Water Temp Thermometers - what do you all use?

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

Im interested in this whole water temp thing. You guys are rubbing off on this old country mule, I guess.

So. Everything I can tell suggests that water temps, as applied to fishing, are SURFACE temps. Alright, fair enough. If that is so, just what do people use for this measurement"? Is there some fancy doodad from BassPro Shops, or can I just tie a string on my old glass aquarium thermometer and toss 'er in?

[John Sheehan]

what's I.S.O.T ?Show me a pic wood back Greg .Stop being Cryptic you teaser!! lol!

 

[Greg McWilliams]

Thank You, John, for taking that Bait, wasn't sure if that would get a bite ot not!!!!!!!  International Society of Oilfeild Trash!!!!!!! I will get a picture of one but I do  like your temp and depth reader better!!!!!! I get a lake fishing report on all Oklahome lakes every Thursday, so pretty much know where the temps run locally!!!!!

[John Sheehan]

Well now Greg this is a surprising hook in the mouth!Please keep me posted!

 

[Dwayne Denison]

any kind you have to cast out and reel in, will be inaccurate. I saw one that you feed cable thru float and gauage is held in hand. But I dont know anything else about it. I will try to find pic

[John Sheehan]

I am considering a hand held digital thermometer ,any one know of a fair priced brand?

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

Youre right, Dwayne - ultimate accuracy is only possible in real time. This means thermocouple type probes and digital readouts, batteries, worries over dunking, etc. These manual units are free of these things, but they have a lag time, certainly, and they're, well... manual.

In other words, they take a bit of time to employ.

But like the Bullet Bobber or other contrivances, they have a place. Once you know what the fish want, and become accustomed to the quirks of these units, they offer information that could make the difference.

And you know what they say... Knowing = battle/2

[Tony Livingston]

I take my readings at a depth of 2' with a manual thermometer. It is not as accurate as a immersed probe type, but I find it quite acceptable, and I believe it helps me find fish. Catching them is still up to me.

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

As odd as it may sound, I carried an old pool thermometer to check my grandmother's pond temperatures, worked good for me back in the day............It put you in the ball park and you could see the trends.....

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

Same deal here, Jeff. If you poke around the internet, the "cheap" alternatives mentioned invariably involve a pool thermometer. So nothing really odd about your Cajun heat sensor.

The notion I'm trying to embrace here is that fish always seek the optimum in their environment. We can change our environment at will, but they are at the mercy of the conditions they find themselves in. So they naturally gravitate, or "orient," towards optimum food sources, dissolved oxygen levels, structure/cover, and, of course, temperature.

I'm with you guys - it may not be the ultimate in accuracy, but it gets me closer to their world. Thanks for the input, guys.

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

It's a very good discussion point David and the emphasis here is the fact that you can add an inexpensive tool in your tackle box that might help you find the fish or explain why they're there when you do find them.............Water temperature is always important especially now as we transition to late Winter/early Spring........I'm like a kid in the candy store the first time I see 66 degrees!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

I hear ya, boy!

And you know I'm all about being frugal - especially when a value-priced item is also useful. I think that is why I like used gear; it usually little used before being tossed aside.

I got onto all of this thermometer stuff when I learned that the water temperature values we hear so much about are actually SURFACE temps.

"Wait a minute," I said... "fish don't live at the surface, for the most part. It is just one of many "edges" within their normal environment, which they frequent for a particular reason. The majority of the time, they are elsewhere in the water column, where the temps/oxygen/light/food factors exist to their liking."

I can't control the factors that influence them, except in a small way. But most of them are related to temperature in some way,  and THAT I can measure. Am I going too far?

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

Pretty neat piece 2lb!