A prime example of such overthinking occurs when it comes to water temperature, he said. Many articles and books mention specific temperatures at which spawning occurs, but Reehm said he’s seen Texas fish spawn in the high 50s and Florida bass spawn in the 70s. “There is no magic number, no make-or- break condition,” he explained.
Indeed, a single temperature, taken in isolation, may tell you less than temperature trends.
“In January and February at Sam Rayburn there may be three different versions of 55 degrees,” he said. “You have when it’s been constant for a week or two. Then there’s when it’s been 63 and it drops to 55 two days later and shocks those fish. Finally, there’s when it’s been in the high 40s and there’s a warming trend up to 55. It’ll fish totally different. What is important is not the number, but the changes. I’ve seen fish on beds when the water was in the low 50s.”
When those changes matter, it pays to know how trends affect different areas of a given waterway. Do the creeks warm up faster than the main lake? Is there a particular section of the lake that gets a greater influx of cold, muddy water? Are there underwater springs that affect water temperature and clarity? All of these factors can allow you to stay ahead of the curve – or behind it, as the situation may require.
While springtime changes may mean the difference between a trophy and an empty livewell, an equally pronounced trend in the summertime might not have the same impact.
SPRING 2017
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