Need help unerstanding term”Lake Flipped”

[Hachimo]

So after 5years or so of bein around i got a good idea of riggin,setting a spread, and what to use and when to use.  
   Now its time to learn more of the lake and Temp.  So my understanding of the lake flipping is a heavy blow pushes warm water  off shore and down therefore  movin the cold water out. Am I somewhat right?

 

out of mexico Yesterday i couldnt get colder then 60degree water above 140ft. Wanted to get offshore further but with The storm brewing didnt want to venture to far in case it got real bad.  When lake is like this Do the fish scatter out deep?   And today is another west blast with small craft advisory.  Any thoughts on what that’s gonna do for fishing this weekend? Push fish out even deeper? I really hope I dont have to go out 20miles Saturday to get a bite. Lol.  Any thoughts or imput would be greatly appreciated

[Tall Tails]

This can be a long answer but lets see if I can simplify it.

 

A "Flip" that you are asking about is when the lake has been stable with a thermocline and then we get a Hard south wind.  That rushes the cold water in and replaces the warm top with the cold.  We call this "ice out" or a flip.  What you are describing at least to me and the way I have learned it is the west wind simply fills the bay with warm water and you need to get offshore to find the correction.  In some cases typically later in August the fish wont leave once they are "Staging" they just get finicky and wont bite much.  The Bay is a different animal when it comes to Warm water.  West wind probably effects the bay more then any other place on the lake.  You need an East or a South wind to make the correction to the bay and bring the cold water back in.  The trick in the bay is to run deep and keep stopping and checking with your probe until you find the temp you are looking for unless you are marking them.  In that case the temp wont matter if they are hungry.

 

I hope this helps.

[Hachimo]

Absolutely it helps. I appreciate the wisdom.  There was a good amount of bait and fish in 120 on the bottom but i dont think there staging yet.  So I had the right idea headin deep and out the bay but weather prevented me from goin any further.  Guess the best thing to do Saturday morning is to stop at 120 fow. Drop the probe.  160 drop probe. And further if need be.  

[rdebadts]

You could l literally write a book about water temps, currents, and fish behavior as it pertains to those factors.

From June on, the basic idea is this- warm water on top and progressively colder as you go deeper. Current is west to East, and prevailing wind is also from the west. West wind, and north or south wind
Things get tricky in a few scenarios:
1. East wind. Wind fights the current, and very easily causes an inversion (flip) where cold water comes rushing into shallow water. The sudden change of temps from the 70s to 38-42 is common. It stuns the fish and they scatter. Every now and then a surface bite works nearshore, but usually you need to search more for stable water
2. STRONG south or north wind can cause sudden upwelling if cold water. It causes the same scenario as 1. I will say it usually takes sustained winds of 15+ for hours to do this.
3. strong west winds. This usually means warm water piles up on the east end. Temps will be deeper and deeper, as you described sometimes 140+. If you can find any pockets of cold water, beat them to death. Otherwise, move out deeper where there is usually colder water.

Hope that helps.




The Fishin’ Physician Assistant

[HB2]

When we get a strong east wind for a day or two the wind pushes the surface water west while the current flows east and pulls the cold water from down deep to the surface . It can be as cold as 42 Dec  this time of year surface temp . 

This is my understanding of how this happens 

 

Fishing is bad inshore  and to find stable water you will have to go 3 to 15 miles offshore . The fishing can be quite good out there  .  

 

I head north and drop lines when surface temp  reaches around 65  And head north . 

[J.D.]

Watch this short video. Assume the left side is the US shore, the right side is Canada. The red water is warm, the blue water is ice cold

Note 2 things: Multiple upwellings on both ends (the shorelines), and how stable things stay in the middle (the blue zone offshore)  I hope this helps...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIkJ4xu9Ego

[Hachimo]

Thats pretty cool. Thanks for posting.  Lookin like I’m goin for a long ride Saturday. Lol

[jimski2]

Thats pretty cool. Thanks for posting.  Lookin like I’m goin for a long ride Saturday. Lol

Another condition is when the lake water reaches its densest.Around 39 degrees the lake is the same temperature, top to bottom. The heaviest water sinks to the bottom and the surface water cools till it becomes frozen ice .The. Bottom water stays warm so the fish survive during the winter. But the dissolved oxygen on the bottom decreases and the fish suspend upwards till the spring thaw adds freshly oxygenated water to the l bottom of the lakes.


