What temperature range is the Prime Fishing "Thermocline"??

[TyeeTanic]

Well, I managed to find a Mac Jac Temperature Probe thanks to WWIV who pointed me in the right direction.

It is being mailed to me, so hopefully I'll get it next week.

So now I will be able to measure temperature every 10 ft down to 150 ft.

So the next question is what temperature zone am I looking for?

I posted 55F as a good temperature based on the advice on some other messages in the forum.

A few guys said that was still way too warm or something.

So I'm going to do a pole to find out what people define as the thermocline that they like to fish in, just below and just above.

[Tim Bromund]

well the short answer is .... it depends.

It depends on what species you are targeting

It depends on if you are looking for numbers or size

It depends on time of day

It depends on what part of the season

[TyeeTanic]

I am general talking about steelhead, coho and king salmon.

I think a good fishing day is high numbers, with one or two big boys (+15 lbs).

I am generally talking about morning (6 - 11 am).

Let's keep it to July/August.

Thanks,

Mark

[chowder]

Mark, check out Tom's article again. There is no hard & fast answer to this question because there are way too many variables. Just this past weekend we nailed Kings from 47 - 60. Bait, current, upwellings,etc create lots of very cool possibilities for feeding Kings (they are very opportunistic predators). Down temps & down speed are important parts of a puzzle that's constantly changing. Try to enjoy figuring it out and most important ' listen to the fish, they will tell you what you need to know, even if it's " we are in a bad mood & are not interested in anything". -Andy

[J&J]

We fished the Oak today and did 15 Kings all in 125 - 170 fow water temp was 60-65 down 70 to80 feet . All on wire out 250 on a 2 setting Right know dont sweat the temp thing just fish your screen and have fun!!!

[TyeeTanic]

J&J were you using a no 0 or no 1 dipsey?

[chowder]

J&J were you using a no 0 or no 1 dipsey?

Mark, we fished the Oak on Sat & Sun and we ran only Mag size divers. After back to back Kings on the wire diver rods for a couple hours we pulled them out of the water, switched over to an all spoon program on 4 riggers and moved out to chase Steelies.

[J&J]

We use black walker 107s we couldnt get a rigger bite going but the wire was hot

[TyeeTanic]

Okay - I just bought myself a Fish Hawk TD. Will send her down tonight to find the 45 - 55 F range. I will fish one line at 45 F and another at 55 F - on same lures - I will post which one is the hotter line ....

that is if I hopefully catch anything on either line!

[Gill-T]

I have two daughters, and they need to see fish every 15 minutes or they get bored. For numbers, look at the graph and find bait. The bait balls will give you clues what the temp is as they are usually in water in the 50's. Put a bait at the bottom of the bait ball, in the middle, and top. Put a flasher/fly 10-20' below the bait for bigger fish.

[TyeeTanic]

Thanks Gill-T.

I have a 9 year old boy. Same problem - must produce every 15 - 20 minutes or I don't here the end of it,

[GAMBLER]

42 degrees for mature kings. 48 - 54 degrees for numbers of kings.

[TyeeTanic]

Okay, so I promised I'd post some results after doing a test using the Fish Hawk,

Depth Temp

15 ft 55F

30 ft 50F

50 ft 45F

60 ft 44F

100ft 42.5F

130ft 42.0F

This was on Saturday, July 9th at 7 AM. I tested several more times during the days, but there wasn't a major change in the temperature profile. Fished in 120 - 140 feet of water throughout the day.

Hooked at 20 ft - two very small 2 - 4 lb fish - steelie and chinook

Hooked at 40 ft - 1 very large fish, 30 min fight before hook came out of mouth - very tired arm

Hooked at 40 ft - 1 medium sized rainbow - about 8 - 10 lb.

Hooked at 60 ft - 1 medium sized chinook - about 12 lb

Hooked at 100 ft - 1 large lake trout - 20 lb

Also hooked, but lost 2 more fish at around the 40 and 60 foot depth.

Most of the action was between 40 and 60 feet of water, which would make it a temperature band of around 44F - 48F.

Will repeat this test and check for consistency.