Lake Oxygen Levels

[Grumpy]

Does anyone else watch the Corpts of Engineer site for lake temperatures and oxygen levels? I use them mainly to determine the approximate depth of the thermalcline so I don't have to fool with it when I get on the water.

I have been looking at them since they started posting about two years ago and I noticed something very different this year. For 2005 and 2006 I have saved over a hundred readings for Nolin, Barren, Rough, Green and Taylorsville lakes. In every case, the Oxygen level is highest at the surface and then gradually decreases with deeper reading, e.g.: Surface 8.2; 5 feet 8.1; 15 feet 8.0; 20 feet 7.8; 22 feet 7.6; 25 feet 6.9; and it keeps going down as the readings go deeper.

This year in all of those lakes, the Oxygen level is lower at the surface than it is a little deeper and also it fluctuates up and down as the readings go deeper, instead of a steady declining pattern. E.g. Niolin for 6/25/07: Surface 9.2; 5 feet 9.2; 10 feet 9.0; 14 feet 8.9; 15 feet 10.2; 16 feet 11.2; 18 feet 11.9; 20 feet 12.0 23 feet 10.8; 25 feet 9.1; 27 feet 6.5 and from there it is gradual as the readings go deeper.

I can still find the thermalclines, so it is no big thing. I just found it interesting and wondered if anyone else had noticed and had any opinions on why this may be happening.

Grumpy

[fishbum]

Does anyone else watch the Corpts of Engineer site for lake temperatures and oxygen levels? I use them mainly to determine the approximate depth of the thermalcline so I don't have to fool with it when I get on the water.

I have been looking at them since they started posting about two years ago and I noticed something very different this year. For 2005 and 2006 I have saved over a hundred readings for Nolin, Barren, Rough, Green and Taylorsville lakes. In every case, the Oxygen level is highest at the surface and then gradually decreases with deeper reading, e.g.: Surface 8.2; 5 feet 8.1; 15 feet 8.0; 20 feet 7.8; 22 feet 7.6; 25 feet 6.9; and it keeps going down as the readings go deeper.

This year in all of those lakes, the Oxygen level is lower at the surface than it is a little deeper and also it fluctuates up and down as the readings go deeper, instead of a steady declining pattern. E.g. Niolin for 6/25/07: Surface 9.2; 5 feet 9.2; 10 feet 9.0; 14 feet 8.9; 15 feet 10.2; 16 feet 11.2; 18 feet 11.9; 20 feet 12.0 23 feet 10.8; 25 feet 9.1; 27 feet 6.5 and from there it is gradual as the readings go deeper.

I can still find the thermalclines, so it is no big thing. I just found it interesting and wondered if anyone else had noticed and had any opinions on why this may be happening.

Grumpy

Your right, I have been watching them since we first started posting them. Barren this year has a definite thermocline, while Green, Nolin and Rough seem to have Oxygen down to almost the bottom.. Difference seems to be that Barren is the only one of the 4 that is below summer pool by a lot.
The wierd part is the amount of Oxygen and how deep is goes.. That is allowing the fish to stay deeper and cooler. NORMALLY You get a level of water with NO Oxygen below around 20 feet in all those lakes. ( Well not enough for game fish which is supposedly 2 parts per million) Not sure what the reason for this is. However it is good for the fish, bad for the fishermen, since there is more lake for the fish to swim in.
Bait fish will prosper from this as well. Will allow them to scatter too taking the fish with them.. Could mean some tough fishing this summer if the oxygen levels continue to stay high in lower parts of the lakes. Fish will seek a temperature comfort level if there is enough Oxygen.
Bad part is that bass are deeper and the tournament I was at a couple weeks ago.. well lots of fish had to be decompressed.
Guy doing it was excellent at it by the way.
As for the video that I took.. I have ordered a Firewire card to be able to download it and I will try to get it up when I do.. albeit late.. Sorry.
Jim Dicken

[CTFSHWHISKER]

i noticed it too with barren,also noticed the different oxygen amounts at each lake,sure it probably has to to with which lakes have or havenot got rain.the fish have been all over the place on rough and nolin.catch em 20-25 one night the next they'll be 12-15.

[artcarney_agr]

Where is this info posted at...can't seem to find it...anyone have a link?

[Grumpy]

Where is this info posted at...can't seem to find it...anyone have a link?

Go to the Corps web site listing lake levels, etc:

http://www.lrl.usace.army.mil/wc/reports/lkreport.html

After you get there, click on the name of a lake on the left side (should be in blue), when the lake info comes up, in about the middle of the page, towards the right you will see LAKE TEMPERATURES, click on that and you will get graphs of the temps and oxygen levels. At the top the that page is a line that says: "Click here for raw data for this lake" When that comes up, it will be a linier listing of depts, temps and oxygen levels and much easier to read than the graph listing.

Grumpy

[artcarney_agr]

Thank you sir!