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Author Topic: can someone explain lake turnover?  (Read 6232 times)

prm

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can someone explain lake turnover?
« on: Jul 21, 2010, 06:22 PM »
what exactly does it mean? i understand it has something to do with temperature from bottom to top, wind etc. does it replenish the lake with oxygen? does it typically happen only in spring and fall, or when the temperature reaches a certain level? is it harder to fish while it is turning over because of lower oxygen levels? or poor visibility? and more importantly IS THIS WHY I COULDNT CATCH A THING AT BOYSEN LAST WEEKEND? well, lol, thats the excuse i'm using!
thanks,
Paul

Trogdor

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Re: can someone explain lake turnover?
« Reply #1 on: Jul 21, 2010, 06:42 PM »
Sorry, but turnover isn't a valid excuse for you lack of success at Boysen. The fish are just scared of you I bet.  ;D

Turnover happens in fall. Water is an interesting thing. It is its most dense right before it freezes. So what happens is that the surface water cools to the point that it is colder that the water below. The thermocline breaks down and the surface water sinks and the warmer water below comes up. The deeper parts of lakes are now more oxygenated than before.

Some fishermen swear that it shuts down fishing hard, but the process is so gradual it really doesnt affect them too much. In fall the fish are eating a lot so if anything it wouldnt hurt to check deeper water since it is nice and oxygenated after turnover

taxid

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Re: can someone explain lake turnover?
« Reply #2 on: Jul 21, 2010, 06:56 PM »
Actually lake turn over also occurs in the early spring (due to warming of the surface water) and can occur even in summer in shallow bodies of water such as ponds if their is a cool thunderstorm.

It's a natural process and only effects fishing if the turnover brings up anoxic water when a body of water destratifies. If there is enough anoxic water, and it's brought up quickly you can have a fish kill. This is usually more prevalent though  in old ponds with heavy nutrient loads.

I've seen turn over shut fishing down in a local deep lake (102 feet) due to a large column of water devoid of oxygen suddenly coming up in the fall.



“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are genuine.” —Abraham Lincoln

fishermantim4

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Re: can someone explain lake turnover?
« Reply #3 on: Jul 21, 2010, 07:46 PM »
lake turn overs can be the best thing for the lake, then stir up the settled out nutrients that feed the food chains for the lake. i've never noticed that turn over shuts down a lake. what were the other factors you might have been missing. was pressure dropping/ rising, was it sunny, when was last storm, what part of the moon cycle were you in? all those come into play.
"there's no fish in this ditch!"

greensider

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Re: can someone explain lake turnover?
« Reply #4 on: Jul 21, 2010, 07:52 PM »
had my worst days of fishing when a lake is turning over

dirtofak

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Re: can someone explain lake turnover?
« Reply #5 on: Jul 22, 2010, 04:12 AM »
Here are some videos and info on water and how it works;

http://www.waterontheweb.org/under/lakeecology/movie1.html

Add in security, food source, temperature, structure etc......

Here is a nice source of info on turnover.

http://www.waterontheweb.org/under/lakeecology/05_stratification.html

Mike

bbkyle35

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Re: can someone explain lake turnover?
« Reply #6 on: Jul 27, 2010, 02:49 AM »
I think turnover being associated with bad fishing is because there is a major change in their habitat. The water temperature changes, the wate clarity changes, and suddenly the oxygen poor areas in deep water are suddenly available to them to spread out. Once the turnover has been over for a time, then the classic fall patterns start and great fishing happens.

As for what you had happen at Boysen, it was because of the wind not turnover. Being out there the majority of the week all summer, one really windy night stirs up algae and sediment and the water is fairly dingy the next day. Then give it a day or two to settle out and the water is clear again.  You might also want to consider the thermocline. Most fish are going to be above a certain depth.
Vegetarians are cool. All I eat are vegetarians - except for the occasional mountain lion steak. ~Ted Nugent

taxid

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Re: can someone explain lake turnover?
« Reply #7 on: Jul 27, 2010, 09:59 AM »
I think turnover being associated with bad fishing is because there is a major change in their habitat. The water temperature changes, the wate clarity changes, and suddenly the oxygen poor areas in deep water are suddenly available to them to spread out. Once the turnover has been over for a time, then the classic fall patterns start and great fishing happens.

Bingo!  As a biologist I can tell you, you hit the nail right on the head!
“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are genuine.” —Abraham Lincoln

Dorado

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Re: can someone explain lake turnover?
« Reply #8 on: Jul 27, 2010, 02:41 PM »

Turnover happens in fall. Water is an interesting thing. It is its most dense right before it freezes.

Actually what makes water such a weird compound is that it is NOT most dense at temperatures just above freezing, but rather at 39 degrees Fahrenheit  ???

This is why the coldest water in a lake is near the surface in the winter, and lakes can get a thin layer of insulating ice.  If it was most dense just above freezing, lakes could not freeze from the top down, since the coldest water would always be at the bottom of the lake....

This truly strange characteristic is unique to water, and it is what prevents lakes from turning into solid, lifeless ice cubes.

Turnover is different depending on lattitude, elevation and depth, but in Wyoming it generally occurs twice a year when the water is all the same density (at 39 degrees).  This usually occurs a few weeks after ice out in the spring and again in fall when the water reaches a uniform temprature and mix with wind or water currents.

So if you got skunked in the last few weeks you can't blame it on turnover!!


prm

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Re: can someone explain lake turnover?
« Reply #9 on: Jul 29, 2010, 03:53 PM »
thank you all for the info!
sounds like i just needed to change depths/colors/ etc. until i found some fish. it was pretty windy and choppy the day before.
but what about catfish, we fished all night with shrimp and didnt catch a thing, we were at what seemed to be a popular cat spot and as far as i could tell no one caught anything...maybe the cats were hanging out in deeper water with it being all crappy near the surface?
again thanks for clarifying what turnover is and what i had was probably just due to crappy weather! either way, next time i will be thinking about how the fish's habitat may have changed and where they might be!





taxid

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Re: can someone explain lake turnover?
« Reply #10 on: Jul 30, 2010, 02:48 PM »


Turnover is different depending on lattitude, elevation and depth, but in Wyoming it generally occurs twice a year when the water is all the same density (at 39 degrees).  This usually occurs a few weeks after ice out in the spring and again in fall when the water reaches a uniform temprature and mix with wind or water currents.



Hmmm... there must be an echo in here.  :D
“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are genuine.” —Abraham Lincoln

 



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