How does cold affect fish when ice fishing?

[limeyangler]

Hi all,

 

Just wondering if anyone can explain this to me.

 

A lot of times I hear ice fisherman complain about/blame/atrribute a slow bite to very cold weather. I have often wondered how that can be an accurate assessment, i thought the ice would offer some insulation from the cold so unless the fish were spending most of their time in the first few feet of water under the ice temperature differences would be mostly negligible…….anyone care to enlighten me on this? maybe atmospheric pressure associated with a very cold high pressure system might weigh on the ice or something, but the actual temperature thing would affect the fisherman more than the fish….no?

 

[Joey]

I don't think it's the cold as much as it is the barometric pressure Simon. But I could be wrong.

[limeyangler]

I don't think it's the cold as much as it is the barometric pressure Simon. But I could be wrong.

 

Thats what i suspected…but i have heard people time and again attribute it directctly to temperature.

[Canuck2fan]

I don't "ice fish" much anymore but I have noticed when winter steelheading the days when temperatures are dropping and it is the coldest seem to produce the least fish. Days where it has warmed up even 3 degrees have always been better for me.

 

I think firstly when temps are dropping it might be barometric pressure effecting the bite. Secondly when it gets really cold and stays that way for a couple of days the water almost always seems to be clearer. Mainly that old saw about it being too cold to snow and if it is -10 C or so any run off that would cloud the water pretty much stops.

 

Also when I have targeted walleye when it was really cold, you had to really work the bait to get fish to commit... Not sure why.

 

Another thing is when it is freezing cold steelheading we tend to bottom fish and not expend too much energy ourselves so maybe the fewer fish are because we are too lazy to change baits, depths and spots every 15 minutes until we start hitting fish. LOL

[BillM]

Fish can feel pressure drops, even when they're below the ice

[Sinker]

The water under the ice is all the same temp. Once it gets too cold, its ice. Cold temps are usually associated with high pressure, or post front conditions, which generally make for a tough bite. Its not actually the temp, but the weather systems that bring them.

 

S.

[aplumma]

Here is the bone that sticks in my throat about barometric pressure discussions . A fish that moves 8ft up or down in the water column has caused a pressure difference greater than a hurricane causes in a pressure swing. I feel it is not the change in pressure but is the other visual or sensible triggers that make or break a day.

 

 

Art

[kickingfrog]

The temps impact the fishermen more then the fish.

[chris.brock]

last winter, ice fishing, while using a friends aqua view, it had a temperature reading accessory, the water at the hole was around 32 degrees (obviously), surprisingly to me, the temp at 55' was 52 degrees, I found this interesting, I had thought the water was going to be a fairly uniform temperature

[irishfield]

Why do you think all them fish love to hang out at bottom in the winter... it's warmer down there!!!

[highdrifter]

last winter, ice fishing, while using a friends aqua view, it had a temperature reading accessory, the water at the hole was around 32 degrees (obviously), surprisingly to me, the temp at 55' was 52 degrees, I found this interesting, I had thought the water was going to be a fairly uniform temperature

 

Exactly. temperatures fluctuate according to depth. If the water was the same temp below the ice througout the water column, there wouldn't be much life down there...

[SirCranksalot]

Why do you think all them fish love to hang out at bottom in the winter... it's warmer down there!!!

 

 

So why doesn't the warm water rise to the top?

[davey buoy]

 

 

So why doesn't the warm water rise to the top?

Not sure about that?,but would be interesting to find out.If it was cold as the top ice,I would think the lake would be a ice cube.

[irishfield]

For similar reasons it doesn't on the earths surface. It gets 2* colder for every 1000 feet you rise generally. Water.. frozen on surface of the lake, works as an insulator, otherwise it would simply freeze right to the bottom no? The bottom of the lake has the warmth of the earth coming out of it, warming the water around it. It could be for only a few feet or many. I'm sure there's some pretty good convection currents going on down drawing colder water down and in as warmer goes up.. repeat..

[solopaddler]

Cold fronts and an ensuing high pressure system will make for a tough bite, winter or summer.

 

However, my personal opinion is the biggest factor that negatively affects the ice fishing bite is the amount of snow and light penetration.

 

As the ice season gets longer the bite often gets tough when there's a heavy snow pack that inhibits light penetration. It's for this very reason that first ice and last ice is often the best.

 

In the dog days of winter, usually Feb, oxygen levels are depleted, light penetration is diminished and the fish seem to be almost lethargic.

 

Could be simply coincidence that these dog days coincide with super cold temps....it's usually pretty cold in the middle of winter.

[irishfield]

Don't tell the guys Mike... but that's why I always shovel my spot to clear ice before I set up !! ;0)

Edited January 27, 2014 by irishfield

[Burtess]

 

 

So why doesn't the warm water rise to the top?

