Water Temps and Update

[Jason Durham]

Hit two lakes this morning and fishing was alright. Potato had 40 degree surface temp and Little Sand had 42 degree surface temp. That means we're pretty close to hitting the magic number of 39 degrees when water is most dense and it all mixes together. Not to mention it's an indication that ice fishing is in the near future. Mud lake on the north side of long re-opened today, but Daisy lake, a mudhole north of Nevis, was frozen over. It's hard to decide to wish for ice or warm weather to continue fishing in the boat.

Caught walleye, northern and smallies on both Potato and Little Sand, 16-22 feet was the magic number and I was using redtails and shiners. Anyone else still fishing?

[Fishing_High]

I fished the Brainerd area yesterday and this morning managed 1 eye 1 bass and a couple dandy pike working jigs with grubs slow in deeper water. I may be traveling to Long one time next weekend I will have to check back to you with temps of the water if you still getting out next week.

[Jason Durham]

We're supposed to have moderate temps for the next couple days, you'll be able to get out on Long no problem next weekend. What will you be fishing for?

[Fishing_High]

We usually go Pike and Bass fishing, but that lake we were fishing in Brainerd wasn't suppose to have eye's in it and sure enough the pike and bass were real slow the first fish I caught jigging a 4 inch grub was a walleye so I'm think ill try hard to get some eyes out of Long. My buddies dad pulled a fat 31" eye opening weekend in 7 Fow lindy rigging a leech. What do you think would be best to try to go after some big eyes or pike?

[gamakatsu]

i hit fish hook on the 12th of Nov in the evening for about 3 hours, i had my daughter and granddaughter with me not to mention my good friend lippy. the temp was 42 degrees and i managed to pull a nice 28 incher and my daughter had to beat me with a 30 incher and a 15 incher. she is from washington state and i had to take her to the airport the following morning or we would of been out there again, oh ya the reason she was back was to go deer hunting with her dad and she shot a nice 8 pointer opening morning, so her trip was very successful and she will have memories of this forever as so will i. besides i do want her to come back ya know

[Jason Durham]

Nice fish, those two are sure to get you back on the water next hunting season.

I was out yesterday for about an hour and half on 8th Crow Wing. Had to break through a skim of ice to put the boat in. Water temp was 38.

I received an email from a member of the Little Sand Lake association this morning. They've been monitoring water temp and oxygen throughout the summer and the data is pretty interesting. Here's the email (remember, water is most dense at approximately 39 degrees.)

"Jason,

We were on the water doing our DO/Water Temperature monitoring again today (November 17th) for the final time of the season. The water temperature ranged from 40.8 on the surface to 41.1 at 71 feet of water. The dissolved oxygen ranged from 10.67 ppm on the surface to 9.96 ppm at 71 feet of water.

So the lake has turned over since the last time we did the monitoring on October 25th. On October 25th the dissolved oxygen was at 5.75 in 45 feet of water and dropped to 0.19 in 46 feet of water."

[solbes]

Wow great info on the Dissolved Oxygen. Seems like the only true way of knowing whether the lake has turned or not. But I'm suprised it took that long this year to turn. I was under the impression that most lakes in the area would be turned over by mid October. Is this late turn over typical?

There's an infisherman article by Corey (Toad?) about his thermocline study on Gull Lake (google it). I really enjoy his articles, he always has great info. Anyway, the water at the surface was 54 F when it mixed and he could no longer "see" a thermocline or detect one with temperature readings at different depths. This was happened on October 6th.

Could the difference just be due to lake characteristics (clarity, depths, size)?

[BassMan25]

All of the info in this thread can be useful to every angler. I fished more for fall walleyes this year than I have in my entire life. Fishhook, Potato, and Big Sand were all successful lakes for me. It helped that I actually had the lakes at my fingertips during the entire fall. The 3 biggest walleyes of my life were all caught this year led by the 29.5" posted as my avatar. As my username would indicate I am a bass guy first and foremost, however, I have a huge walleye itch now and will continue to fish for them in spring and fall when the bass have slowed down. I never really cared for walleye fishing in the past, but it helps when you actually get out and educate yourself and try new things that help you catch fish.

My only regret is not having figured this out earlier. I really think I have been cheating myself in the past by limiting myself to fishing bass exclusively. Don't get me wrong, bass fishing is still #1 on my list. I just will look forward to walleye fishing more often in the future now that I somewhat know what I am doing.

Open water fishing in November was never really a thought in the past. Because of the ice forming on the lake recently, I FINALLY just winterized my boat yesterday.

Time for ice fishing.

[eyefever]

Turnover can happen multiple times. All that is needed is a constant water temp - no thermocline. Smaller or shallow lakes will turn a lot easier than deeper lakes. You could get a turnover when surface temps reach 54 deg. as the water cools and reaches the thermocline temp. You could also get a turnover at 39 degrees as the surface water warms with warmer temps. It all depends on weather patterns. If you have a steady drop in temp in the fall and a steady rise in the spring you will not see as much mixing. With the temps we've had this season water temps can fluctuate a lot more.

[Jason Durham]

eyefever-

You're right on. There's much more to consider than simply waiting for the water temp. to hit 39. Especially on larger bodies of water that are impacted more by wind. The 39 degree mark is simply when water becomes most dense and on the small lakes around here, which are numerous, that number indicates when the water becomes "thick" in the fall. LOVE to fish muskies during this period (might still get out tomorrow).

The process of fall turnover can start in August and pinpointing an exact date to the phenomenon typically occurs when anglers see weeds floating, a "muddier" appearance to the water, etc. Yet that isn't necessarily turnover and every lake doesn't experience those effects. It's more of an on-going process than a rapid, finite change.

I received some graphs from the Park Rapids Fisheries office with the accumulated data from the dissolved oxygen/water temperature study on Big Sand and Little Sand. It's formatted in powerpoint and is interesting to see. If anyone wants me to email a copy of it, just let me know.

[Bob/Mn]

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eyefever-

I received some graphs from the Park Rapids Fisheries office with the accumulated data from the dissolved oxygen/water temperature study on Big Sand and Little Sand. It's formatted in powerpoint and is interesting to see. If anyone wants me to email a copy of it, just let me know.

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Jason:

I would be interested in a copy.

Thank You

RLSatyahoo.com

[Jason Durham]

Just sent it out.

[Bob/Mn]

Quote:

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Just sent it out.

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It didn't come through, try it again.

Thanks

[email protected]

[northernlights]

Any more updates on the ice conditions with the cold temps?

[Jason Durham]

Long still has open patches. I hear that some people are beginning to straggle out. I'm hitting a small pond Saturday and anticipating the ice will be safe, but you never know.

A dog went through on Loon Lake this week and was rescued. An eight point buck drown on another, but can't recall which lake it was. Both were a few days ago, we had -1 this morning.