Hey guys that have been out recently what were the water temps and where? I am hoping to see it tick up a little by Sunday…
Harbor was 52-53 yesterday
Carolina Skiff JV17
Hydra-Sport 22 Bay
I dont have temperature on my unit, but the fish were biting on the flats yesterday. They were a little lethargic when fighting, but still fun
Not too bad… Thanks that gives me some hope 
…
Cooper creeks 52F yesterday. Main river surface temp was 47F. I think the water below is warmer as the fish were fired up
2000 SeaPro 180CC w/ Yammy 115 2 stroke
1966 13’ Boston Whaler w/ Merc 25 4 stroke “Flatty”
www.ralphphillipsinshore.com
Wed ICW by Bulls Bay 48F and water was Root Beer color.
quote:
Originally posted by OptikerCooper creeks 52F yesterday. Main river surface temp was 47F. I think the water below is warmer as the fish were fired up
2000 SeaPro 180CC w/ Yammy 115 2 stroke
1966 13’ Boston Whaler w/ Merc 25 4 stroke “Flatty”
www.ralphphillipsinshore.com
X2, from Shipyard on
Fishing Nerd
“you win some, you lose some…but nothing beats getting some!”
whats the magic number for near shore/ jetties?
232 Well Craft Coastal
If I told you I caught a 23inch trout yesterday, and had no clue what the water temperature was, how would that impact your fishing decisions?
Yeah, water temps. have no effect on fish around here. 45-95…makes no difference.
quote:
Originally posted by RADDADDYYeah, water temps. have no effect on fish around here. 45-95…makes no difference.
But if you know the fish are biting, what does the water temp matter? Did you fish before you could get the surface water temperature instantly? Does knowing the surface water temperature make you a better fisherman?
Hoppy you’re trolling, so I’ll bite. Of course temperature matters, because it affects trout patterns. Where you are likely to find them and where you aren’t. For example, if the water is below around 62F, I’m probably not going to throw much topwater. I’ve caught them down to 52F but maybe 1 or 2 ever, but when it gets into the lower 60’s thats TW time. If the temp is around 50F I’m fishing low and very slow in the middle of the creeks. The temp usually dictates what bait moves in, and what size, so that affects what artificials I’m throwing. Ya, I will switch up during a trip to find out what works best, but of course the temp matters. To me, anyway.
2000 SeaPro 180CC w/ Yammy 115 2 stroke
1966 13’ Boston Whaler w/ Merc 25 4 stroke “Flatty”
www.ralphphillipsinshore.com
quote:
Originally posted by OptikerHoppy you’re trolling, so I’ll bite. Of course temperature matters, because it affects trout patterns. Where you are likely to find them and where you aren’t. For example, if the water is below around 62F, I’m probably not going to throw much topwater. I’ve caught them down to 52F but maybe 1 or 2 ever, but when it gets into the lower 60’s thats TW time. If the temp is around 50F I’m fishing low and very slow in the middle of the creeks. The temp usually dictates what bait moves in, and what size, so that affects what artificials I’m throwing. Ya, I will switch up during a trip to find out what works best, but of course the temp matters. To me, anyway.
2000 SeaPro 180CC w/ Yammy 115 2 stroke
1966 13’ Boston Whaler w/ Merc 25 4 stroke “Flatty”
www.ralphphillipsinshore.com
Now you’re just out here stating facts and documented data…crazy guy!
Even if Hoppy doesn’t, plenty more appreciate your knowledge and the fact that you share it too! Thanks for that.
Fishing Nerd
“you win some, you lose some…but nothing beats getting some!”
And Optiker the reason you get them deep is b/c the water is warmer down deeper. You agree? And no one knows what the water temp is deeper, only on the surface (the exclusion being the flats, but if it’s really cold, we know the fish (reds) are there anyway), do you agree on that? And we know the surface temp can vary wildly during the course of a day. We’ve seen 10 degree swings from morning to evening. But the water temperature less than a foot down is hardly going to vary. And, who fishes in the top 6-8" of the water column inshore, espcialy for trout? It takes many days and nights of consistent temperature trends to change the depth in the entire water column. Does anyone disagree with that? Water is dense, like soil. It takes a long time for it to change temperatures. If you have a 90 day it doesn’t make the soil 90 degrees.
So my points are - unless your’re fishing in the top 6" of the water column, the actual surface water temperature probably not as useful as some good common sense and some experience. I’m sure I’ll insult some by saying this, which I don’t mean to, and I apologize in advance, but - 99% of the inshore fishermen who think they are using water temps as a tool inshore are using information they think is important, but it’s not. It’s like the latest and greatest new fishing lures, and lines, and everything else. They are useless until you get them in front of the fish, with the right presentation. When you do that, you’ll probably find they will bite a lot of things. Personally, myself or any other good inshore guide I know has never looked at our surface water temp gauge and made a determination of the days plans b/c of it. If it’s been butt azz cold or butt azz hot, we know what to do and go do it. In a typical late Jan through Feb, you know the water is it’s coldest of the year and the trout bite will be off, and if you want to trout fish you better go to one of your deep spots and fish slow. And we all know that come spring, the water column begins to warm, metabolisms increase and fis
OK now we are getting something useful that the non-guides on this site can chew on.
