Thread: Ditch Basser's 2 cents, shallow water with heavy vegetation

I thought this was a topic worth discussion. I spend most of my time in less than 6 feet of water and prefer two to three feet. I simply like fishing where the big boats can't or don't go. I've noticed that often an area than seems to be devoid of fish in the morning will be on fire in the afternoons, even if the water is warmer in the summer. So a little research to consider.

Most aquatic plants used carbon dioxide and sun (photosynthesis) and give off oxygen. Over the night or even on calm, cloudy days these same plants are releasing carbon dioxide. As water oxygen levels drop, fish become inactive (they can even die, like when you have several cloudy days without any wind in the summer). Water also holds less oxygen as the water gets warmer. This is one of the reasons in shallow water why afternoons are better, especially when windy.

Another challenge is fish metabolism, especially this spring! The shallow water will warm or cool much faster relative to air temperature. A couple cool days will drop the shallow water temps by 10 degrees plus sometimes. This can cause the fishes metabolism to slow down and they need less food. A cool night or two and the fish are less active for a couple days. If it stays cool their requirements for food recovers after a couple days.

Windy will also move around baitfish and oxygenate the water, so a windy night will reverse this and often put the fish feeding heavy at daylight even in heavy vegetation in shallow water.

A few weeks ago I made a trip to Swan Creek arriving at daylight for no over reason than a windy night and a very windy day was forecast. It was hard on the fisherman, but the fish hit like they were starving! Anyway, thought I'd share.

Makes sense to me. Thanks for taking the time to share