Fishing after ice!

[fishermanste]

Hi all, thought i would give a little advice to you the fellow angler on your local fishery at this 'freezing' time of year (especially up north).... I have discovered a method that ONLY works after 'ice' has just melted.... As we know fish will pack tightly together during the winter months and will seek deeper water.... this is for a reason.... its not that its warmer where its deeper its the fact that when ice melts, it sinks as cold water... which sits on the bottom and will sit on the bottom of shallow waters far longer than deeper swims,( if ice melted on 8ft of water then it would of reached 'mean' temp by the time it reached the bottom) so where fish can they will seek 8ft of water for that warmer climate as the cold water from the ice wouldn't bother them.......... obviously this is would seek our fish.....

 

 

 

However!!........... where this is not possible (due to there not being 8ft or even 4ft of water) i seriously recomend this method...... plum up and fish dead depth.... nothing? then move up in the water....around 2".... this is where the fish will be...... if not come up another 1".... my method is that because its bloody cold on the bottom, the fish(carp in particular) will move off the bottom in search of both warmer water and your bait!!!!!

[poledark]

I think you should check out this link http://www.simetric.co.uk/si_water.htm

 

For what it is worth, on Friday last I watched the water temp in my lake rise steadily from 36.3F up to 37.9 over a period of 6 hours. The air temp only got up to 40.6F, but I was facing the wind and it was fairly breezy. the water temp was taken at 4 feet deep. The water temp had been a pretty constant 36.3f for about a month.

 

Not unusual, I have been taking readings for about 30+ years and never cease to be amazed at how quickly the temp can rise............I have seen it rise by 8F in a few hours. That was on a lake 8/10 feet deep, water 41F, air 52F and a strong wind.

 

On Friday I faced the wind, but went up to the other end of the lake before I left, and the water temp had only risen to 37F. This end of the lake was sheltered and is generally shallower. The lake froze over again during the night.

 

I used to use a TM on a length of cord, and throw it in to the lake, but I now use a digital with one probe in the water, and the other in the air. This gives me a continuous reading.

 

 

 

Den

Edited February 21, 2010 by poledark

[grumpybum]

There have been numerous articles in the angling press recently stating the same method.

[poledark]

Reading down the LH column shows the relative density (weight) of water.

 

1degC .999900 grams/cubic cm

 

4degC .999973 grams/cubic cm (heaviest)

 

8degC .999849 grams/cubic cm

 

At 0degC water becomes ice and weighs .999841 grams/cubic cm. A lot lighter than at 1deg, or even 8deg. In the absence of any wind to circulate the water, the water on the bottom will be at or very close to 4degC. This will steadly drop if the air continues low enough to form ice, and the colder/lighter layer will gradually extend downwards until the lake freezes solid.

 

Tiny differences maybe, but enough to drive the worlds weather systems.

 

Den

Edited February 21, 2010 by poledark