water temps on the rise!!

saturday on Conway, the temps were right at 40 degrees. It was the same at my house last weekend. I went out @ lunch at the house & checked; water temps have risen 5 degrees since yesterday here on my home oxbow lake. we were at 48 degrees today at noon. I do know conway is similar (shallow lake), so I would expect similar situations on Conway. It will be over 50 by the weekend. I hope the fish will turn on.

Jerry or Darryl,

do you guys see a difference in the bite when there is a sharp rise in temps like this? Also, on the bigger, deeper resevoir's, I imaging the temp's are a lot slower to come up even with warm days & nites. I know the shallow coves & north banks ought to be coming up with this warm south wind though.

Hey Randy, you're right. This time last week, surface temps at Conway were 38-40 degrees. Today the surface temp got up to 45 degrees today. The fish did seem to be much more active. They were actually floppin' around in the livewell instead of just turning over from the cold.

Chris -- have you guys been concentrating your fishing in Gold Creek? Any news on other areas of Lake Conway?

I found a cove with 51 degree water today at Nimrod. The river was still 45 degrees. I sure hope the wind lays ,cause with the lake at 342 it's whipping up mud!:eek: Not to mention wind and Nimrod is a bad combination for anyone fishing. I saw a spike buck swim the river today .:cool:

Surface temperatures can come up fast in the shallow coves on the north banks even in deep reservoirs. I decided to check the back of a well protected, shallow cove just off a major creek channel late this afternoon and found 50-degree water. Also found an 11-inch male black crappie that smacked the hooey out of a 1/32-ounce orange, gold, black, green hair jig about 1-foot deep in 2-feet of water for my first shallow water crappie this year.

We're still catching them over 20-feet deep too though so they aren't all jumping the gun.

It will be about 6-weeks before they actually spawn but every time it warms up some should get a lot more aggressive and move towards the shallows.

As long as it stays warm and the water level doesn't fall they'll keep coming in but any little cool down or water level drop will send them back out just as quick from my experience.

Hey, I got my THUMP there too!!! It's not my fault it was a green carp. LOL

It's the change in water temp that makes them move (an increase in water temp this time of year). Sometimes the move can be dramatic on the very anxious few. Watching the water temp is definitely key, but don't wait too long to check the warm spots for those bonus babies. The next thing you know you're going to be in the thick of it.

I guess Jerry's a good example of the "early bird gets the worm." That's all I'll say about that except that's one New Years resolution blow to bits. LOL

The Crappie sometimes suspend over deep brushpiles when it warms early. Right before I quit fishing ,I caught a few suspended in the back of a cove. The water was 8' deep and I have some laydown bamboo condos next to a stump. I guess they rose up to enjoy the sunshine.:D But my best fish were 18' deep on a brushplie next to a river channel. I'll be glad when the temps hit 60+ and them big dudes are trying to move in .:cool:

Hey Nimrod, I REALLY like the way you said, "I guess they rose up to enjoy the sunshine." In the past, there has been differring opinions about light and shade, but no doubt this time of year proves that the light and its warming effect attracts the crappie. Keep after'em!!!

Darryl ,a couple of years ago we were fishing brushpiles early in the year. We could not buy a fish as Nimrod was clear ,which is not normal. We were sitting on top of brushpiles in 10' of water vertical jigging. That is the normal way to fish here even in 4' of water as the water is off colored.. Well I had a brainstorm and backed up 40 feet or so. I put on a bobber set 3' deep and went to catching Crappie. They were suspended so high over the brush in the abnormally clear water they were being spooked. You could see the fish roll when setting the hook. It was early in the year and they had just risen to the surface where the afternoon sun was warming .
Here being the shallow lake Nimrod is fishing this time of year can be different morning verses afternoon.. Our fish usually make several trips to the bank and back out before actually staying to spawn. Last year they moved into 2' water on March 17 , then a cold front pushed them back out. It's rough for the weekenders ,but if you time it right and everyone else is home. The fishing can be unreal till the word gets out. :D

I agree on the sunshine thing...i normaly fish shade if possible with the exception of this time of year,i fish shallow mud flats that really warm up in the afternoon and always catch fish in less than 8' even with the water temps in the low 40's,i always start at daylight and i have to fish closer to the channel and deeper till the sun warms for a couple of hours then i move to the shallow flats where the sun has warmed the water and usually clean up on em.