Last week water temps were 76 degrees and I was having 100+ fish days. The temp rose to 83 degrees 2 days later and still caught 35 in 2 hours. But went 3 days after that and the water was 92.... and fish were gone and couldn't find any. My guess they went shallow to feed on shad in the flooded willow trees. Since I checked from 80 foot to 10 foot across the entire lake (ray roberts). I was on top of fish 10 foot thick on sonar, they looked like piles of striper and bit about as fast, but now... gone.
So what do yall think? I was getting spoiled, had thousands of fish around and now nothing cant buy a fish over 1 lb.

When the water gets hot it has less oxygen so the fish move to wherever the water is more oxygenated, at least that's the theory.

Lots of Blues in mid depths right now. Last weekend there was a thermocline in 30 ft where we were fishing. We stayed right above that and caught a ton. They are very easy to locate right now on points, ledges, humps and pretty much any structure in mid depth can hold them right now on any given day.

This. When I lived in Oak Point, I used the thermocline to locate catfish and bait during the summer months.

If you are fishing in a lake, the thermocline will be mostly out in 15 feet & deeper. One aricle about 20 years back, that he would go to a lake with his rod-n-reel with golds (goldfish). In whatever depth, about mid depth. So if 30 feet deep, somewhere near 15 feet below the surface, or up from the bottom. He explained that the big blues would suspend in mid-depth due to the thermocline. But they would vary a foot or so, in order to retrieve bait, if sensed.

In Lake Limestone, coming out of the Running Branch Marina side, the long No Wake Zone, ranging up to about 13 feet deep, usually the thermocline does not affect them. Of course during the day, if they are close to the surface, I am sure the sun with the warmer water will broil them.

Fish suspend over the thermocline but they dip down in it to eat lethargic bait that gets disoriented. You see fish on the ledge suspend over the top of bait and push it down into the oxygen deprived layer and then attack downward to feed on them. Most of the time it’s the opposite in that most lake predators attack from below or behind. Cats are a little harder to catch when they suspend but they are catchable if you drop your baits to them and vertical fish for them and sometimes in August we do that. This time of year I move out of the thermocline entirely. If the thermocline is at 30 ft then I’m scanning structure that is less than 30 ft deep. There tends to be a preferred depth on any given day and I’m really not sure what the biological mechanism is that tells bait and fish what depth to relate to but I generally fish in 15-35 ft this time of year. First thing I do when I get on the water is start looking for the preferred depth for that particular day and I focus my attention on structure that is in that depth.

Should you still drag bottom or keep your bait above the line ?

This time of year I move out of it completely.

Ray Roberts is a weird lake, as far as water temp and thermocline goes. Only lake that I've been on personally, in the middle of summer where there are parts of the lake with a solid readable thermocline, and parts of it with absolutely none at all. I've caught cats in a cove mouth in August, in 50 foot of water......and lots of them. The bait also doesn't die when it's down there, so there must be plenty of oxygen. I'm assuming there must be some aeration, somewhere in the lake, just not enough to cover the entire lake.

I fish quite a few different fisheries and there is a thermocline on every one I fish. Raybob, Lewisville, Grapevine, Twok, Lavon, Texoma, Possom Kingdom You name it. I fish em all the same way. The depth of it varies from day to day and depending on what part of the lake your in and how much current and wind. The thermocline is here every summer but not every day. It’s not an issue for me. It can be a useful tool in my opinion.

Me too, (except for two lakes) but Ray Bob is the only one I've ever been on that the thermocline isn't present in the entire lake, provided the water is deeper than the thermocline. Especially when it's plainly visible throughout the rest of the lake. Wish I knew what caused it. Eagle Mountain is usually completely predictable, it's usually between 23 and 25 foot throughout the entire reservoir, but even it's at a funky depth right now at 20 feet.

I think we all agree on the effects of the thermocline. Chis I'm like you in that I take advantage of it and use it as a tool. I avoid water with the cline and fish areas above it. If it sets up at 20', I'll stay in water that is shallower than 20'. One thing you mentioned that I have not tried is suspending on fish that are above the cline in deeper water. That is a tactic I will add to my tool box. I may try that next time out.

One curious thing I've noticed this year is the bait being absent from the marina. For whatever reason they just aren't there. In the past when the water warms up, they have been plentiful and easy to net off the dock. Not the case this year. I don't mind because my nets last longer when I don't throw at the marina. That place is crazy with crappie condos and old Christmas trees. Just wondering what's different that makes them stay away...

Tim, how high is the water on the lake you are fishing? You mentioned the shad not being in normal places... I can usually net a good number of them on boat ramps on Grapevine or The Lew as the sun would rise.

Have not been to the Lew in a while but with Grapevine being so high, there are not many shad on the ramps, the suckers are out suspended OR if its windy they are holding in flooded trees and brush on the wind blown sides.