Thermal Bars

[overthelimit]

Hey guys,

 

New to Lake Ontario. Looking for some information on fishing thermal bars. I have only fished the lake for browns in spring and summer.

 

Generally speaking what time of the year do the thermal bars set up? Is it difficult to locate them? How far offshore, what depth can they be found around? Tips on fishing around the thermal bars as far as tackle and techniques go?

 

Any and all info is greatly appreciated, I'd like to give this a try sometime. I'll just have to pick my day wth my small 16 foot tinner.

[King Davy]

Several factors in play for the setup and migration of Thermal bars. Weather and wind direction play a big role along with lake currents. In a normal spring (Mid April to Mid June) you'll start to see offshore temp migration around the first week of May (but can always be earlier or later depending on the spring). By the LOC derby first full week of May it's not uncommon to be able to locate fish a couple miles off shore, to as many as five or six.

My years of keeping data on Thermal bar fishing is I found my best fishing in the 49 degree down to 43 degree zones. Pretty simple head off shore and watch your surface temp gage. I always wanted a sharp break of two to three degrees in say a 1/4 mile. I would set up on the lower temp number in the break, and troll back to the higher number. Making north and south ovals until I had crossed all the variants.

Many days you'll find sharp breaks in as little as 100 yards, and you'll want pull back the throttles. The colder the water the more dense it is, and will become a barrier for debries including midges that hatch like crazy out there. I've found Coho's and Steelhead on top eating bugs that are hatching or just dying in a spinner fall. This activity also attracts bait fish species, and you pretty much have the dinner table set for you.

The rules in fishing temp breaks is....there are no rules. You can find fish in a half degree break many times, and temp breaks in the 50's also hold plenty of fish. I would run to the colder edge most times, stopping for sure if I found a quick drop in a short distance, but if not "I'd locate the mid 40's and then troll back in....figuring I had more fish in front of me then behind me.

I'm sure you'll get many more folks chiming in on this.

[Capt Vince Pierleoni]

With the ice gone from Erie, the very west end won't have true thermal bars. It will warm rapidly with the splaying Niagara current. The best areas to check this year will be Sodus to Oak Orchard. Good luck and be safe.

[Gill-T]

Here you go....   Although I don't neccesarily agree with the author's assumptions on where the best fishing is, it does give good info.

http://greatlakeslessons.com/mod/page/view.php?id=192

 

A thermal break is best found by surface temp change on fishfinder....or down and speed probe, debris fields which can be as subtle as a line of feathers, duckweed, plastic or as noticable as floating logs.  On calm days you can see ripple areas or seiches as evidence.  Also as you motor out deeper you will notice the schools of Alewife will become higher in the water column on your fishfinder over the summer.  Look with your eyes!  The surface temp and temp transects map on NOAA's site are helpfull for generalized information about which direction or how far out a break may be occuring.  On the cold side you want to fishing high as it will be mostly a steelhead bite.  If you are targeting other species, you want to be on the warmer side of the break.  Sometimes the thermal break acts like a barrier and fish will line up along it, so troll a stitch line out and in slightly to maintain the location of the cold water then waggle back into the warmer side.

Edited April 13, 2013 by Gill-T

[LongLine]

See the difference in surface texture ( waves vs calm) in this picture?

 

 

It's a big time late april temperature change. Colder water is a little denser than warmer water thus wind effect is slightly different.  This partricular one was about 4 degrees and I was playing around the outside of it.  When you find it, you want to go through it and beyond for a couple hundred yards.  It generally does not go straight to the bottom. 

 

Tom B.

(LongLine)