Qweschun uhbowt thermaklein

I'm seeing on my sonar what I think is a thermocline about 10ft down in 30fow. I have fished this several times and do not catch fish below 10ft. I noticed this afternoon that as I moved into 20 fow, I was seeing the same thing at 15 feet down. Am I seeing the thermocline? It just looks like noise or interference on the sonar, but I have even shut everything completly off except for the sonar and it all looks the same. Is it possible to have a thermocline at 10ft in one part of the lake and 15 feet in another?

I am not an expert, but IMO this is sonar clutter and not a thermocline. What brand and model of sonar do you have ?

You're probably right on this. The sonar is a Humminbird 718. I don't think it's messing me up as far as finding fish since the shad seem to be holding above the "clutter". Of course there is so much clutter, I'm not seeing anything but structure unless it is above that line. It wasn't doing this in the spring.

Yes, the thermocline can start at different depths in different areas of a lake.

I'm not sure if it's the recent flood or sudden increase in water temp - maybe a combination - but we have a very distinct thermocline starting at about 12-feet right now and the water below that level seems to be very low in oxygen. Our crappie are real scattered and I have a feeling they are roaming around looking for cooler water with enough oxygen but not finding it.

Our morning temps are in the low 90s - too hot too soon!

Thanks Jerry. That is the information I was looking for. I'm still not sure if it's a thermocline I'm seeing but I can't catch anything below it. I've found the crappie high in the water column around the shad balls. They are as fat as butterballs, so apparently they've been eating well. I'm with you on the crappie roaming around. They may be following the shad. Our temps are running about the same as yours. This morning they were 89 point something and Wednesday evening they were above 92.

Again, Thanks.

What you describe seeing on your graph sounds very much like a thermocline. Interference from another sonar usually displays as uniform, diagonal lines on the screen and interference from your trolling motor (RF) usually displays as vertical lines going all the way from the top to the bottom of your screen.

Jerry, what do you charge to tune a fish finder? I am planning to add one to the boat and I have read a bunch of your tuning tips but not sure I will be up to the task.

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Originally Posted by soswine

Jerry, what do you charge to tune a fish finder? I am planning to add one to the boat and I have read a bunch of your tuning tips but not sure I will be up to the task.

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Tune-ups are free if you can come by Self Creek Marina one afternoon.

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Originally Posted by Jerry Blake

What you describe seeing on your graph sounds very much like a thermocline. Interference from another sonar usually displays as uniform, diagonal lines on the screen and interference from your trolling motor (RF) usually displays as vertical lines going all the way from the top to the bottom of your screen.

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Just got a chance to get back on the Lake after the rains and the thermocline is gone. The fish are deeper and the sonar looks just like it did in the spring. I'll know what I'm looking at next time.

Thanks for all the help.

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Originally Posted by RCC

Just got a chance to get back on the Lake after the rains and the thermocline is gone. The fish are deeper and the sonar looks just like it did in the spring. I'll know what I'm looking at next time.

Thanks for all the help.

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I really feel like a hero when I pull up to a spot and find out those are really fish on my sonar and I choose just the right bait they want.
DP

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Originally Posted by DRPEPPER

I really feel like a hero when I pull up to a spot and find out those are really fish on my sonar and I choose just the right bait they want.
DP

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DRPEPPER, I'm definitely not there yet. I've never fished for the fish showing on my sonar. I'm still fishing structure and shad because they're easier to see. So far this has worked ok for me even though it would probably be more efficient to look more for the fish. I'll learn one of these days.

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Originally Posted by RCC

DRPEPPER, I'm definitely not there yet. I've never fished for the fish showing on my sonar. I'm still fishing structure and shad because they're easier to see. So far this has worked ok for me even though it would probably be more efficient to look more for the fish. I'll learn one of these days.

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Welp RCC I'm also hopin I will learn how some day myself. Sure can get frustratin sometimes.

If you can get your transducer focused to where your fishing you can "see" your jig (or sinkers above a minnow) and watch how fish react to it. I have my transducer "shooting through the hull", which is about a 15-degree angle. It's near the front of my boat and it "views" the area where my front two poles are fishing.

A few weeks ago I told the kid watching those two poles that there were two fish rising to his bait and a second later both floats went under and we caught both fish. A lot of times I'll see fish rise to the bait and not take it. When they do that a couple times I'll drop the bait 6-inches to a foot and see if they take it then.

I can also usually tell difference between small bass or bream and crappie. Small bass and bream move up and down a lot more and a lot faster than crappie do and there are usually three or more in a group. Crappie usually change depth very slowly and I usually only see one or two come up to a bait at a time. I can get a pretty good idea of the size of the fish too, partially by the thickness of the return but also by the color. Small fish are blue/green, medium size fish have yellow in the middle of the return and big ole gar are nearly solid red. If your sensitivity is too low you won't see the smaller fish and the bigger fish will look like small fish. If your sensitivity is too high everything will be dark (or red or whatever color signifies a loud return on your particular graph/palette), including the fish and the cover they are in and around so you can't tell what's what.

I'm really tempted to attempt this on my dad's boat. Not sure we have a good enough fish finder to pull it off.

Jerry, thanks for your posts and the time you spend on this website.

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Originally Posted by RCC

DRPEPPER, I'm definitely not there yet. I've never fished for the fish showing on my sonar. I'm still fishing structure and shad because they're easier to see. So far this has worked ok for me even though it would probably be more efficient to look more for the fish. I'll learn one of these days.

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Good to see Jerry posting again; because, hanging around him taught me to have two graphs. One forward and on aft. I like to see the brush/condo on both of them. That tells me I am over the top of it. Neither one of mine are colored. So, I interpret what I see. I don't look for fish either. But, it is fun when I pull up to a spot, see fish, and catch them. Crappie will let me catch one or two, sometimes three or four then it is time to move on. But, I can come back later in the day and look for them, or maybe an ajacent condo that is a little deeper and find them again. Bream will let me sit in one spot and wear them out.
DP

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Originally Posted by Jerry Blake

If you can get your transducer focused to where your fishing you can "see" your jig (or sinkers above a minnow) and watch how fish react to it....

A few weeks ago I told the kid watching those two poles that there were two fish rising to his bait and a second later both floats went under and we caught both fish. A lot of times I'll see fish rise to the bait and not take it. When they do that a couple times I'll drop the bait 6-inches to a foot and see if they take it then.

I can also usually tell difference between small bass or bream and crappie. Small bass and bream move up and down a lot more and a lot faster than crappie do and there are usually three or more in a group. Crappie usually change depth very slowly and I usually only see one or two come up to a bait at a time. I can get a pretty good idea of the size of the fish too,

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AHHHHH the difference between a
Rookie CrappieCatcher and a pro.

That is absolutely amazing.