Just my humble opinion about fishing hot water

[Catch 22]

I have been seeing reports about people fishing 80 deg and higher water temps. I say its no good for the resource in so much that water temps that high stress the fish way more than normally. Fish need more oxygen in warm water and conversely there is less oxygen available. That leads to more stress and delayed mortality in some cases.I see it every summer  after "t"s in small ponds

Shallow rivers  allow no place to escape the warm/hot water because of the  constant churning  and modulation of the flow.

Shallow ponds,no place to hide.

Large lakes would present  more opportunity  for the fish to seek cooler water.

JMHO now I must put on  my flack jacket.

C22

[scaleface]

With all due respect.

  It seems to me that once a thermocline forms there would be more O2 available above it . I dont know , thats just the way it seems to me . Plus algae and weed growth also increases O2 . 

 

I fish a lake in the summer and put small bass on a stringer and tow them along for hours . These fish are very lively at the end of the day . 

[soflabasser]

Try fishing at night during this time of year.

[Jaderose]

3 hours ago, Catch 22 said:

I have been seeing reports about people fishing 80 deg and higher water temps. I say its no good for the resource in so much that water temps that high stress the fish way more than normally. Fish need more oxygen in warm water and conversely there is less oxygen available. That leads to more stress and delayed mortality in some cases.I see it every summer  after "t"s in small ponds

Shallow rivers  allow no place to escape the warm/hot water because of the  constant churning  and modulation of the flow.

Shallow ponds,no place to hide.

Large lakes would present  more opportunity  for the fish to seek cooler water.

JMHO now I must put on  my flack jacket.

C22

I honestly have no idea what is being said here

[BrianinMD]

Well Jaderose, its comes across to me that he is giving people a hard time for fishing during the summer...

[MassYak85]

I seriously doubt that there is any significant increase in mortality between 75 degrees and water that just pushes 80. Simply because warm water holds less oxygen than cold water does not mean there is not enough of it for the fish. Summer is a time where some places will experience extreme weed and algae growth, which oxygenates the water. At one pond I fish at you have to go so deep back into the lily pads you can hardly paddle to find actively feeding fish sometimes, they like the tight quarters with easy ambush spots smack dab in the middle of the pads. Targeting the pockets can produce over anything on hot days. No doubt in my mind that water has pushed 85 degrees at some point, being so shallow and with so much vegetation, feels like bath water. If the fish were in danger of dying they wouldn't be back there. Treat the fish well, release ASAP and they should be fine. Hooking a fish in any temperature water is risking it harm, I don't think there is any magic temperature that fish will start to die. 

[YoTone]

2 hours ago, Jaderose said:

I honestly have no idea what is being said here

i think he saying to not fish smaller ponds? 

lol i had to read it a few times to make me think thats what he advising us to do.

[Nice_Bass]

I fish 90 degree water right now and for much of the summer...

only major fish kills on the lakes I fish happen....

in winter! 

 

What I think is more important is knowing how to handle fish, knowing how to work your livewell if you are going to release fish properly, and knowing that no matter what you do fish are going to die be it you fileted them or they died hours after release.

and this is coming from a bit of an environmental guy...

[alrab23]

Water was 93* Wednesday morning at the lake I fished.  Didnt seem to bother the bass much, caught 10 that were holding tight to the grass.  

[buzzed bait]

i don't quite follow, but most especially the river part....  lake temps around here right now are about 90 maybe slightly above, but the river was 70 on sunday.  so you're saying they're stressed in 70 degree water?

 

[Outlaw86]

12 minutes ago, buzzed bait said:

i don't quite follow, but most especially the river part....  lake temps around here right now are about 90 maybe slightly above, but the river was 70 on sunday.  so you're saying they're stressed in 70 degree water?

 

Same for me here, water on the river here is low 70s, with plenty of shade and holes where I'm sure it drops a bit. I don't notice much of a difference or any at all for that matter during the dog days of the summer.

[tander]

If I fished water than was 80 or lower, I would never get to fish here in Mississippi in the summer !!!

[Further North]

A few thoughts...

1. Surface temp is different from temps a few feet down...
2. A good wind and wave action will get plenty of O₂in the water...
3. If there are any inflows from creeks or rivers...that'll have some O₂ in it.
4. Rivers - in addition to being cooler - will have plenty of O₂ in them, particularly if you can find a section with a lot of mid channel structure, or rapids.

