From what I can read and hear I've come to believe that on the lakes out here in west Texas the oxygen becomes available in just a thin layer at the surface. Therefore there are no fish to be found deep. But in east Texas ... particularly at Fork and even from comments from McQueen on Joe Pool ... it would seem that all the fish are deep in the summer.

So, as I believe a bass is a bass anywhere, are the fish actually deep out here as well? Is that just some myth I'm believing about the thin layer of oxygen?

Thanks!

Anatomy of a bass is a good read

There is oxygen throughout the water column. Water is h2o... however, depending on the body of water, heat, clarity, and other conditions usable oxygen concentration is higher at different depths. When a thermocline sets up, the fish will be around that depth as a general rule. The thin surface layer is a myth, however the thermocline can be shallow or deep!

An Oxygen Meter is a fun thing to play around with. The problem I had with this is the meter itself. All meters get badly out of calibration and won�t register a reading above 8 ppm.; and must be calibrated daily. Some are advertised not to need calibration; this is not true.

Another concept is that baitfish only go were the oxygen is. Use your depthfinder and look for what depth the baitfish are holding. If you are a shoreline fisherman look for active birds in the area and on the shore as you are driving and looking for the bait balls off shore. Bass will be in both places. If you are seeing bait all over the area or cove at 15 ft. then that is the depth that feeding fish will connect to the shoreline such as points and channel swings. Fish that depth on these irregular features and you will get bit. The next day that depth may change; so it is a never ending process with Oxygen chasing.

Water is H2O but fish cannot extract or use oxygen from the water molecule. Fish use the dissolved or free oxygen that is available in their particular body of water. Lots of variables effect the available dissolved O2. A fish can actually drown in water when the dissolved O2 becomes depleted.

All correct, here, that fish and other things pull the dissolved or oxygen gas from water. If they could break the oxygen atoms out of H2O, we could put fish in "water" tanks (instead of gas tanks) and operate our vehicles off of them . . . they'd breathe out pure hydrogen. Ha! Saudi Arabia would be in BIG trouble.

It is almost like atmospheric air which contains different levels of water, we call it humidity, so it is that water has different levels of oxygen.

The little bubblers and air pumps you see in fish aquariums? It does two things: it creates more surface area for oxygen absorption as it creates tiny waves on top of the water; and, each tiny bubble has its own surface area for the gas to be absorbed.

Some fish do quite well in water with depleted dissolved oxygen. Warmouth, for example, are often found living in places other panfish like bluegills can't tolerate.

Brad

Thanks for the corrections to my molecular science, guys. I really do appreciate it! I enjoy these topics and getting to the bottom of the technical and scientific reasons behind where the fish are situated. It is just part of my nature to dig and fix the puzzles like this.

good evening,

doug hannon,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,youtube.........just saying....

good luck,
PURA VIDA,
bluebonnet2

Actually, fish can easily pull the dissolved oxygen out of the water. If not enough dissolved oxygen, they will flap their gills to move more water to get enough oxygen. If the oxygen level is very low then only some fish can survive in that environment.

I believe that it is a myth, as the last time I was on Alan Henry, we had fish stacked up from 10-30'. Don't know where you fish, but 30' is quite deep. YES, the lake goes to almost 70', but there are O2 layers that have more dissolved O2 than others. I have been on JB Thomas and seen the same thing this year. Fish suspended in 15-25' of water. Of course, CATCHING suspended bass is a whole nuther topic to discuss. Hope this helps. Tight lines, keep safe and good luck. I have been catching most of my keepers on AH in relatively shallow water. 4 weeks ago, I caught a 6.47 lb LMB on a wacky rigged senko bait in less than 3' of water. She had a bloody tail, too, but such is life. How you doing Perry? Long time no see.

Thad Rains