searching for temp breaks?

[hawkeye625]

I've been trying to hone my trolling skills by watching surface temps before setting lines but haven't really noticed any major breaks on the surface (maybe 2 tenths of a degree). How much of a break should I be looking for? 1 degree or more or just a few tenths of a degree? Earlier in the year it seemed like the breaks were more pronounced say a couple of degrees or more and it was pretty easy to find.

I did try dropping the probe down when we hit the 1 to 2 tenths of a degree break but didn't see much difference in down temp. Is there a good web reference that shows surface breaks?

As always, thanks in advance for the info. You guys are great. My goal for the year is a 30 pounder. Best to date is a 24 from the 4th of July. Not sure what we'd do with one that size but it sure would be fun!

Jeff

[skipper19]

I always like to look at the surface of the water and see what it looks like. If the water is not too rough I like to see the texture of the surface change. A slick where there is ripples ...a current line that gathers floatsum like feathers sticks and stuff like algae. Those are the places you will find the biggest temp break on the surface. But if the lake is rough it will be of no use to use visual tactics and for the most part the surface will be mixed anyway.

Sometimes your sounder is a good indicator of surface to lower depth vertical temp breaks. Those I call veils because of the appearance of a veil or curtain on the screen. Those are really good to find and work around because they tend to gather bait and bugs due to the rip on the surface, which are usually good for steelhead offshore. Salmon have been in those veils in my experience and often hang to the deep side of the veil in their usual comfort zone of temp.

Mark

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I like to look at surface temp maps to get an idea of what the water is doing... If temps are colder in shallow I know cold water got pushed in and fish shallow, if warm in shallow I fish out deeper.

[ Post made via Android ]