to hold it in your teeth after you take a reading cause it will change the temperature a bit!!

 

[albud1962]

I use this. Works great. http://www.lowes.com/Search=thermometers?storeId=10151&langId=-1&catalogId=10051&N=0&newSearch=true&Ntt=thermometers#!

 

[Fishidiot]

DGC wrote:
On July 4 for the MD fish free day, Plan A was Big Hunting Creek simply because I enjoy the stream so much but rarely fish it. Smack dab in the middle of the C & R section at 5:30 AM, the temp was 69F.
.

I stopped at Big Hunting this morning while traveling home from VA and - at 8am with cool air temps - water was 69 just below the Catoctin Visitor center.

Although the daytime air temps have not been that high around here this summer, mostly in the low to mid 80s......the nights however have been warm and often have not dropped below about 73. This long, wet cycle of warm, cloudy conditions during the night and early mornings (I think) is really tough on stream water temps. We need a good cold front and clear, cooler skies at night.

 

[Chaz]

Bright sunny days don't always translate to warm water temps and cloudy days don't always translate to cool water temps. Stream temps seem to be most connected to warm air temps, particularly overnight air temps. If air temps are 70° or higher then daytime water temps will start off high and get higher as the day progresses.

 

[wildtrout2]

I just fish high gradient streams when it gets real hot. They usually keep a cool temp through the summer. I fished one last week that was still 56F.