how much would you think the water temp in texas lakes differs from the surface to the bottom in wintertime in 50 feet of water. and same in summer.

A bunch both ways.... You can dive down and feel s big difference in the summer and I'm positive it's the same for winter....

well heres a water profile for both summer and winter for a central texas lake. I too have swam around in lakes and felt cool pockets in summer, dont really understand this the cool pockets were in less than 8 feet of water..

Water temperature at depth on 2-Aug- Water temperature at depth on 20-Jul
0 feet 86.5° 0 feet 84.5

5 feet 86.5° 5 feet 85.9

10 feet 86.5° 10 feet 86.2

15 feet 86.5° 15 feet 86.2

20 feet 86.5° 20 feet 86.2

25 feet 86.5° 25 feet 86.2

30 feet 85° 30 feet 86.2

35 feet 80.3° 35 feet 85.6

40 feet 74.3° 40 feet 83.1

45 feet 68.4° 45 feet 81.2

50 feet 65.1° 50 feet 79.1

55 feet 62.8° 55 feet 77.8

60 feet 61.1° 60 feet 74.8

and winter


0 feet 56.3F

5 feet 56F

10 feet 56F

15 feet 55.9F

20 feet 55.4F

25 feet 55.2F

30 feet 54.3F

35 feet 53.7F

40 feet 53.5F

45 feet 53.2F

50 feet 53.1F

55 feet 52.9F

I was thinking there was a bigger difference than that..... Interesting..... I'm sure it depends on the water clarity also......

There absolutely is more winter difference as you head north.I'm a water operator as well as a fisherman..........last week 53F at surface and 61F at our 32' intake.Winter seems to have just arrived up here so this surface to bottom differential will grow as that over nite temp drops through January and February

Last winter I saw surface temps in the low 40's and at 30' plus depths temps in the mid 50's

are there alot of boulders or rocks near the intake? and is the water moving thru the intake?
and where is the water from the intake coming from? is it a river or creekbed full of rocks? possibly warming the water before it comes into the intake? is the water coming into the intake highly oxygenated due to turbulence and agitation? what is the situation. thanks

very little temp difference in Texas during winter from a foot deep to the bottom in open water.

Lots of rock as it is man made dam of sorts.Yes the water is being drawn thru the intake with turbine pumps.Its coming from an old original creek bed.The water is not oxygenated at the intake and due to the murkiness of the water I would say the temp is not influenced by the rocks off the shoreline leading down to the intake.

my initial thoughts would be that if the water is moving its getting oxgenated, and if its going over boulders and rocks, its getting heated . can you go a reading at midlake? also, do the pumps sit in the water and do they generate heat?

Much of this depends on surface temp. I've seen winter surface temp in Dec vary from 65F as it was last month to 46F as a few yrs ago. Water at 35+ ft doesn't change temp very fast. In Feb, I've seen surface temp at mid lake 54F and 62F at the back of coves by 2pm. Surface temp can change 5-7 degrees in 12 hrs and temp at 40 ft hasn't changed.

these rapid temp changes the first few feet likely have a profound effect on shad movements and locations in winter . I think if the water warms up enough in shallow areas, they leave the deep points and rivers and gather there in mass searching for plankton to eat. I am seeing that the crappie also move around when in those areas almost constantly. a few will set up in a few places in ambush, but most are just cruising the shallows trying to get a quick meal . I think its alot easier for predatory fish to herd shad into shallower flats and coves and feast on them than in open deeper water and the gamefish take advantage of the situation. all by instinct.
the great thing abt instincts is they are fairly consistent., once u figure out what they tend to do as a reaction to enviormental factors, you can be pretty sure they repeat it often,. this is thier hardwired reaction.