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The importance of water temp and depth? #12625594 02/13/18 04:54 PM
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Rockportreds Offline OP
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The recent weather has been keeping the water temps in my usual spots in the mid 50's all day as well as, there is hardly any water in the bays. My question is at what temp do you see fish start becoming more active and what depths are they having to hangout at to get to more stable water temps


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Re: The importance of water temp and depth? [Re: Rockportreds] #12625960 02/13/18 08:11 PM
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Grinder55 Offline
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Well, .. if the sun would come out from behind the clouds - that'd help warm that ol' SaltH2O up some.

Fish some areas with deep drop offs or the edges of the shell where it meets the mud around some deep shell pads.

Re: The importance of water temp and depth? [Re: Rockportreds] #12626157 02/13/18 09:48 PM
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Fish are cold blooded they cant feel hot or cold. All they do is eat.

When its overcast clear water and some current is holding bait. When the sun comes out the dark mud will have plankton blooms which attracts the mullet which pulls in the gamefish.

Always follow the bait.


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Re: The importance of water temp and depth? [Re: Rockportreds] #12627019 02/14/18 10:31 AM
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to a certain extent these are true comments but the fact is that their metabolism is correlated with the water temperature, eg. at low temps their metabolisms are subsequently low (requiring less feeding and energy expenditure). There is no set temperature at which "they" become active but around here itll start picking up when things hit ~70




Re: The importance of water temp and depth? [Re: Rockportreds] #12627288 02/14/18 02:22 PM
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If the water levels are low and the water cold, Im looking to fish in or near guts or channels lined with shell. Edges of drop offs, edges of reefs. Then when the weather warms a bit or the water level rises, I might look to other shallower structures not too far from the cold water refuge spots. The fish might be in or at the edge of the hole in the morning only to move later out onto some shallower structure with a little sun or warm air.

Rivers and creeks can be good in the winter in my experience. I like channels and areas right off the ICW and other deep water like that. I seldom fish the deepest areas, but like the edges of the channel.

Find a hole in your area and then think about how the fish might travel to and from it. The hole or gut or channel is the hub and the surrounding structure is the spokes. Sometimes, the fish are right at the hub and sometimes they radiate from the hub.

Water in the mid 50s doesnt curtail a bite especially if its been cool for a while, that is what Ive found. Like others have said ad nauseam here and in countless other threads, fish follow the bait. Look for upticks or bait behaving differently. Bait hugging a shallow reef. Let the bait guide you. Stay still and slow down and watch the water. Theres a signal and there are generally clues to follow. Dont be the guy that races from one internet hot spot report chasing to the next. Personally, I seldom fish in a spot unless theres evidence from the bait or theres sighted fish. I will fish a structure that looks promising, but theres almost always something that piques my interest. I just dont do blind casting to whatever.

But this is just me. Others have their own ideas. Thats what is good about forums, lots of ideas and on the water experiences being shared.

Re: The importance of water temp and depth? [Re: karstopo] #12627898 02/14/18 07:31 PM
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Theyll feed like a pack of wolves in 50 degree water if the bait is present. We beat them hard working clear water current on reefs two weeks ago.


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Re: The importance of water temp and depth? [Re: Rockportreds] #12627978 02/14/18 08:25 PM
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Awesome info, I'm still learning what to look for and how to fish the circumstances that are present. I figure I'll ask the dumb questions so others don't have too haha


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Re: The importance of water temp and depth? [Re: Rockportreds] #12628079 02/14/18 09:25 PM
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Only dumb questions are the ones not asked.


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Re: The importance of water temp and depth? [Re: Rockportreds] #12639417 02/21/18 06:42 PM
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Went fishing in POC last weekend. Found TONS of bait. Found several areas with color streaks in shallow and deeper water with mullet flipping all over the place, but came away with 2 small reds after fishing that kind of 'promising' stuff all day. Even had birds working over the bait, and tried everything from live shrimp to plastics to topwater and corkies. One red was caught on shrimp (wife), the bigger was 18" caught on DSL. What's the deal here??? What would yall do different?

Re: The importance of water temp and depth? [Re: TXMako2201] #12646052 02/25/18 03:21 PM
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Originally Posted By: TXMako2201
Went fishing in POC last weekend. Found TONS of bait. Found several areas with color streaks in shallow and deeper water with mullet flipping all over the place, but came away with 2 small reds after fishing that kind of 'promising' stuff all day. Even had birds working over the bait, and tried everything from live shrimp to plastics to topwater and corkies. One red was caught on shrimp (wife), the bigger was 18" caught on DSL. What's the deal here??? What would yall do different?


Sounds like you were close to the fish. Its hard to know without seeing the scene to know what I would do.

I always try to know as much about the structure Im fishing. Some structures are really big and the fish might be concentrated on one or two areas with a few stragglers in between.

Along drop off country, Im really careful about putting my offering in the right zone as it can be very small and thin and oriented to a particular depth. Same thing with reef margins. Too far away from the reef means no fish. You might have to adjust the jig head to something heavier or lighter to hit where the fish are.

A broad flat or shoreline, the fish might still be fixated on a certain part and depth, but they might be spread out more and you may have to cover more water by wading or drifting through.

People paddle and boat by fish all of the time and even fish a zone that has fish, but dont quite hit it right. Ive seen this too many times for it not to be true. Just because the fish are there doesnt mean its automatic they will be caught even using live bait. A lot of fish can be in a really small area with just a few outside the prime spot. Ill move around a bunch trying to find the concentration of fish if I really believe they are there. Many times it takes some time and often it pays off.

Re: The importance of water temp and depth? [Re: Rockportreds] #12647217 02/26/18 01:29 PM
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Warm water. Warm fishing.


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