I've seen a few posts about lakes "turning over". This is my first year bass fishing so my first fall. What does this mean and how is the fishing affected?

Check this out for the short version...

http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/media/lake-turnover/?ar_a=1

"Lake turnover is the process of a lake's water turning over from top (epilimnion) to bottom (hypolimnion). During the summer, the epilimnion, or surface layer, is the warmest. It is heated by the sun. The deepest layer, the hypolimnion, is the coldest. The sun's radiation does not reach this cold, dark layer.

During the fall, the warm surface water begins to cool. As water cools, it becomes more dense, causing it to sink. This dense water forces the water of the hypolimnion to rise, "turning over" the layers."

lakes that stratisfy will turnover on the fall when the surface water cools to the point that the top layer of water begins to sink through the bottom layer of the lake. when this happens the bottom layer now being less dense than the water above it will come to the top. in doing this, the o2 level is decreased, and will slow down fishing while it is going on. once completed and o2 levels straighten back out bass can be anywhere from top to bottom.

lakes that freeze will experience a second turnover as water is the densest at 39.2f. so, frozen water that thaws and warms back up to 39.2 will fall back through the lower layer of water and again have a mixing.

as far as fishing a lake that will go through fall turnover, the trick is to stay in an area where the turnover has occured or where it has not begun yet. current in a tributary is another option. hope this helps.

bo

Thanks that is simple enough. So how does that affect the fishing and how do you know when it's happening? Does it get the fish really screwed up and hard to pattern? Does it create a current anywhere or does it happen pretty evenly throughout the lake?

The fishing will typically be tough during the process but it's a sign that good times are coming. Me and a buddy fished Athens about two months ago and caught 39 fish. Went last Friday and the conditions were just about the same as when we caught them good. We caught three fish in 5 hours and came home. There was a very distinct thermocline visible on the graph in about 16' of water and we saw the gooey blobs you see floating when a lake is turning over. Now, the tough fishing could just mean we suck but I'm going to blame it on the lake turning over. On a positive note, cooler temps and better fishing are just around the corner.

Here's another knowledge nugget that makes you go "huh." and supports intelligent design:

Water is one of very few liquids that is less dense in the solid phase (ice) than in the liquid phase. If not for this property, lakes would freeze from the bottom up and kill all the fish (in climates colder than Texas anyway). Instead, the water gets a "insulating" layer of ice on top and allows the marine ecosystem to survive.

Very interesting. Just when I thought I knew everything...
And yes, I support intelligent design!

In the late Spring I notice the beginnings of stratification when I jump in the water. Warmer water on top and at a point (generally around 5ft deep) I feel the water is suddenly considerably colder. That point where the temperature changes is the thermocline setting up. It sinks to generally around 20-25ft. throughout the Summer. Another thing to note is that not all lakes do this.

Thermoclines play a factor in both fresh and salt water fishing.

If you interested in the process of stratification and thermoclines the article in the link below is a very good short type fact sheet that explains the whole cycle in Fresh water lakes..and how it effects fish and fisheries.


http://www.epa.state.il.us/water/conservation/lake-notes/lake-stratification.pdf

great info brother! Happy Birthday yesterday right!

The thermocline should disappear when the lake starts to turn over.

I think the fish feel sick and really don't want to eat they will but I think of it like me when fell like throwing up I don't want to eat but i have to sooner or later...

HUH????