Canadarago thermocline issues

[Mark_VTfisherman]

I am fishing @ Canadrago Lake in NY this summer, but I have never been there. I have asked a few questions in various places and learned a lot from that as well as from searching around on the internet. I will probably learn a lot from the guys I will be fishing with as well, but I am trying to shorten up the learning curve before I get there.

A question I have which I have not been able to get answered:
Does Canadarago Lake stratify in the summer (develop a Thermocline) and if it does at about what depth does the thermocline typically show up?

Thank you for your input!

Mark

 

[Bass Man Bruce]

Re: Canadarago thermocline issues

If you crank up the sensitivity on your sonar you should be able to graph it.

 

[John_S]

Re: Canadarago thermocline issues

With a max depth of just over 40', I wouldn't think a significant thermocline sets-up, but don't have on the water experience to know for sure.

 

[mars bar]

Re: Canadarago thermocline issues

all lakes develop a themocline usually after a few days of calm weather. In lake Ontario it fluctuates. Then if the wind comes up and cause a chop it mixes the water with oxygen and the thermocline is gone. My friend had a device that measured WATER TEMP. I cant remember what it was called but we would send down the cannon ball with this probe attached and register the temps as we went deeper. We could measure the top and bottom of the thermocline and run our plugs depending on the species of fish were after. Anybody know what device was called... I'm thinking Hummingbird but maybe wrong. Oh ya Blackbird! was thinking for a while. Trout stayed above the thermocline as did the bait fish ... Salmon stayed in or below it.

 

[LongLine]

Re: Canadarago thermocline issues

Don't know much about that lake so did a google on it. NYSDEC has a great pdf topo map online. (can't copy link...sorry) It is a small lake but it does turn over. (classified as "dimictic") But being only 40 ft deep, I'd imagine it doesn't stay statified very long. Mostly warm water fishing...bass, muskies, etc. There's a "sunken" island at the one end with a lot of legends about it. I'd imagine that's where you'll find a trophy or two.

Depth probes include: Moor Sub-Troll, Depth Raider, Fishhawk, & Cannon Speed/Temp probes.

Good luck & let us know how you make out.

Tom B.
(LongLine)

 

[Mark_VTfisherman]

Re: Canadarago thermocline issues

Thank you for the repsonses. I do have the DEC map already- been making notes on it regarding structure and fishy areas to check out from info I have gathered from various sources.

I fish a lake here in Vermont that tops out a little over 38 feet which sets a thermocline which I can find most of the time on my old Fish ID Pro. Seems to run about the same depth most of the time week to week and year to year. I was wondering about the summer Canadarago thermocline because I know some "shallower" lakes like these don't always stratify predictably, or at all. I was hoping someone who had fished there might shed some light on that.

I was just "prefishing" some stuff in my mind and wondered about the thermocline and how deep to plan on fishing- if my habits from the Vermont lake would be applicable to Canadarago. No thermocline would mean no they wouldn't, yes would probably mean my habits would be good starting points.

 

[LongLine]

Re: Canadarago thermocline issues

Don't know if this link will copy in or not. It's a 2001 study of that lake. Thermocline sets up end of June down 4 meters then progresses down to 8 meters.

Limnological investigations of Canadarago Lake, Otsego County, NY

Well, the preview didn't copy it in so copy/paste the above to a google search. It should bring up a pdf study done at SUNY Oneonta.


Tom B.
(LongLine)

 

[John_S]

Re: Canadarago thermocline issues

http://www.oneonta.edu/academics/biofld/PUBS/ANNUAL/2001 content/(179) teh 12 2.pdf

 

[rolmops]

Re: Canadarago thermocline issues

With 40 feet maximum you may get some thermocline where it is at this max depth.Most of the lake is shallower.Add to that winds that push the warm surface water in whatever direction they are blowing and you are left with a few simple rules on small lakes like this.If the winds comes from the south,you will find colder water at the south end and if the wind is from the north you will find colder water at the north end.
It is my experience that early in the season fish will try to go to the warmest available water and in mid summer they prefer the coolest available water.
You can take it from there.

 

[Mark_VTfisherman]

Re: Canadarago thermocline issues

.....Thermocline sets up end of June down 4 meters then progresses down to 8 meters.......

