Just my humble opinion about fishing hot water 2024

Catch 22 reply :

I have been seeing reports about people fishing 80 deg and higher water temps. I say its no good for the resource in so much that water temps that high stress the fish way more than normally. Fish need more oxygen in warm water and conversely there is less oxygen available. That leads to more stress and delayed mortality in some cases.I see it every summer after "t"s in small ponds

Shallow rivers allow no place to escape the warm/hot water because of the constant churning and modulation of the flow.

Shallow ponds,no place to hide.

Large lakes would present more opportunity for the fish to seek cooler water.

JMHO now I must put on my flack jacket.

C22

scaleface reply :

With all due respect.

It seems to me that once a thermocline forms there would be more O2 available above it . I dont know , thats just the way it seems to me . Plus algae and weed growth also increases O2 .

I fish a lake in the summer and put small bass on a stringer and tow them along for hours . These fish are very lively at the end of the day .

soflabasser reply :

Try fishing at night during this time of year.

Jaderose reply :

On 7/29/2016 at 9:57 PM, Catch 22 said:

I have been seeing reports about people fishing 80 deg and higher water temps. I say its no good for the resource in so much that water temps that high stress the fish way more than normally. Fish need more oxygen in warm water and conversely there is less oxygen available. That leads to more stress and delayed mortality in some cases.I see it every summer after "t"s in small ponds

Shallow rivers allow no place to escape the warm/hot water because of the constant churning and modulation of the flow.

Shallow ponds,no place to hide.

Large lakes would present more opportunity for the fish to seek cooler water.

JMHO now I must put on my flack jacket.

C22

I honestly have no idea what is being said here

BrianinMD reply :

Well Jaderose, its comes across to me that he is giving people a hard time for fishing during the summer...

MassYak85 reply :

I seriously doubt that there is any significant increase in mortality between 75 degrees and water that just pushes 80. Simply because warm water holds less oxygen than cold water does not mean there is not enough of it for the fish. Summer is a time where some places will experience extreme weed and algae growth, which oxygenates the water. At one pond I fish at you have to go so deep back into the lily pads you can hardly paddle to find actively feeding fish sometimes, they like the tight quarters with easy ambush spots smack dab in the middle of the pads. Targeting the pockets can produce over anything on hot days. No doubt in my mind that water has pushed 85 degrees at some point, being so shallow and with so much vegetation, feels like bath water. If the fish were in danger of dying they wouldn't be back there. Treat the fish well, release ASAP and they should be fine. Hooking a fish in any temperature water is risking it harm, I don't think there is any magic temperature that fish will start to die.

YoTone reply :

On 7/30/2016 at 1:46 AM, Jaderose said:

I honestly have no idea what is being said here

i think he saying to not fish smaller ponds?

lol i had to read it a few times to make me think thats what he advising us to do.

Nice_Bass reply :

I fish 90 degree water right now and for much of the summer...

only major fish kills on the lakes I fish happen....

in winter!

What I think is more important is knowing how to handle fish, knowing how to work your livewell if you are going to release fish properly, and knowing that no matter what you do fish are going to die be it you fileted them or they died hours after release.

and this is coming from a bit of an environmental guy...

Alrab23 reply :

Water was 93* Wednesday morning at the lake I fished. Didnt seem to bother the bass much, caught 10 that were holding tight to the grass.

buzzed bait reply :

i don't quite follow, but most especially the river part.... lake temps around here right now are about 90 maybe slightly above, but the river was 70 on sunday. so you're saying they're stressed in 70 degree water?

Outlaw86 reply :

On 7/30/2016 at 4:55 AM, buzzed bait said:

i don't quite follow, but most especially the river part.... lake temps around here right now are about 90 maybe slightly above, but the river was 70 on sunday. so you're saying they're stressed in 70 degree water?

Same for me here, water on the river here is low 70s, with plenty of shade and holes where I'm sure it drops a bit. I don't notice much of a difference or any at all for that matter during the dog days of the summer.

tander reply :

If I fished water than was 80 or lower, I would never get to fish here in Mississippi in the summer !!!

Further North reply :

A few thoughts...

Surface temp is different from temps a few feet down...
A good wind and wave action will get plenty of O₂in the water...
If there are any inflows from creeks or rivers...that'll have some O₂ in it.
Rivers - in addition to being cooler - will have plenty of O₂ in them, particularly if you can find a section with a lot of mid channel structure, or rapids.

flyingmonkie reply :

Just checked my logs - haven't fished water with surface temp under 80 since 6/16.

Pretty sure Oklahoma bass don't start sweating until water hits 94-95.

Oregon Native reply :

Gosh...wish more people would stay home when temps get high .... than I could have the lake all to myself!!!! I gotta tell those bass somehow to quit chasing bait up shallow....they're gunna stress themselves out.

joeblowwwww reply :

Catch 22- I think the bass just adjust. if any body of water can provide what they need they will find it. Further North is right a lot of the times the water is cooler than the surface water even 2 or 3 feet down in some ponds. I'm sure Tom (WRB) will have some insight but it kinda sounds like you're just trying to guilt yourself into some uncrowded action ?