 

Water is at its highest density at approx. 4C. So typically if the lake stratifies, water at the bottom will be 4C (even in the summer). In the winter the highest density water will settle to the depths as there is no mixing from wave action or turn over etc.

Of course there may be problems with dissolved oxygen at these depths later in the season so this may make them uninhabitable for fish.

 

Burt

[Sinker]

I cant wrap my head around warmer water at depths under the ice. Its not physically possible. Warmest water will rise. Like Burtess said, water is densest at 4C. In winter, the warmest water will be at the bottom. In the winter lake surveys ive done, water was the same temp at all depths.

 

For what Art said, yes, pressure will change at depth, but thats water pressure, not air pressure.

 

The barometer has a huge impact on all living things. If you dont believe it, get a proper barometer and pay attention to the days there is a good bite. I'll bet my pay check its with a rising or falling barometer. Stable high, or low pressure will also have a good bite, but you need 3-4 days of stable pressure.

 

I have a proper barometer here, and I can tell you, when the pressure is moving up or down, the fish are biting almost every time. There are other things that have an impact like wind, and weather etc, but the barometer is a pretty reliable instrument to track fish and game activity.

 

My next thing to watch is the moon. Has a HUGE impact on all creatures.

 

S.

[misfish]

The Herring are biting. Oh ya,you cant keep them. Stupid yummy fish.When they open them up,Im smoken,again.LOL

[irishfield]

Just remember guys... if you like Laker fishing.. them fish love 52*F water and if you know your lake well, try to find those underwater springs!

[aplumma]

Water pressure and air pressure is the same as far as when it changes it changes. The force of pressure is the same if I have a balloon and fill it with water and one with air they both can be inflated to the same pressure. The same balloons placed in the water will still have the same force exerted on them. I do agree that a barometer is a good way to decide if the fish are biting however is it just telling you that the conditions( light, clouds, wind, combination) are right for the fish to bite or is it that the fish are reacting to the barometric pressure only?

 

Here is an article from NOAA on water stratification on lakes.

 

Seasonal changes in lakes and reservoirs

Temperature is also important in lakes and reservoirs. It is related to the dissolved-oxygen concentration in water, which is very important to all aquatic life. Many lakes experience a "turning" of its water layers when the seasons change. In summer, the top of the lake becomes warmer than the lower layers. You've probably noticed this when swimming in a lake in summer - your shoulders feel like they're in a warm bath while your feet are chilled. Since warm water is less dense that colder water, it stays on top of the lake surface. But, in winter some lake surfaces can get very cold. When this happens, the surface water becomes more dense than the deeper water with a more constant year-round temperature (which is now warmer than the surface), and the lake "turns", when the colder surface water sinks to the lake bottom.

The way that temperatures vary in lakes over seasons depends on where they are located. In warm climates the surface may never get so cold as to cause the lake "to turn." But, in climates that have a cold winter, temperature stratifications and turning do occur. This chart is an illustration of temperatures profiles for a lake in Minnesota, USA (where it gets really cold during winter). You can see that in May the surface starts to warm (green color), but the warming only goes down to about 5 meters in depth. Even though the surface continues to warm all summer, the less dense water still stays on top of the lake. Even in summer the bottom half of the lake still stays almost as cold as it was in winter. During summer, the less dense warmer water stays on top of the colder water; no mixing of water occurs. Notice in October, as the temperature starts to consistently get down near freezing at night, the surface water cools, becomes a little colder in temperature and a little more dense than the water in the bottom of the lake, and, thus, sinks, causing mixing. The lake " has turned." After October, the temperature throughout the vertical column of water is about the same, cold temperature, until the ice is melted and the sun can warm the top of the lake again.

[SirCranksalot]

 

Minnesota, USA (where it gets really cold during winter).

 

I'm glad they added that bit.....in case some of us were wondering!

[chris.brock]

I cant wrap my head around warmer water at depths under the ice. Its not physically possible. Warmest water will rise. Like Burtess said, water is densest at 4C. In winter, the warmest water will be at the bottom. In the winter lake surveys ive done, water was the same temp at all depths.

 

yeah, that's what I was thinking, it doesn't make sense

were the lakes you were surveying shallower, mesotrophic lakes?

 

I'm going to try to dig up my old limnology book later

 

 

the bad news about all of this, is now to go ice fishing, besides our graph, we also need a temperature probe and dissolved oxygen meter, Hahaha

Edited January 28, 2014 by chris.brock

[Sinker]

yeah, that's what I was thinking, it doesn't make sense

were the lakes you were surveying shallower, mesotrophic lakes?

 

I'm going to try to dig up my old limnology book later

 

 

the bad news about all of this, is now to go ice fishing, besides our graph, we also need a temperature probe and dissolved oxygen meter, Hahaha

I've done shallow, and deep lakes. The temp was pretty much the same throughout, with maybe a couple degrees variance, but never have I seen 52 degree water under the ice. I'd say the camera's thermometer was messed up at that depth....but who knows.

 

S.