LongLine and imported_John_S

Thanks- I guess you can't get any more detailed than that- but it did give me exactly what I was looking for.

That sounds very similar to my [anecdotal] observations of Lake Carmi thermocline, which seems a scaled-down water body similar to Canadarago.

I noticed in the report that it mentioned the waters were very hospitable to zebra mussels, but that they weren't there. However, there is a note from a few years after the report (2005) that says that Canadarago now has Zebra Mussels. I read a site where some bass guys were complaining about them hurting their fishing. Has this negatively effected Walleye fishing at all?

 

[rirory]

Re: Canadarago thermocline issues



Mark,

I fish all over the northeast. We troll live bait for TROUT, SALMON--or whatever bites-Smallies, Walleyes, etc.

Cabelas sells a product called the Cline Finder---Item #IK-014907---this item is priceless for finding temperature breaks. I use it on every body of water we fish, (even during ice fishing to find the warmest water). In summer, I clip it to my downrigger release then lower the ball stopping every 4 feet to check the temperature to find the zone for the salmonoids. You don't need downriggers--it works fine manually and the cord is marked every foot--I do it that way when I use the canoe.

In all the lakes that I fish the size of Canderago the thermocline starts around 15' in May to 30' in August.

Obviously, schooled up bait is really the key in summer, at least by my experiences.

hope it helps

RI Rory

 

[Mark_VTfisherman]

Re: Canadarago thermocline issues

I may add a temp probe to the arsenal at some point, but right now just running status quo is all I can really spend unless I have a banner summer for income. I plan to buy a new sonar with GPS but that is about all I can justify this year, and most of that is coming from a gamefisher boat I am repairing to sell.

Even with my old Eagle Fish ID Pro I can usually find the thermocline by turning up the gain, but never having been to Canadarago I wanted to know some stuff before I got there. I can be a little anal with strategy and planning sometimes. :-O

 

[Mark_VTfisherman]

Re: Canadarago thermocline issues

Well, the Canadarago trip was great! Thank you Ron, Joe, and Steve. The fish are definetely there, but the catch ratio was down over previous years, but that is going around with all the rain and high water in the northeast- normal ain't normal this year.

I did learn a few things. For one, there is definitely a cold-water component to the lake. Historically, smelt were in the lake, but apparently they dissappeared within a few years of alewives showing up. For another, most of the lake is deeper, with the mean depth 33 feet.

Suspended fish over 25- 40 feet were common, but I only had a few hits deep (on Rapalas) and one fish at night caught about 15+ish feet down and boated. Most of the Walleye by our group were nailed in the evening in shallower water- a totally new experience for me.

I had one (apparently) tiger muskie that hit a brand-new storm deep junior thunderstick just south of the island. I had it for a minute- heavy fish- but then thought I lost it when it went into weeds. I *did* lose it, but what I got back out from the weeds, well, the lure was BIT OFF just behind the diving bill. BIT OFF! Teeth scratch marks on the head-and-line-tie portion that remained. Some suggested that I didn't have a fish but had hooked a rock- no evidence of rocks there (didn't feel them on the bottom bouncer rig) and rocks don't have teeth. Besides, I was running 6# test and I don't really think that the line stood up but the lure would break, do you?

I have concluded that the thermocline was about 22 feet down while I was there, but with all the wind, in some areas it did not show up. In other areas, you could surmise it's presence as there were schools of baitfish at or below a given level, and those were surrounded by less numerous but common big marks on the sonar.

My favorite catch of the week wasn't a walleye, but the several-pound smallmouth bass that nailed a carolina rig on the second hop of my first cast! Smallmouth are aggressive and fun to catch anyway- one of my favorite to catch. But I usually chase walleye, although salmon have happened a lot this year. However, this smallmouth, while going several pounds and not my biggest smallie ever, was probably the MOST aggressive hit and fight of any smallie I have ever hooked of any size. He was probably 17" but he put up such a good fight I was surprised and almost dissapointed with the "small" size; I expected a wall-hanger the way he bent my heavy spinning rod.

I loved the trip and may go back this fall for a few days- I recomend the lake. Thanks to everyone who helped out with my research.
Mark