water temperature rises and the oxygen saturation levels drop. Reservoir anglers who maintain success beyond the fun days of beating the bank in the spring understand that a thermocline develops in summer, and the fish move down to the deepest layer of cooler water before the thermocline changes the oxygen saturation. Thermoclines are different in each reservoir and can be found visually, by adjusting the sensitivity of your depth finder until a false bottom appears over deep water. Just above that depth, which ranges from 25 to 33 feet in my local reservoirs, is where the summer bass like to hang out until fall.
water. For instance, in the spring, with the spawning ritual on the horizon, they will go to sun warmed shallows. Is it because they feel the urge to get their metabolism kick started, or because the warm water is where other organisms have become active and are easier to locate to forage on? I honestly don’t know, or care to know why. But I pay attention to the temperature
gauge, and the trends I see as I move through different areas with different temperatures. Moving into summer, many fish will go to deeper water, where the cool water allows them to slow down their metabolism. They come shallow at night and during low light periods to feed, but in the shallows, with the sun beating down, the KBFMAG SUMMER 2017
The point is that water temperature needs to be one of the parameters of location that you make note of. It’s easy to do with surface temperature. Unless you invest in a water thermometer with a 50 foot cord, you’ll just have to understand that deep water is cooler in summer and warmer in early winter. Shade, amount of sun exposure, warming or cooling effects of tributaries, warm water discharges, springs, wind and recent precipitation temperature all play into the thermodynamics of water. Pay attention to water temperature and plug it into your pattern development set of observations.