Taylorsville water conditions?

[GreenGhostMan]

Awesome, informative reply. Thank you.
The small lake I was at a week ago, it hadn't rained in weeks there... So I do believe it was "turning over." I've fished there multiple times before and the water had never looked like that. I paddled way back up the creek that feeds it and the water was clear. Funny thing is, the fishing was tougher back up in the creek than it was down in the cloudy water.

[crappiepappy]

Awesome, informative reply. Thank you.
The small lake I was at a week ago, it hadn't rained in weeks there... So I do believe it was "turning over." I've fished there multiple times before and the water had never looked like that. I paddled way back up the creek that feeds it and the water was clear. Funny thing is, the fishing was tougher back up in the creek than it was down in the cloudy water.

It usually is tougher in clear water vs "dirty" water ... because the fish feel more "comfortable" (hidden from predators) when the water clarity isn't very clear. Many people make the mistake of thinking that the fish are "line shy" in the clearer waters and get "spooked" by the line, but I'm of the opinion that your boat, YOU and the motions you make, and the shadows you cast are "red flags" to most fish ... because they can see you a lot better than you can see them. That little thin line of color, that is your fishing line, is not much of a threat to them, but that BIG profile of you and the boat is likely to be perceived as a threat.

If that lake is small and relatively shallow, it is conceivable that it did turn over ... if the night temps got low enough to cool the surface water well below the level of the water below it.

And just as I expected ... Taylorsville has risen 3ft since yesterday (after an accumulation of 3.5" of rain). That's gonna put a lot of floating debris back into the water, but may also drop the temps down some. The forecast for more rain mid-week isn't going to help matters much in the short term, and future temps in the high 70's - low 80's should keep the water temps above normal levels for awhile, as well. Looks like the late Summer pattern might hold on for awhile.

[GreenGhostMan]

It usually is tougher in clear water vs "dirty" water ... because the fish feel more "comfortable" (hidden from predators) when the water clarity isn't very clear. Many people make the mistake of thinking that the fish are "line shy" in the clearer waters and get "spooked" by the line, but I'm of the opinion that your boat, YOU and the motions you make, and the shadows you cast are "red flags" to most fish ... because they can see you a lot better than you can see them. That little thin line of color, that is your fishing line, is not much of a threat to them, but that BIG profile of you and the boat is likely to be perceived as a threat.

If that lake is small and relatively shallow, it is conceivable that it did turn over ... if the night temps got low enough to cool the surface water well below the level of the water below it.

And just as I expected ... Taylorsville has risen 3ft since yesterday (after an accumulation of 3.5" of rain). That's gonna put a lot of floating debris back into the water, but may also drop the temps down some. The forecast for more rain mid-week isn't going to help matters much in the short term, and future temps in the high 70's - low 80's should keep the water temps above normal levels for awhile, as well. Looks like the late Summer pattern might hold on for awhile.

So is it possible that with all this cool rain, Taylorsville could start turning over? Or I guess like you said, the warmer temps wont allow it to? Is it possible for a lake to halfway start turning over, then a shift in weather sends it back the other way? A couple years ago, when I started getting into bass fishing, I had no idea it could get this complicated.

[crappiepappy]

So is it possible that with all this cool rain, Taylorsville could start turning over? Or I guess like you said, the warmer temps wont allow it to? Is it possible for a lake to halfway start turning over, then a shift in weather sends it back the other way? A couple years ago, when I started getting into bass fishing, I had no idea it could get this complicated.

Yes. it's certainly possible that a cool rain could start the process, but yeah ... warm temps afterwards would likely offset any cooling effects. But, once it starts, a shift in the weather won't "send it back the other way", but may temper the degree of severity of the turnover.

It's also possible for turnover to occur in parts of the lake, but not the whole lake ... depending upon the size of the lake and the various different thermocline levels in that lake.

It's not so much "complicated" as it is "variable" ... doesn't happen all the time, on all bodies of water, but can & does happen for the same reasons : cold water at the surface, over warmer subsurface water, is denser (heavier) and will drop down thru the warmer water, mixing up the temps throughout the levels. The more the volume of water or depth of water involved, the more likely it will involve stirring up bottom sediment and causing discoloration of the water & the "smell" (from the decomposed plant/animal life that is in the bottom sediment).

I don't know as you'll have to worry about Taylorsville "turning over" just yet ... but, the lake is nearly 5ft above pool and rising, according to the COE chart, and that's gonna make it a bit messy for awhile.

[GreenGhostMan]

Yes. it's certainly possible that a cool rain could start the process, but yeah ... warm temps afterwards would likely offset any cooling effects. But, once it starts, a shift in the weather won't "send it back the other way", but may temper the degree of severity of the turnover.

It's also possible for turnover to occur in parts of the lake, but not the whole lake ... depending upon the size of the lake and the various different thermocline levels in that lake.

It's not so much "complicated" as it is "variable" ... doesn't happen all the time, on all bodies of water, but can & does happen for the same reasons : cold water at the surface, over warmer subsurface water, is denser (heavier) and will drop down thru the warmer water, mixing up the temps throughout the levels. The more the volume of water or depth of water involved, the more likely it will involve stirring up bottom sediment and causing discoloration of the water & the "smell" (from the decomposed plant/animal life that is in the bottom sediment).

I don't know as you'll have to worry about Taylorsville "turning over" just yet ... but, the lake is nearly 5ft above pool and rising, according to the COE chart, and that's gonna make it a bit messy for awhile.

All makes sense. Thank you for helping me understand. I learned a lot from your explanations.

[fishfever]

Is the lake fishable or too muddy with all the rain? Thinking about heading down tomorrow to do some crappie fishing. Anyone seen it today?
Thanks and I’ll report back if I go

[crappiepappy]

Is the lake fishable or too muddy with all the rain? Thinking about heading down tomorrow to do some crappie fishing. Anyone seen it today?
Thanks and I’ll report back if I go

I haven't been ... but, it's come up nearly 5ft from the rain, so my guess would be that the water is dirty & trashy. When the water is coming in at three times the rate they're pulling it out ... it's not going to go down anytime soon.

I did go after the last time we had a 5ft raise, back in the Spring, and the water was dirty & trashy for over a week. Would not surprise me if it takes that long for them to pull it back down to Summer Pool ... barring any more heavy rains during that time. They're not scheduled to start pulling it down the 2ft to Winter Pool until mid Nov. so I expect they will just pull it back down to Summer Pool levels.

Last time I was there, a little over a week ago, my partner and I caught 11 keepers out of about 25 fish caught, most of which were "just" keepers @ just over 9" ... and a couple at 11". Almost all were caught off the ends or branches of downed trees, on tube jigs @ about 8ft deep ... but, we didn't catch more than 1 or 2 off any one piece of cover. Water temps were still 77-79deg with a thermocline at around the 12ft depth.

And remember .... next year (after the new licenses are due) the Crappie size limit on Taylorsville will be 10" (if the regulation is approved).

[smbass1]

Fishing is slow caught around 20 a day had 10 to 12 a day 9 inches to 11 inches most of the keepers were around 9 inches. Water muddy on lower 1/3 of lake, some color for the rest of the lake. All caught on jigs in 8-12 feet of water near wood. With water coming up fish were very scattered.

[fishfever]

Went yesterday and water was up @ 4’ but had good color. Caught 30+ fish with 22 keepers, most keepers 10”-11”(better than last time where most were right at 9”). Caught them on minnows on main lake 10’ deep in 11’-15’ of water.

[GreenGhostMan]

Anybody goin for bass on Taylorsville? Starting to ramp up?? How's the water clarity?