[flyingmonkie]

Just checked my logs - haven't fished water with surface temp under 80 since 6/16.

Pretty sure Oklahoma bass don't start sweating until water hits 94-95.

[Oregon Native]

Gosh...wish more people would stay home when temps get high .... than I could have the lake all to myself!!!!   I gotta tell those bass somehow to quit chasing bait up shallow....they're gunna stress themselves out.

[joeblowwwww]

Catch 22-  I think the bass just adjust. if any body of water can provide what they need they will find it. Further North is right a lot of the times the water is cooler than the surface water even 2 or 3 feet down in some ponds.  I'm sure Tom (WRB) will have some insight but it kinda sounds like you're just trying to guilt yourself into some uncrowded action ? 

[Jaderose]

20 hours ago, BrianinMD said:

Well Jaderose, its comes across to me that he is giving people a hard time for fishing during the summer...

Well......recently I was out and 2 younger guys came up and showed me a beautiful 4.5 lb LMB they had caught and were going to keep.  I asked and cajoled them to put it back but they didn't.  It made me feel bad but there wasn't anything I could do about because they were within their right to do so.  I believe the Stones said it best....You can't always get what you want.......

[Mindhunter]

I like to consider myself a conservationist, with that being said every one of the bass I've caught over 10# has been in the middle of the day in the middle of the summer, with one of those being on a day where the air temperature was 105 degrees and the surface temp was 90+. If you're one of those fellas that's worried that fishing will hurt fish then maybe fishing ain't for you, just sayin...And in any case you have the right to fish the way you want within the law, and so do the rest of us. If it bothers you that much stay home in warm weather, I live in Texas and if I didn't fish warm weather I'd only get to fish a few months out of the year, no brainer for me!

[BassinLou]

Interesting post from the OP.  The majority of the anglers in the SE states have to stop fishing for bass then. Water temps are over 85 degrees at night and 90's during the day. I agree that during the summer a higher degree of care must be taken because of stress on the fish, but based on the message in this post, I won't be able to fish for several months.... smh... not happening.... lol

[soflabasser]

I recently caught a +9 pound,15 ounce bass and she swam away strong when I released her.Caught her at nighttime in the month of June and the water temperature was most likely over 80 degrees. Haven't had a single +8 pound bass die on me when fishing at nighttime,so it's definitely a good time to fish during the summer. 

[Catch 22]

Thanks for all the replies,some self serving,some informative, ,some silly.Having chased bass for over 50 yrs now,I have btdt. I keep an eye on local T`s when I can and if there are any floaters later on,it is predictable that it will be in July or August  when wt`s are high[80 deg +].NO ,I`m not anti T,I did it many times. I know many of the guys that fish them and they are all  good people with good intentions.

While this read does not mention hot water it does dwell on delayed mortality that is a reality in  T`s and  pleasure fishing.

http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/after_the_catch.html

My message would be to take extra care at a time when the fish are more apt to be stressed by c & r.

I sent  my wife to the ER days ago so I will be out of this discussion. Thanks  for reading.

C22

[scaleface]

I lost several fish in a July tournament and it cost me first place . I caught the fish 20 foot deep and I had the livewell on auto  It should have been continuous . It was my fault and I didnt let it happen again .

[Airman4754]

I'm no scientist, but I know the time of year bass fight the hardest is summer. We just had one of the hottest weeks in five years and I caught five really good fish and lost a monster in 8ft of water. The surface temp was 76 degrees. 

The perch and fry were in the weed beds, so that's where the bass are going to be too. In summer the bass will be wherever the food is, no exceptions. 

Don't fish during the spawn, don't fish when it's too hot, don't fish when it's too cold. If we followed the cork sniffers of the sport we'd only get to be on the water about 90 days a year. 

[Crestliner2008]

Let's see here, if it's impossible for me to fish during the winter due to ice & snow.....and not recommended to fish with the water is hot......then that gives me about 4 months out of the year to fish. I don't think so!

[Red Bear]

i dont know how true this premise is for largemouth bass, but it is definitely applicable to stripers stocked in lakes. Smith Mtn Lake has a slot limit in the winter requiring all striped bass 30-40" to be released, in the summer this is removed and you can keep any size striper. The reasoning is the same as above that the stress of catching the fish in such warm water temps often will cause it to die after released. it may not die then right away, it may not die at all, but could die a few hours later.