Lake fall turnover

[Roy]

If it hasn't started on some lakes, it will very soon. It's not my favorite time of the year for fishing. Any tips on fishing the turnover?

[OhioFisherman]

You can`t catch fish if your not fishing? Look for suspended fish?

[Raf]

fish a river.

[jeffw]

I'm pretty sure that sturgeon lake turned over last week. Water surface temps are temps are 51-54 degrees.

Cheers Jeff

[Zib]

fish a river.

 

I'll second that.

[Joey]

Damned suspended fish

[solopaddler]

If it hasn't started on some lakes, it will very soon. It's not my favorite time of the year for fishing. Any tips on fishing the turnover?

 

If you're talking walleye or bass on deep shield lakes, the simple easy answer (although not etched in stone) is fish deep. A lot deeper than most are prepared to do effectively.

Fast breaking shorelines or points that drop quickly into at least 30-40'. Small humps that top out in the 30' range, and my personal favourite expansive sand flats in the 40-50' depth especially if there's chara weed.

Smallmouth are especially vulnerable at this time of year as they tend to school up in spots like that.

Learn how to use your graph properly with the sensitivity turned up high and spend the time to slowly search for the fish before you begin to target them.

Lindy rigs fished on the bottom with oversized minnows or a jig tipped with a minnow, slowly and deeply are how I fish shield lakes after turnover.

Now, if there's been several days of abnormally warm sunny weather, then the bigger fish will make brief feeding forays into the shallower, 6-12' deep weed flats.

On days like that you can fish in a more traditional manner with more traditional techniques, but by and large fish slow and deep.

 

OR

 

You can just fish a river .

[kickingfrog]

A true turnover only happens in lakes that are deep enough to develop a true tremocline. So another option would be to fish lakes that are less then 20 or so feet deep.

 

It's been a little while since the limnology courses but...

 

Water is densest at almost 4 degree C (39-40 degrees F). The surface temp of the lake needs to be close to 4 C before there is any mixing of the strata that formed during the summer. The surface temp of the lake won't get to 4 C until the average daily air temp is consistently below 4 C. Wind also factors into the equation as well.

[misfish]

Damned suspended fish

 

I was thinking that and you beat me to it by an hour and a half J.

 

Got to go deep Roy.Trust me.

[douG]

Listen to a limnologist, I always say.

 

Hope this hleps.

[camillj]

Deep and slow bud .. deep and slow .... just like when you are fishin !