Sometimes when the water is around 50 degress when I jump in I PEE!!!!

Guess I should elaborate:

I almost never hear water temperature (the numbers) as part of people's fishing reports, planning, or discussion of patterns or results. It's like everyone knows it's important, but it's not mentioned, beyond, "Tough day! I nearly froze my bits off!"

I've actually NEVER yet met a bass angler, on the small waters I fish, with a thermometer (in 40 years)! It's regular gear on trout streams (although few seem to really use them). Maybe it's only the big water guys with an in-dash surface temp gauge using temperature?

So, how does water temperature work in to your plan of action on a given day -specifically? How many actually take temperatures? What does that look like?

I haven't taken the time to read the entire thread, just some of the early stuff.

Back in 70's, when I was doing seminars, water temperature was a big factor in bass fishing for a few anglers in the know. Dark Industries made a good thermometer with 50 foot cord probe on a reel for fisherman to use.

I kept logs for several years on the bass caught year around, measuring water temperature and the basses body temperatues by inserting the probe down the throat. Based on this information I was able to publish a bass calendar* based on water temperature. In-Fisherman used some of this information in their early publications and the terms pre-spawn, post spawn came from that original calendar have become standard jargon in bass fsihing today.

We may debate the seasonal period temperatures by a few degrees, however it's generally accepted that water temperature controls the basses annual life cycle.

Today bass fisherman should always be asking the most important question of all; what is the water temperature at the depth you are catching bass? Most bass fisherman don't know, they have surface temperature gauges only and rely on sonar to determine where the bait, bass and thermocline are located. Good sonar units can easily determine the thermocline depth and that is suffiecent for most bass fishing presentations.

Winter; 40** to 54 degrees. FLMB lower limit is 45 degrees.

Pre-spawn; 55 to 60 degrees

Spawn; 62 to 67 degrees

Post spawn; 67 to 69 degrees

Summer; 70 to 80 degrees

Fall; 70 to 60 degrees

*1974 "The Cosmic Clock and Bass Calendar".

** water colder than 39.4 degrees floats then freezes.

Where seasonal periods have gaps, the bass are in transition. The above is the basic bass calendar and seasonal periods.

WRB

THANK YOU WRB< THATS GOING IN MY NOTEBOOK 8-)