But what’s happening within the Lake itself? This will help in finding fish.Spring is here on Lake George - we can see what’s happening on the shore with the trees, and hear what’s happening with the birds and frogs. Once you know what to look for you can determine where the thermocline is and if it is starting to dissipate. I hope this helps you all catch more fish and understand what is going on during the turn over. I have learned a great deal researching this article. He has a very in depth article on thermoclines, water freezing and turn over at ![]() ![]() Karl for some of the scientific information I used. ![]() The good news is, post turn over fall fishing patterns begin to start up and great fishing is just around the corner. The turnover is a huge change to the fish’s habitat and opens up a new world of previously oxygen depleted water which makes the fish move. We all know suspended fish on the main lake can be hard to catch. That is why the fishing is a bit easier up the river where there is some current and cooler water. I do think as the water heats up in the summer the fish try to find a cooler spot, they will be in or near the thermocline. In most cases it is a gradual breakdown of the thermocline, so if the lake has turned over and the fish don’t seem to be where they were back off and look a bit deeper as the water with oxygen has become more dense as it cools and sunk to the bottom. How this affects fishing on Barren River Lake is a large column of water devoid of oxygen moves to the surface, causing the fish to shut down and search for more oxygenated water. Eventually the turnover mixes fresh oxygen into the entire lake mass, replenishing the deep waters with the life-giving stuff and cleansing the sulfurous fumes from the water, allowing fish to return to the depths where they will spend the winter months. The deep water contains an abundance of decaying matter and sulfurous gases when it reaches the surface, it produces a telltale odor that indicates the process has begun. Now, storms and sustained high winds can begin to perform the task of overturning and mixing all of the water in the lake - referred to as fall turnover. At some point, the majority of the water in the lake reaches an approximately uniform temperature. The cooler water (with a higher oxygen content) at the surface begins to sink into and through the thermocline, forcing warmer and less dense water to the surface, eventually erasing the temperature stratification built up over the summer. Toward the end of summer, the deep water becomes quite depleted of oxygen because no mixing has taken place.Īs the days get shorter and cooler, and energy is transported away from/out of the lake, mixing becomes easier. The middle layer, known as the thermocline, acts as an effective barrier to any mixing of the deeper waters. Because of the density-temperature relationship, many lakes in temperate climates tend to stratify, that is, they separate into distinct layers. But there is too much difference in temperature between the surface water and that at depth to allow for complete mixing of all the water in the lake. Winds and storms can cause some mixing and do add some oxygen atmospheric oxygen is added by the air-water interaction to the oxygen produced within the water by aquatic plants. Starting in the spring and over the course of the summer, surface waters absorb a lot of the sun’s energy and can heat extensively, causing them to become quite buoyant. ![]() In my research I learned quite a few things and hope this will help. Also from now until the end of September we will all blame a bad fishing day on “the lake must be trying to turn over.” The actual factors of barometric pressure, fishing pressure, water temperature, and wind seem to take a back seat. I know when it occurs fishing on Barren River Lake gets tuff. I have seen fish kills happen in ponds when this happens. It is when the water from the surface gets cooler than the water under it making it denser and it sinks bringing the warmer water from underneath to the surface. Like all fishermen I knew about the turn over and had a general idea. I was glad to get the request but must admit this something I knew very little about. I had a request from a reader to do a lake turn over article.
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