59 minutes ago, Joshua Vandamm said:

@Paul Roberts one place I fish is a very deep quarry. Do you know if is there a decent equation or graph for determining stratification, temp at a given depth? Eg. Given: surface temp, rate of change, shallow subsurface temp( 4-10ft), x Coeficient, #ft (target depth)

 

With or without factoring in current, clarity etc?

 

Thx! 

No I don't. In my shallow waters, and in shallow wind protected places in larger waters, I can get a pretty good estimate from weather history over previous few days using the average daily temp.

 

I've taken temps for years so I have a feel for how water heats, but there are still a lot of variables: sky, water conditions, aspect, albedo, how close to deeper water, ... . So I still temps. 

 

The other day I was on a good aggressive prespawn bite. It then promptly died in the afternoon. After trying a few presentation adjustments I thought maybe the fish had moved into warmed shallow shoreline cover where the water was flat calm. So I pressed back into it to take a temp, and found it no different than the more open water I'd been catching in. Gotta measure to really know. I still don't know what had happened to that bite.

 

Take a temp profile in your quarry, every time you fish. Then you'll get a handle on it. It'll often be the same year to year. The deeper steeper -the more massive the mass of water, and wind protected- the more stable, slowly evenly, it'll change.

15 minutes ago, Paul Roberts said:

No I don't. In my shallow waters, and in shallow wind protected places in larger waters, I can get a pretty good estimate from weather history over previous few days using the average daily temp.

 

I've taken temps for years so I have a feel for how water heats, but there are still a lot of variables: sky, water conditions, aspect, albedo, how close to deeper water, ... . So I still temps. 

 

The other day I was on a good aggressive prespawn bite. It then promptly died in the afternoon. After trying a few presentation adjustments I thought maybe the fish had moved into warmed shallow shoreline cover where the water was flat calm. So I pressed back into it to take a temp, and found it no different than the more open water I'd been catching in. Gotta measure to really know. I still don't know what had happened to that bite.

 

Take a temp profile in your quarry, every time you fish. Then you'll get a handle on it. It'll often be the same year to year. The deeper steeper -the more massive the mass of water, and wind protected- the more stable, slowly evenly, it'll change.

I take surface and subsurface readings a lot. I guess I need a depth probe to determine the thermocline or lack there of. The place is 100ft derp in a gorge surrounded by hills so not much wind. 

It'll thermocline for certain.