Thermocline's?

[moreyes]

Just wondering when do you usally see a thermocline develope? I was up north this weekend ,and the lake I was fishing on at 17' showed on my X-85 a distinct line, when over that depth. When I would move shallower it would go away move deeper than 17' it would come back, max depth of the lake is 36'. Just wondering?

Thank's moreyes

[jeff reed]

You will not know if it is a thermocline unless you put down an electronic temperature gauge and take readings every foot until you get a big drop in the range of 7- 10 degrees. That is the depth of the thermocline.

[Phil T.]

Go to britannica.com for an accurate description of what a thermocline is, and its effects. There is also a link to an article about freshwater lakes, stratification, turnover, etc.
The subject seems to cause a lot of confusion. Maybe the textbook example of a stratified lake as presented in biology classes is assumed to be true of all lakes.

[Tim FRick]

If you have had allot of calm winds over the last week while having warm weather it could have set up. Usually you see allot of fish sitting around that depth. It must be a smaller lake to set-up this early in the season or your picking up false echo's! If you every scuba dive you can actual see the thermocline, it looks blurry in the water.
Good Luck!!
Tim FRick

[Greg P.]

What you saw was most likely a thermocline. I have seen it on my graph many times. 17' is pretty typical, perhaps a little early for this time of year, but we have had a warm winter/spring.

I have also observed a thermocline scuba diving and while snorkeling. Sometimes it is a little blury, and sometimes it is sharp. I have seen it as a visible line, something like if you put vegtable oil and water in a bucket. It was a sharp line, that was very cool to view, and cold I might add, below it. And yes, I have seen a lot of fish hanging around at this depth.

I have also observed multiple thermoclines in a mine pit I was diving. The first layer was down to about 15 feet, water temp was around 75, second one was 35', water temp around 60, and the third one was 35 , water temp around 45, very cold. I was able to suspend just above the lowest thermocline and put my hand down into the bottom thermocline and it was easy to feel the difference in temps.

Anyway, I hope this helps with your question.

Greg P.