Bass In 175+ Feet

[You_Only_Live_Once_Fishing]

I fish a quarry a lot. It is very deep. My guess would be 175+ feet, will bass be that deep?

[Paul Roberts]

Short answer: No.

But, knowing bass, you never know. If they were there, who'd know?

I did once caught a pickeral off a downrigger at 80ft!

[WRB]

The only thing that prevents bass from going very deep is low DO levels at those depths.

 The quarry lake may not be 175' deep, that would be extreme for a small lake.

During the summer most deep lakes stratify into layers, upper layers are warm deep layers are colder. Where the top layer comes together with a colder layer a thermocline develops and the colder water usually has very low DO levels that bass don't tolerate.

Educated guess would be few bass below 40' depth.

Tom

[frosty]

5 hours ago, WRB said:

The only thing that prevents bass from going very deep is low DO levels at those depths.

 The quarry lake may not be 175' deep, that would be extreme for a small lake.

During the summer most deep lakes stratify into layers, upper layers are warm deep layers are colder. Where the top layer comes together with a colder layer a thermocline develops and the colder water usually has very low DO levels that bass don't tolerate.

Educated guess would be few bass below 40' depth.

Tom

Just imagine the drop shot rig 

[MassYak85]

I have trouble forcing myself to fish deeper than 20 feet....I can't even imagine a rock quarry with sheer rock walls for banks. I would be lost. 

[DogBone_384]

We have Long Pond in Plymouth, MA up here. There's one spot my Lowrance reads 108'... I wonder ?

[You_Only_Live_Once_Fishing]

1 hour ago, MassYak85 said:

I have trouble forcing myself to fish deeper than 20 feet....I can't even imagine a rock quarry with sheer rock walls for banks. I would be lost. 

Its scary but fun

[Bluebasser86]

I've seen videos of divers 100+ feet at Table Rock. It's like a desert that deep, no signs of life anywhere. 

[everythingthatswims]

1 minute ago, Bluebasser86 said:

I've seen videos of divers 100+ feet at Table Rock. It's like a desert that deep, no signs of life anywhere. 

Despite the awesome looking timber

[frosty]

14 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

I've seen videos of divers 100+ feet at Table Rock. It's like a desert that deep, no signs of life anywhere. 

I had to look on YouTube after reading that. There was one over 300' deep, and it was black as night, and it did look like a rocky desert. There was another one that wasn't as deep unit it didn't say how deep it was, there was vegitation on the bottom, some big bluegills and a few really nice bass! I'm going to need some scuba gear, a senko, and a length of braid

[geo g]

I seriously doubt that bass would be that deep.  Usually O2 levels drop off that deep.  They will go wherever bait fish are, usually no deeper then the lakes thermocline level.  Work the drop offs, especially drop-offs with vegetation close bye.  During hot weather they will use the vegetation for shade from the intense sunlight, and plants are O2 producers.

[WRB]

Just want to point out the difference between oxygen O2 and dissolved oxygen DO. Most fish including bass can't breath O2, the oxygen must be dissolved into the water for the gills to oxygenate the blood.

When vegetation dies and sinks down to the bottom it decays, the decaying process uses DO depleting it unless more DO is replaced by living green aquatic plants or current mixing DO through wave action or moving water like a river. 

During warm water periods the surface water warms faster in sallow water, being lighter weight the warm water tends to stay near the surface sinking slowly. For this reason during the summer the surface water is warm, the deeper color, the zone where warm water can't sink into colder water is called a thermocline. Because aquatic green plants need sunlight they don't grow deeper than light can penetrate, so no DO is being produced. The warmer surface water with higher levels of DO doesn't mix with the colder water unless there is current, decaying debris depletes the deep cold water DO levels. 

Bottom line bass rarely go deeper than comfortable DO levels.

During the cold water periods the water column cools until until surface water becomes colder than the deeper water and the lake turns over mixing the entire water column. The DO levels mix and bass can go whatever depth they choose to find prey.

Preferred depth is seasonal.

Tom

[OCdockskipper]

4 minutes ago, WRB said:

When vegetation dies and sinks down to the bottom it decays, the decaying process uses DO depleting it unless more DO is replaced...

Is this one of the reason's why many bass head shallow for the fall?  It would make sense that as dying weed beds in 4-8 feet of water start depleting DO, baitfish & bass would migrate to shallower areas, assuming that the DO level there are appropriate.

[fishwizzard]

Woud a bass even survive being pulled up from that deep?

 

[Gundog]

9 minutes ago, Bunnielab said:

Woud a bass even survive being pulled up from that deep?

 

No. I think it would end something like this.....

[Onvacation]

Being from the Midwest, I've done a lot of quarry diving.  It is where I was first introduced to the extreme difference above and below the thermocline.  Every quarry I have been in has been in the forties or fifties below the thermocline. Without a neoprene hoodie or a dry suit, a nice ice cream headache is inevitable.   If the bass are there, they will be wearing parkas when you catch them.  

To give you an idea, here are the July 15 numbers from Mermet Springs.  

Water Conditions

• Surface: 86°F | 10'-12' Visibility
• 15 Foot: 85°F | 10'- 12' Visibility
• 20 Foot: 73°F |10' - 12' Visibility
• 45 Foot: 51°F | 25'- 30' Visibility
• 85 Foot Platform: 44°F | 30'+ Visibility
• Bottom: 42°F | 30'+ Visibility

July 15, 2016

[frosty]

1 hour ago, Onvacation said:

Being from the Midwest, I've done a lot of quarry diving.  It is where I was first introduced to the extreme difference above and below the thermocline.  Every quarry I have been in has been in the forties or fifties below the thermocline. Without a neoprene hoodie or a dry suit, a nice ice cream headache is inevitable.   If the bass are there, they will be wearing parkas when you catch them.  