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[Fat Trout]

@Tall Tails is pretty much saying it.  For the east end in the corner (ie Mexico / Pulaski) a west or northwest wind plows all the surface water into the bay...it hits the inshore area and the surface water displaces the bottom water pushing the bottom water OUT toward the center of the lake.   The harder the wind and longer the more it pushes warm water IN on top and cold water OUT....to the north and west to varying degrees making the thermocline deeper and deepr.  The faster it happens and stops (or varies) the more unstable and you can find pockets of temp up/down a bit as you move out from shore.    To the contrast East winds, south east winds, north east winds, south winds will do the reverse.....the more east/west you have the more impact in Mexico bay itself....South winds impact Oswego and west of Oswego more quickly due to their close proximity to deep water directly to the north but there are  some other variables and I won't begin to try to understand the exact dynamic from Fairhaven and on as a northwest or north wind pushes surface water in but it "squirts" out to the east / west depending on direct wind angle angle depth contours and the obvious "corner" that there is etc.  I've been doing this long enough that I'm use to it (in Mexico bay) but its not universal and its always a challenge.    I feel like Mexico Bay is more dramatically impacted some years given the more shallow lake contours and I have had years fishing really deep and some not as much.   This year things have been deeper but not nearly as bad as some years.  Last  year and the year before were particularly "good" with shallower general thermocline depths....80 ft...hey great. So much so my 16# downrigger balls collected a little dust.  This year I'm running them much more but I'm still not yet at the extremes I've seen years where I have 160ft of cable out to get to temp.  I'd love to avoid the 16# downrigger balls but unfortunately I have them for a reason.  

 

I'll edit to add on that to me...in mexico bay, "flipped" is when you have ice cubes and dead bass damn near on the beach.  It fortunately doesn't happen that often (in Mexico bay) but when it does its noticable and generally not good.   It seems that an inshore "flip" happens a bit more often to the west.  

Edited August 6, 2020 by Fat Trout

[GAMBLER]

The key to being successful is understanding the flip and where the fish go when it happens.  There is a lot of good info posted here!  

[Hachimo]

6 hours ago, GAMBLER said:

The key to being successful is understanding the flip and where the fish go when it happens.  There is a lot of good info posted here!  

Absolutely Brian, thats y I had to ask. Its all part of the learningcurve.  I’m pretty successful when the fishing is good. But definitely struggle when water is unstable. This knowledge will certainly help. 

[Gill-T]

There are places around each port that fish end up at during roll overs. Savvy charter captains know these spots. I may have said too much ....my life may be in danger bringing you this information. 

[Hachimo]

Makes sense. I have an Ar550 plate carrier loaded with mags and a glock. I’ll let ya borrow it since u gave up that info!! 

[Low Baller]

Makes sense. I have an Ar550 plate carrier loaded with mags and a glock. I’ll let ya borrow it since u gave up that info!! 

You're not wearing that Saturday are you?
Lmao

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[Hachimo]

NoT this weekend Clark. That gear comes out last weekend of august when the lake is a combat zone. 

[GAMBLER]

Absolutely Brian, thats y I had to ask. Its all part of the learningcurve.  I’m pretty successful when the fishing is good. But definitely struggle when water is unstable. This knowledge will certainly help. 

What helped me in the past was keeping a journal. You will see seasonal patterns and little things that are huge at times.


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[Low Baller]

There are places around each port that fish end up at during roll overs. Savvy charter captains know these spots. I may have said too much ....my life may be in danger bringing you this information. 

I definitely took notes on this one. Lol

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[Hachimo]

I keep a journal for hunting and another for ice fishing. Just haven't gotten around to getting a nice one for the boat.  It will happen thou. Lol

[jimski2]

I keep a journal for hunting and another for ice fishing. Just haven't gotten around to getting a nice one for the boat.  It will happen thou. Lol

One day off the Burlington Bridge with prevailing SW winds, crystal clear water was on the surface. A cold water upwelling. A few miles east green water met the clear water. Plankton rich warm water with plenty of baitfish present. We set lines about a half mile inside the green water and the best fishing of our lives happened.


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