From my recollection this is a "carbon copy" of last year.Originally Posted by MagikSmallie
Been watching the temp/o2 readings at various depths since July 09.
This year in August the water down deep has been slightly cooler with slightly more 02 down deep than last year and that is good!
The larger fish followed that temp/o2 zone as it got deeper through August.
Apparently that o2 down deep has been depleted, but this has happened later than it did last year and that is good too! At least better than last year.
I remember last year in mid Aug fishing at 70 feet and two weekends later fishin at 25 and 30 feet. Seems like some of the larger fish came up into the warm oxygenated water. Some may have stayed and died down deep, who knows.
The good news this year is that the already oxygenated water 30 feet and above will cool faster than last year, I think. The highs and lows are predicted to be cooler now through Sept 15 than it was last year.
Over all this year o2 and water temp in Aug has been better per the Corp's readings.
The thing that "is" different are the number of visible floaters, and it's enough to freak any body out! I did not see it last weekend.
To me the floaters could be caused my any number of reasons more numerous than those listed below.
-catch and release- Do some quick math, #boats x # fish x#days fish float.
-Extreme high surface temps. I have no idea of the upper temp threshold for a striper of a given size is. In this case I think we are talking 23" and under. Over 86 degrees maybe? What is the temp in the Ohio River right now? Does it get close to 89 in the summer. Been so long I forgot but I know it gets hot. Plenty of 12 lb. fish there.
-Some one suggested that a fish going from 60-70 up to 30 to find bait may run into bladder expansion problems and not be able to go back down. In mid August I graphed fish yo yo'ing from 60 feet to the surface, many many times and didn't see any floaters. Maybe they were not stripers? I don't know anything about the function of a fish's bladder and lactic acid build up.
-This one is pure conjecture on my part. The smaller fish (23" and below) that were hanging out in the 86+ degree well oxygenated water 25 feet and above decided for some unknown reason to go below 30 feet to cooler water where there was no o2. For at least over a month (relying on memory) there has been no o2 from 30 feet to say 50,60 70 feet depending on the date.
Maybe certain schools all went down there together. I heard on this site that at times there would be groups fish dying on the surface within a relatively short time span in specific areas. Seems to me like this scenario would match those results. Young dumb fish? Who's in charge down there?
I am not in any way professing what I have written to be what is actually happening. These are only my observations from looking at the 02/temp numbers, talking to people, reading, watching my graph while fishing.
At this point I am not worried. I predict the fishing this fall will be identical to last fall. If I fish the same places and patterns I did last fall and don't catch anything, I will be worried.
Well, if dream up anything else I may bore you with that too if I have the time.
PS- Just read mhall's post mentioning thousands of dead fish--that is alarming. Hope for the best.
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