Obviously a week of cold weather will make the water temperature go down also, and a week I hot weather will cause a rise in water temps. If there is one day of really hot or really cold weather during the week, that is probably not enough to heat or chill the entire body of water (especially ponds). However I was curious as to if the fish would tend to be more active on the warm day. We have had the last few days here in NC have been cloudy with temps in the 50's, this Saturday is supposed to be sunny and 70. Wonder if they will have more action on Saturday?

It seems to me that bugs are more active when it's warm. That would stimulate the food chain and make bass more active.

Water depth and wind also contribute. I fish a river system with an average depth of 4-6ft. A couple days of high winds and air temp fluctuations can change things drasticaly. I've seen surface temperature swings of more than 10 degrees in a matter of a couple days. Fish still need to eat. If you can locate them, maybe try different presentations to trigger them.

The size of the waterway,depth and current all affect how fast the water changes. Depth and current(wind) are the biggest factors; deep water over 30' takes weeks to change temperature, wind will excelled ate the process. In general water over 30 stays close to 60-70 degrees during the warm water period and 50-60 degrees during cold periods. Under ground water is about 60 degrees. Surface temperature is a poor indicator of the water column temperature.

Tom

Makes sense. The one pond is about 3-4 ft deep and it felt like ice. The bigger averages about 10-12 feet and that pond was a little chilly. No wind here really though. I will try different presentations. :-)

Also how much stain the water is will effect how fast it cools or heats up. Some parts of the lake will also be a different in temp depending on how protected it is.