Stream Thermometer Alternative

[jeffroey]

I'm just curious how many of you are using instant read thermometers streamside. I recently had to replace my standard Orvis mercury thermometer I've had for decades (literally) and decided to give a digital instant read a try:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E99L3G8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The Taylor 9877FDA is dishwasher safe, fully submersible, 5 sec response time, and records min/max. $20 on Amazon with 2 Day shipping - I'm certain you can find them cheaper.

A lot easier to see compared to the ol' graduated scale, Bulk-wise, not much bigger than a standard mercury thermometer and a little lighter.

I simply modified the cap by adding a couple of additional holes for water to flow thru and taped the cap on with a round of electrical tape.

 

[Swattie87]

Yeah. Far better than the old school ones, and only marginally more expensive.

I’ve been having AC system issues at my house over the last several weeks and bought an IR temp gun to monitor my vent and return temps. Actually considering carrying it for fishing, but something like you posted probably makes more sense.

 

[Canoetripper]

I just completed a two day fly fishing class with TCO at Boiling Springs. Two of the instructors had instant read thermometers that looked like small flashlights.

They couldn't stress the importance of knowing the water temperature and when to stop when the water gets too warm and stresses and kills trout because of that.

The instructors names were Dusty and Steve who taught this weekend's class. I am sure that if you contact TCO they will tell you what they use.

I am fortunate in that I have a USGS guage where I primarily fish so I can see the water temperature, CFS, water level, and what the recent rain fall is at anytime on my cell phone or tablet.

I will post a thread about my experience taking this class with TCO on the beginner forum.

It was great and I learned a lot.

 

[fritz]

I've been tempted but I'll stick with the old school thermometer.

 

[dryflyguy]

I still use an old liquid thermometer too.

No concerns about batteries going dead.
And I like that it goes down to the bottom, and gives me the reading there, instead of surface temp.

I do admit that it's getting kinda hard for my aging eyes to read, though.
I wish someone would make one that just reads fahrenheit, though
Having both scales crowded into that small viewing window makes it tougher to read IMO

 

[WildTigerTrout]

I know the instant thermometers have been available for some years now but I have not felt the need to purchase one. I still have my conventional liquid stream thermometer I purchased in 2004. It still works fine. If and when it breaks I may consider the upgrade but until then if it is not broken why fix it.

 

[fritz]

I had a Fishpond liquid that was very reliable but as dryfly mentioned, it was getting increasingly difficult to read due to aging eyes. Due to it's reliability I went for another one at a fly shop but they were out of stock. I've seen the green case colored Orvis liquid style previously. Both "F" and "C" scales are on there but the graduations and numbers are much easier to read. I bought one of those on line just a couple months ago so cannot attest to the reliability long term.

 

[Bamboozle]

As a someone who needs glasses, only cares about temps as it relates to stressing fish and doesn't split hairs over temps, I put two marks with a center punch on the outside of my Fish Pond Swift Current thermometer case (AFTER removing the thermometer) and applied paint using a pin to control the flow to those marks.

I have a green dot at 60 degrees and a red dot at 70 degrees.

When I take a temp if it is at or below the green dot I just smile, if it is above the green mark I use my glasses to see what it is and if it's red I go home.

You could accomplish the same thing by just scratching in a mark and forgoing the paint, just painting a mark or using a small waterproof P-Touch label.

If you use a P-Touch label, you could also put your name & phone number on the same label in the event you are a moron like me who has on occasion left a thermometer in a creek...

 

[dryflyguy]

fritz wrote:
I had a Fishpond liquid that was very reliable but as dryfly mentioned, it was getting increasingly difficult to read due to aging eyes. Due to it's reliability I went for another one at a fly shop but they were out of stock. I've seen the green case colored Orvis liquid style previously. Both "F" and "C" scales are on there but the graduations and numbers are much easier to read. I bought one of those on line just a couple months ago so cannot attest to the reliability long term.

I was looking at the Orvis thermometer online too
And it does seem to be a bit easier to read - on the computer anyway.
I'd like to see it in a shop.
But not many places stock those kind anymore.

I also looked at some pool/pond liquid thermometers on line too
They seem really easy to read.
Don't know why one of those wouldn't work for stream fishing

 

[goose54cdd]

I have no trouble bending toward the water with and old style thermometer. Maybe when I lose this one I'll try a point and shoot, but right now I'm happy with what I have.

 

[Clams]

jeffroey wrote:
I'm just curious how many of you are using instant read thermometers streamside. I recently had to replace my standard Orvis mercury thermometer I've had for decades (literally) and decided to give a digital instant read a try:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E99L3G8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The Taylor 9877FDA is dishwasher safe, fully submersible, 5 sec response time, and records min/max. $20 on Amazon with 2 Day shipping - I'm certain you can find them cheaper.

A lot easier to see compared to the ol' graduated scale, Bulk-wise, not much bigger than a standard mercury thermometer and a little lighter.

I simply modified the cap by adding a couple of additional holes for water to flow thru and taped the cap on with a round of electrical tape.

I have one similar to this and it works great. Doubles as a meat thermometer on Thanksgiving too. 🙂

 

[salmonoid]

dryflyguy wrote:
I still use an old liquid thermometer too.

No concerns about batteries going dead.
And I like that it goes down to the bottom, and gives me the reading there, instead of surface temp.

I do admit that it's getting kinda hard for my aging eyes to read, though.
I wish someone would make one that just reads fahrenheit, though
Having both scales crowded into that small viewing window makes it tougher to read IMO

The temperature difference between the surface and the bottom is probably less than the accuracy of any thermometer we carry to measure water temps...

I found the accuracy range on many "fishing" digital thermometers to be too great (some are 2-3 degrees! If it reads 68, it could be 65 or 71), so I went to using a food prep thermometer, purchased this past winter, which has been a very nice upgrade. They are much more accurate, they register temperature quickly, the one I have is backlit, has large digits, and bonus feature is that when I'm cooking a steak over a fire, I can check the temp of the meat too. I now use a Dash from Thermoworks (https://www.thermoworks.com/dash) to take temps.

Whatever thermometer you use, check the accuracy. Regardless of whether it is infrared, digital or old school, if it's not more then 2-3 degrees accurate, make sure you fish on the cautious side of water temps. And if you can't find the accuracy posted for a thermometer, steer clear of it. The manufacturer of it probably doesn't know what it is.

 

[JasonC]

I use a waterproof, instant digital thermometer. Has memory, lit LED screen with big numbers, is fully submersible up to something like 6 feet or more if I'm correct. Folds into itself and was only $6 on Amazon. Just tied a thin bungee to it to attach it to my vest as to not lose it. Do check the accuracy though, I was skeptical at first cause of the price but I'm glad I pulled the trigger. Only thing that sucks is that it's so quick, it reads the air temp the second it leaves the water. But again, the size of the screen and how bright it is makes it easy to see underwater.