In this study, the first fish died when the water reached 41F. Most of the mortality occurred at 38F.
Here is the USGS water temp for the Wando near the 526 bridge, measured for the last 30 days. The temp is currently below 7C. You can see the dip after Christmas and it has really nosedived with the current snap
For reference:
41F = 5.0C
38F = 3.3C
Of course, trout are less tolerant. I read that more than one fish kill in a season is rare because a cold snap will signal the trout to move to deep water and they will tend to overwinter there. Thats interesting - maybe the Christmas cold snap sent them deep? Also, that sudden drops are more likely to cause fish kills and I would guess that the drops we have seen have not been terribly sudden(?)
Anyway, I found these doing my own research, and thought others might find it informative.
excelent study. like was mentioned in the report i wonder if the fish from northern areas have a higher tolerance to cold water? also i’ve searched for a report like that one for trout. have you found one? in 1989 after the big snow(dec23-25 1989) we had in murrells inlet the water temp got real cold upper 30’s. the next week (on jan 2.1990) i went fishing at pawleys island. we caught about 20 trout that day during the low tide.
green grass and high tides forever
jhp----- Murrells Inlet
Raddaddy and I talked about this yesterday, and he has noticed there are way less trout on the flats after the last water temp drop than this time last year. Hopefully the last cold spell moved them to deep water. Great article, David, thanks. Bob
Temperature
Water temperature is an important factor limiting growth and production of spotted seatrout (Tabb 1966). Tabb (1958) identified 16-27 C (61-81 F) as suitable for adults. The fish actively feed at temperatures between 4 and 33 C (39 and 92 F) (Simmons 1957). However, temperatures between 7 and 10 C (45 and 50 F) have been identified as adverse (Tabb 1966). Tempera- tures below 4 C (39 F) appear to be lethal, although mortalities may occur at higher temperatures 7 C or 45 F) if a temperature decrease to this level is abrupt or persists (Storey and Grudger 1936; Gunter and Hildebrand 1951; Tabb 1958) .
Anyone know the depth of which the temp. is taken, the temp from the surface to the bottom can differ a sign. amount. I’m guessing here but by the looks of the chart, its near the surface due to the fluctuation increasing and decreasing each day.
lostlocal, yes, I believe its near the surface, as there is a “gauge height” field that when plotted moves with the tide. I’m pretty sure its the same gauge where the temp comes from but not sure. The various gauges around the city have different temperatures. For example the Ashley is almost always colder in the winter, probably because its shallower, I guess.
about 7-8 years ago my usual fishing partner and i went one day in late dec. water temp was 38 according to my depth finder. this was before i started useing braid for trout. we kept feeling “something” set the hook nothing there. finaly i said to heck with it and just kept reeling. finaly hooked up! that something felt like moss or snot grass not the normal “tick” from a trout. we caught 18 trout that day and the only striper we ever caught in the inlet , he was about 6-7 lbs. we let him go to hopefully bring more back with him. we are still waiting. oh btw i normaly use “shad” type grubs however that day they only hit curlytail grubs. same colors just curly tail models only. guess they had more action at the snails pace we were retreveing them at.
green grass and high tides forever
jhp----- Murrells Inlet
Anyone know the depth of which the temp. is taken, the temp from the surface to the bottom can differ a sign. amount. I’m guessing here but by the looks of the chart, its near the surface due to the fluctuation increasing and decreasing each day.
pretty sure you're right- it hit 105 last year at the customs house in early july. must be on a mud flat.
the study in question was done on red drum native to texas… as tideline2 pointed out, their tolerance to heat/cold is probably different than for here, Chesapeake, etc… good place to start though- i think the rate at which the water cools is very important because it can either catch fish “flat-footed” in the shallows (i.e. a week before christmas) or it can force them to deep water slowly enough that many can survive.