Jaderose reply :

On 7/30/2016 at 1:51 AM, BrianinMD said:

Well Jaderose, its comes across to me that he is giving people a hard time for fishing during the summer...

Well......recently I was out and 2 younger guys came up and showed me a beautiful 4.5 lb LMB they had caught and were going to keep. I asked and cajoled them to put it back but they didn't. It made me feel bad but there wasn't anything I could do about because they were within their right to do so. I believe the Stones said it best....You can't always get what you want.......

Mindhunter reply :

I like to consider myself a conservationist, with that being said every one of the bass I've caught over 10# has been in the middle of the day in the middle of the summer, with one of those being on a day where the air temperature was 105 degrees and the surface temp was 90+. If you're one of those fellas that's worried that fishing will hurt fish then maybe fishing ain't for you, just sayin...And in any case you have the right to fish the way you want within the law, and so do the rest of us. If it bothers you that much stay home in warm weather, I live in Texas and if I didn't fish warm weather I'd only get to fish a few months out of the year, no brainer for me!

BassinLou reply :

Interesting post from the OP. The majority of the anglers in the SE states have to stop fishing for bass then. Water temps are over 85 degrees at night and 90's during the day. I agree that during the summer a higher degree of care must be taken because of stress on the fish, but based on the message in this post, I won't be able to fish for several months.... smh... not happening.... lol

soflabasser reply :

I recently caught a +9 pound,15 ounce bass and she swam away strong when I released her.Caught her at nighttime in the month of June and the water temperature was most likely over 80 degrees. Haven't had a single +8 pound bass die on me when fishing at nighttime,so it's definitely a good time to fish during the summer.

Catch 22 reply :

Thanks for all the replies,some self serving,some informative, ,some silly.Having chased bass for over 50 yrs now,I have btdt. I keep an eye on local T`s when I can and if there are any floaters later on,it is predictable that it will be in July or August when wt`s are high[80 deg +].NO ,I`m not anti T,I did it many times. I know many of the guys that fish them and they are all good people with good intentions.

While this read does not mention hot water it does dwell on delayed mortality that is a reality in T`s and pleasure fishing.

http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/after_the_catch.html

My message would be to take extra care at a time when the fish are more apt to be stressed by c & r.

I sent my wife to the ER days ago so I will be out of this discussion. Thanks for reading.

C22

scaleface reply :

I lost several fish in a July tournament and it cost me first place . I caught the fish 20 foot deep and I had the livewell on auto It should have been continuous . It was my fault and I didnt let it happen again .

Mosster47 reply :

I'm no scientist, but I know the time of year bass fight the hardest is summer. We just had one of the hottest weeks in five years and I caught five really good fish and lost a monster in 8ft of water. The surface temp was 76 degrees.

The perch and fry were in the weed beds, so that's where the bass are going to be too. In summer the bass will be wherever the food is, no exceptions.

Don't fish during the spawn, don't fish when it's too hot, don't fish when it's too cold. If we followed the cork sniffers of the sport we'd only get to be on the water about 90 days a year.

Crestliner2008 reply :

Let's see here, if it's impossible for me to fish during the winter due to ice & snow.....and not recommended to fish with the water is hot......then that gives me about 4 months out of the year to fish. I don't think so!

Red Bear reply :

i dont know how true this premise is for largemouth bass, but it is definitely applicable to stripers stocked in lakes. Smith Mtn Lake has a slot limit in the winter requiring all striped bass 30-40" to be released, in the summer this is removed and you can keep any size striper. The reasoning is the same as above that the stress of catching the fish in such warm water temps often will cause it to die after released. it may not die then right away, it may not die at all, but could die a few hours later.

Patrick Fleming reply :

Well I've fish 5-6 times a week for the last 2 months mostly in the afternoon/evening after work. During the hottest part of the day up to dark 30... And have water temps from 87-92 degrees and caught fish every time out.

Water temp can be misleading. First, that is surface temp, with you where to deep down 4-5 feet below the surface, the temp will be 5-7 degrees cooler. The deeper you go the cooler the water gets.

There is a reason why you can still catch fish in swallow water with high water temps.. Its call cover, anything from standing timber, lay-downs, docks, bush-piles, lidypads , and grass beds, provide SHADE, shade means cooler temps and cover means bait fish, which mean bass will follow..

But if you want to consistently catch fish in the dog days of summer, you need to be able to locate and know how to fish deep water structure. Deep water can be anything from a drop off or ledge where the water drops from 3 ft to 10 ft or a point the runs from the bank out drown to 30 + ft of water.. any sudden change in depth will hold fish.

As long as you handle the fish right, it will survive.... Don't handle/ touch/ or rub the fishes body, this removes it protective slime, which inturn, puts stress on the fish and in most cases of released fish's deaths, this is the main reason...

Here a hot water (88 degree's) water temp caught a few weeks ago... The heat is harder on me then it is on the fish....

12800

Just my humble opinion about fishing hot water 2024

related General Bass Fishing Forum topic

previous topic

next topic

most viewed General Bass Fishing Forum topic