FishingApprentice

I'm relatively new to bass fishing and trying very hard to learn. I fished in earnest last Summer for the first time. This Summer I'm trying to get more serious: watching videos, reading books, buying equipment, etc. I was hoping some of you more experienced folks could tell me if I understand the thermocline and its implications rightly. As I understand it, the fish will (virtually) never be below the thermocline. So, by figuring out the thermocline depth, I can rule out fishing (hopefully) some large chunks of the lake. If fish are in an area of the lake whose depth is greater than the thermocline, they are "suspended over deep water". Am I on track so far? A few weeks back, I set out to find the thermocline in my local lake. Following the prevailing advice, I set the fish finder's sensitivity very high and watched for a line to appear. Hmmm, but alas, no line. Figuring my fish finder was not high-end enough, I bought three Vexilar Deptherm thermometers, tied them two feet apart to a rope that was 22 feet long, and dropped them into 30 feet of water. The readings said it was 80 degrees at 20 feet down. Incredulous, I repeated. Unless those thermometers are outrageous and habitual liars, the temperature is about 78 degrees at 22 feet, 80 degrees at 20 feet, 82 degrees at 18 feet, and the surface temperature is about 84 degrees. Does this mean there is no thermocline? I'm more confused than when I started. Am I reading the wrong articles about thermoclines?