Water Temperature

[sellis_414]

How much does the water temp affect fish migration?


Does it affect the bite?


Are there any charts that show temp ranges and how fish react?

[kzoo]

I think it does, especially when water is low and clear. They are cold blooded animal, it'll take them a while to get them up river.

[flinginpooh]

When my reel and eyes freeze up I dont get as many bites. But if they are not froze but just before freezing Its fish on. So Id have to say yeah it does. Or maybe its just that Im so froze I dont feel the bite lol.

[Steelheadman12]

Water Temp makes a huge difference on the bite and how fish move. Fishing steelhead for as long as I have I've learned alot about temperature, water clarity and the good ol barometer. Temperature is a direct affect of barometric changes and can make fish so tight lipped that you litterally have to hit them in the nose to get a bite. Take last week for example, I fished Monday in what I consider horrible conditions. It was about 23degrees and clear blue skies, the water was low, slow and clear. Fish like to stop moving and get really lazy in these conditions. So I opted for techniques that work for me in those situations. I started the day fishing something that works to kick the bite into gear, a spoon. This is a sorely under used lure and can catch fish when everything else fails. No dice on that however. The day wore on the temps started to climb and at about 11am it was roughly 40degrees. Sun was hitting the water and melting the ice out of my guides so it was time for bait. When water is clear the best bet is a natural presentation, boraxed natural roe or sandshrimp tails. I was able to shake a few fish out of the river using shrimp.

There are ideal conditions where the temperature is about 40-45 a for a few days and holding and the river clarity is about 3 feet with a slight green to it. Baits in this situation are generally a little more gaudy and its game on for most steelhead. They are on the move and ready to attack anything tha gets in their way. The good old pink worm and jigs in cerise and off pink have done it for me here as well as spoons and spinners.

The day a cold snap starts is probably the day you will need to work most for your fish. Temperature plays a huge roll in how andronomous fish react to everything, you need to remember the other factors such as water height and clarity. It's all part of the big puzzle. The resources that I use are USGS Real Time Water Data page, NOAA Weatheer page and the good old temperature gauge on my front porch. I have heard that steelhead especially like to spawn anywhere between 42-48 degree water temperatures so taking a thermometer to the river isnt a bad idea. These temps affect all fish however so keep that in mind. Sorry for such a long response but I have found there is no simple answer to this.

[code3daddy]

What a great topic...something I haven't seen asked before. Thank you Steelheadman12 for the thorough answer.

[sellis_414]

Why I posted this question was... Earlier in the year I was fishing for Springers, then this fall Steelhead,and a biologist (same guy both seasons) was checking fish threw a thermometer in took that data and said the bite had slowed down dramatically over the past couple days (both seasons) due to the water temp... He didn't go into details about it and stupid me didn't ask what is ideal and why. So I got to thinking, bought a thermometer and want to see what others thought on WL.

[curado]

think of it this way. the reason the sockeye fishing was so good at brewster was because of the warm river water and that caused them to stick in the columbia longer in the cooler waters

[flinginpooh]

Dont forget the pressure.

http://www.quickoneplus.com/fish/articl ... barometric

Heres a link that explains how the pressure effects fishing.

[Marc Martyn]

I don't know anything about Steelhead, but it certainly does effect Cutthroat and Rainbows in rivers. While floating the Clark Fork River in Montana, fish seemed to congregate in sections of the river where small cold streams would dump into the CF. In a few sections of the river where this was happening, the water temperature would drop as much as 6-10º. In these areas they seemed to be feeding more also. One thing to keep in mind, as the water temperature rises, the oxygen content lowers. In the summer months, the game department may close a river to C&R fishing because it is too stressful on the fish. A 7 minute battle with a fisherman in 48º water may be a minor inconvenience for the fish. However, a 3 minute battle at 77º may be fatal.

[Steelheadman12]

There different species of fish that like different water temperatures. Bass become lethargic and you are hard pressed to get them to bite once the mercury drops below 50 however this is prime for ther fish. This is my advice, hop online and read up on the fish that you are targeting. Doing so will offer you insight on more than just what water temps work best for what you are targeting it will also tell you where they hold at what temperatures and what to use. I have yet to find a definitive chart however. Great idea on buying the thermometer, I would also keep a journal and write down temp, air and water, river level, water clarity, baits used and number of fish caught. This will be a record you can look back on next year and it could help you decide when would be best for you to go out.

[Fish_Bait111397]

Glad you're on the website Steelheadman12,
LOT of good information coming from you.