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Looks like the Upwelling has begun


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I am confused!!!!!! Been fishing the south shore in the Western Basin for more yearsthan I care to discuss and the upwellings/rollovers occur with Easterly/Northeasterly winds. South winds are quite favorable here and usually will not effect temps negatively. Dave

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3d ,STRONG being the key word last year i arrived on fri nite surface temp 72deg with down temp 90 ft down after allnite of strong south wind the surface was 42 deg and you had to goout to 200 ft to find thermo.when this so wind occures with a surface drop like that you can run planers and fish on top near shore

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maybe, but on the west side of the lake, a NE wind most certainly causes an upwelling (the lake flips) as well. I don't pretend to understand the dynamics of it, but I know it occurs. I've experienced it often enough.

Tim

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The wind from the east fish bite least and wind from the west fish bite best has nothing to do with Lake Ontario. It has to do with a low the winds spin CCW and a high they spin CW. Fish bite better on a high or rising barometer. bite least on a falling or low barometer. Generally speaking of coarse. The Blue fish love an east wind.

Spike

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Ray,

Since you are new to the Oak you need to be corrected here. It is a NE wind that flips the lake on the west end. As a rule if the wind is E or NE the down temps begin to drop or the cold water begins to come to the surface. If there is enough wind the cold water will rise all the way to the surface along the shore and push the warm water north causing an upwelling or flipping of the lake. The surface current will be north bound.

I have been fishing the oak since 1980 and I have never seen an upwelling caused by a S wind. I'm not saying it couldn't happen, I just have not seen it in 29 years of my experience. My guess is the the day you are reffering to was a S wind that was a day after a NE blow and peeled the top layer of water off to the north.

Just this morning I was talking to Capts Jack, Clarence and John and we discussing how the temp was "coming up" reffering to an impending upwelling. We hope that it does not happen because the fishing has been very consistent at Point Breeze and we have not had to use much gas to get it done. I fished my last 4 trips without going more than 3 miles from port. If the lake does flip it will cause fog on shore and fish 7-16 miles out.

To gain further help in this matter check the fishing tips page on the At the Oak site.

Fish Smart,

CC

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A NE tends to upwell the lake from the Western basin and propagates Eastward, a SW will do the trick working East to West.

My point here is that the lake is overdue for a summer upwelling and it won;t take much of a NE to make it happen, they we fishing 30-60 ft down today at the Oak with a pretty good NE and the water temp off Rochester dipped to 47 deg, 30' down a mile offshore, so it's telling me that an upwelling is coming and don't be suprised to find ice water onshore from Rochester Westward Thursday AM...

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I think both Ray and Tim (fishstix) are correct but along differnet avenues. The phenomenon you guys are talking about is simple physics. In the summer, cold water sinks to the bottom because it is heavier (more dense) than warm water. When enough winds move the warm water to one end of the lake the underlying cold water is forced to the surface.

The two most common "upwellings" we see on the south shore of Lake Ontario are from strong, sustained south winds and north east or east winds. With a thermocline set up like we've had for several weeks now enough south wind will push the warm water to the north shore leaving only cold water on the south shore. That's Ray's upwelling theory.

The "traditional upwelling" that Tim is talking about occurs with a strong, sustained north east or easterly wind. Because the central basin of Lake O is so deep--always holding cold water--it is very susceptible to upwelling with enough wind from an easterly direction. Once the wind moves the warm water off of the cold water in the center of the lake and the cold water makes it to the surface it moves VERY quickly to the southwest pushing the warm water (and the thermocline) to the west and north. The cold water can do that because it is much heavier and more dense than the warmer water.

It is easy to see the effects of this upwelling and prove what I'm saying by simply fishing a few days in an upwelling. On windy days it might appear rather calm inshore in the cold water but can be really ugly once you get offshore to the warmer water. Cold water simply doesn't get as rough as warm water with the same degree of wind.

On really warm days most of us have seen the giant fog bank separating the warm water from the cold.

I could go on and on because I'm really fascinated by this phenomenon and have studied it extensively but I'm on a laptop and I hate trying to type on a laptop....LOL.

Don't forget the One Day Oak Orchard Open Tournament this Saturday is open to Oak boats as well as Sandy Creek boats. Get your entries in early so we can figure the payouts!

Good luck!

Paul

Free Spirit

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It depends on the time of year also. Cool nights in August can cause surface temps to drop enough that as the colder water sinks into the warmer layers below......a flip occurs. Mostly on the west end it is a NE or strong E wind that causes the flipping. However, A STRONG south wind will rip the surface layers off inshore and roll the cold water on top. Last summer three kids drown off Olcott getting caught in on of those south wind roll-overs. The kids whom where good swimmers supposedly, where trying to reach the little square island pier and where swept out. I believe one kid made it if memory serves correctly. Strong forces for sure.

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I have come to the conclusion that you are all WRONG!!!!!! The upwelling will occur on the thursday after the third friday in the seventh month of the year. Of course only if there is a sw wind the day before a ne wind the wind has a swirling effect after it hits the bucaroo on the port side when he is trolling nnw at a ds of 2.65982555! This my friends will cause the mother of all upwellings....... :shock: :lol::P:o:D:P:P:P

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Ray,

I only intended to inform not to offend. I have no theory, just observation. You have yours as well. At the end of the day catching fish on lake ontario is not very hard in fact even a caveman can do it. Probably the same caveman who has a collection of kneecaps.

Let me know when you intend to return to the Oak, most likely I will be there and show you a new coho rig!!!

CC

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At least it's happening now, and not mid august. The nearshore fishery should have a chance to rebound to stratify the thermocline again. The biggest salmon we caught monday had very developed eggs, and I'm sure those fish will run the river regardless of what mother nature brings them. I can't wait till Aug 16th for the one day derby. Rock on- Mick

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