So, I agree with what your saying, and I think the point you are trying to make is day to day surface temperatures. I don’t pay much heed to that either. I think in “trends” and “patterns”. Here’s an example from just this year. Dec 27th the surface temps were 69F. We caught a tailing fish on that day. Early February surface temps in the Cooper were 46F. Did the water down deep cool off a whole lot? Absolutely. It took a few weeks to get there. Did it change my approach to how I was fishing? Absolutely. Do I change much if Monday is 55F air temp, and Tuesday is 75F? No. IMO the water down deep may be warmer but I suspect the water column mixes quite a bit with the surface water with the amount of tidal flow we have. We don’t have sites that give deep water trends, so our surface temps are the only data we can go on. From my notes the surface temps are a good indicator of trends and patterns. The reason that fish are deep in the creeks may also be because the water is more saline down deep. Not just because its warmer. I fish brackish water mostly, so our approaches may differ in that regard as well.
2000 SeaPro 180CC w/ Yammy 115 2 stroke
1966 13’ Boston Whaler w/ Merc 25 4 stroke “Flatty”
www.ralphphillipsinshore.com
I’ve never caught as many 20"-23" trout in February as I have this year. The trout bite was strong later into winter than normal, and are cranking up earlier in spring than normal. The trend I’ve noticed this year is I never put a winter blanket on my bed, and my electric bills this winter have been very low.
I have noticed all this without consulting the surface water temp gauge on my boat…
OK - Well you may not be looking at a number, but you have to admit that you are paying attention to temperature trends. I think a lot of people asking are the ones who maybe live upstate or don’t get on the water as much as we do. IMO its a fair question. What’s the water temp? 56.5F…almost topwater time 
2000 SeaPro 180CC w/ Yammy 115 2 stroke
1966 13’ Boston Whaler w/ Merc 25 4 stroke “Flatty”
www.ralphphillipsinshore.com
Here’s a hypothetical - Surface temp is 52 @ 6:30am. At 3:00pm you call me and ask what the temp is? I glance over and tell you, “wow, it’s up to 58”. So you load your stuff, leave G’vegas at 3:00 am, get here at 7:00am put the boat in the water. Well it was 10 degrees colder last night than the night before so you put the boat in at 7:00am and the surface temp has fallen to 51. Actually a degree colder than the morning before. So now you think the water is going to be too cold. So what do you do? You go out, fish hard, worse case scenario you learn a lot of stuff. Best case you beat the fish up. So what have we learned, and how has the intel helped us?
Also, when people “report” the water temp on here, what time are they reporting it for? Lowest they saw, highest they saw, midday, average of the day? Because with cool nights and warm days that surface temp can have a huge variance from early to late in the day.
You call me and ask what the water temp is, I say, "I don’t know. Haven’t looked. Probably somewhere in the 50’s, but the bite is on fire! They are so aggressive they’re just about jerking the rod out of our hands on the take. You should come down.
Which intel would you rather have?
And y’all know I love to argue, but it’s arguing with a point and common sense fishing thoughts. I’ve said for a long time - Don’t sweat what you can’t control, just go fish. Learn something. Enjoy your day.
Useful conversation guys. For anyone that is interested http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=chts1 does give temperatures from deeper water.
I seem to remember CHTS1 is at the CoastGuard dock in the harbor (although that info doesn’t seem to be listed now). It states that the reading comes from a depth of 2.1 metres (or about 7 feet) at low tide. More useful than surface temperatures… although you can see on the 7 day temperature graph there is much day to day variation.
I’ve seen from 49 to 54 in the lakes and Cooper River, in the last 2 weeks.
Should start to warm into the mid-50’s by next week.
FWIW, I dive and fish the Cooper River and Santee lakes a good bit.
I rarely see a 5-degree variation between the surface and bottom in the river.
IMO, this is because of the current, or “stirring effect”.
Imagine a pot of water on your stove.
Turn the burner on and leave it alone. The water on the bottom will be hotter than the water on top. This is the lakes.
Now, if you were to stir the pot as it warms, the temp will remain pretty much the same throughout the pot, or “column”. This is the river.
The only difference is, the main river will remain colder than the creeks, as it is a larger body of water and has more mass, therefore requiring more time to heat or cool than the creeks.
The lakes are much different as they have much less turnover, or stirring. I have seen 88 degrees at the surface and mid-60’s at depth.
As far as Optikers’ theory of trout in deep holes during cold weather/water, I do believe he is correct. Fish are cold-blooded and want to expend the least amount of energy possible. Trout will move from a stronger-current mid-depth in warmer water to a lesser-current, deeper area in cold water to conserve energy. I’m not exactly sure what they are eating down there, but I have seen large shrimp and juvenile flounder littering the bottom of the river in 20-70’ of water as late as December.
Sorry, but I don’t have a drysuit or I’d tell what it looks like in Jan, Feb and March!
Now, y’all get out there and fish!
2006 17’ Sea Hunt Triton w/ 90 Yamaha, formerly a 1991 15’ Key West Explorer w/ 60 Johnson.