To give you an idea, here are the July 15 numbers from Mermet Springs.  

Water Conditions

• Surface: 86°F | 10'-12' Visibility
• 15 Foot: 85°F | 10'- 12' Visibility
• 20 Foot: 73°F |10' - 12' Visibility
• 45 Foot: 51°F | 25'- 30' Visibility
• 85 Foot Platform: 44°F | 30'+ Visibility
• Bottom: 42°F | 30'+ Visibility

July 15, 2016

Ok, I'm probably missing something obvious, but why does the visibility go up the deeper your going? Is it sediment being stirred by the fish or current?

[Onvacation]

One of the biggest reasons is that the temperature and light penetration do not support the growth of some of the plants and algae found in more shallow water.  Also, at least in this case, as you stated, there are fewer divers at 85 to 120 feet than there are at 25 feet.  There are some exceptionally large catfish and paddlefish in this quarry.  

[Fish4bigfish]

I fish some deep dredger ponds but I think they are 40 feet at the deepest. I wonder how cold it is down there and if there is a thermocline? Early in the year it is very clear, like 15 or more feet of visibility. As summer temps get up to 90 to 100 the bid ability has gone down.

I catch fish off the bottom

[You_Only_Live_Once_Fishing]

this is very interesting

[Onvacation]

Check this out

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/thermocline.html

 

One other cool thing to mention is that while you are diving, the thermocline can be so distinct that you can see a disruption in the water maybe a couple of inches thick.  Hard to explain what it looks like, but it always reminded me of the movies where a guy is looking out at the horizon in the desert and the heat can be seen moving on the sand.  

[Siebert Outdoors]

13 hours ago, Onvacation said:

Being from the Midwest, I've done a lot of quarry diving.  It is where I was first introduced to the extreme difference above and below the thermocline.  Every quarry I have been in has been in the forties or fifties below the thermocline. Without a neoprene hoodie or a dry suit, a nice ice cream headache is inevitable.   If the bass are there, they will be wearing parkas when you catch them.  

To give you an idea, here are the July 15 numbers from Mermet Springs.  

Water Conditions

• Surface: 86°F | 10'-12' Visibility
• 15 Foot: 85°F | 10'- 12' Visibility
• 20 Foot: 73°F |10' - 12' Visibility
• 45 Foot: 51°F | 25'- 30' Visibility
• 85 Foot Platform: 44°F | 30'+ Visibility
• Bottom: 42°F | 30'+ Visibility

July 15, 2016

My dive findings have been exactly the same.  I have seen 1 fish in under the thermocline in fresh water.  Typically all you see is dirt or rock.  I have found the same in Tablerock, Beaver lake, and Bull Shoals.  I did see a crayfish about 85 ft down at Tablerock.

[WRB]

15 hours ago, Onvacation said:

Being from the Midwest, I've done a lot of quarry diving.  It is where I was first introduced to the extreme difference above and below the thermocline.  Every quarry I have been in has been in the forties or fifties below the thermocline. Without a neoprene hoodie or a dry suit, a nice ice cream headache is inevitable.   If the bass are there, they will be wearing parkas when you catch them.  

To give you an idea, here are the July 15 numbers from Mermet Springs.  

Water Conditions

• Surface: 86°F | 10'-12' Visibility
• 15 Foot: 85°F | 10'- 12' Visibility
• 20 Foot: 73°F |10' - 12' Visibility
• 45 Foot: 51°F | 25'- 30' Visibility
• 85 Foot Platform: 44°F | 30'+ Visibility
• Bottom: 42°F | 30'+ Visibility

July 15, 2016

From the above temperature readings what depth is the thermocline at?

Hint; 5 degree fast temperature change with 5'

Tom

[Paul Roberts]

Great stuff. Love the description of the thermocline interface -like a mirage. Very cool. It shows up on sonar too.

I was going to pipe in that it's likely temperature in a clear water quarry rather than oxygen, but for most fertile bass waters sub-thermocline waters are often low in 02. This dead zone talk is true in most bass waters (mesotrophic and eutrophic) but not so in trout waters (oligotrophic) where there is plenty of 02 down deep. Such coldwater fish can go down well below the thermocline, the actual depth dependent on the species temperature preference, food availability, and how deep the thermocline is at the time.

I've also recorded big hooks on sonar from a research vessel, well below the thermocline in a mesotrophic lake (sans trout) with oxygen data showing that sub-thermocline water being nearly anoxic. We all figured those big fish down there were the lakes' BIG pike, (the ones that anglers only find in winter and spring), big pike needing low temps and can handle very low 02. Was neat to see.

[You_Only_Live_Once_Fishing]

1 hour ago, Paul Roberts said:

Great stuff. Love the description of the thermocline interface -like a mirage. Very cool. It shows up on sonar too.

I was going to pipe in that it's likely temperature in a clear water quarry rather than oxygen, but for most fertile bass waters sub-thermocline waters are often low in 02. This dead zone talk is true in most bass waters (mesotrophic and eutrophic) but not so in trout waters (oligotrophic) where there is plenty of 02 down deep. Such coldwater fish can go down well below the thermocline, the actual depth dependent on the species temperature preference, food availability, and how deep the thermocline is at the time.

I've also recorded big hooks on sonar from a research vessel, well below the thermocline in a mesotrophic lake (sans trout) with oxygen data showing that sub-thermocline water being nearly anoxic. We all figured those big fish down there were the lakes' BIG pike, (the ones that anglers only find in winter and spring), big pike needing low temps and can handle very low 02. Was neat to see.

This thread got a little more confusing than i thought it would, probably no fish down there