MT's tip about line counter reels got me thinking about a better way for me to locate deep water fish like Lakers and Walleye in the summer or at least to get a better sense of optimal trolling depth.  I would like to find some kind of fishing thermometer - a device that I could attach to my line and lower down to take temperature readings at various depths (a digital read out would be best.)  I don't use a depth finder and don't plan to but does anyone know of some kind of small device that would work for my purposes.  I've tried Googling fishing thermometers but haven't found anything that looks very promising.

Something far easier would be find a "rule of thumb" for guesstimating the temps through the water column based on surface temp - if someone can answer that I'll be happy.

The best fishing thermometer has a nasty set of trebles. ;)

I have one of   (You need to Login or Register, but it only gets you down to about 20 feet (and you'd need a weight to get the sensor down that far).

dd

Not digital, but cheap and accurate enough to get the job done.
I bought it on a whim years ago, but since I'm not a dedicated fisherman, I only brought it once just to see how it worked.

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[quote author=solotripper link=1355967711/4#4 date=1356005344]Not digital, but cheap and accurate enough to get the job done.
I bought it on a whim years ago, but since I'm not a dedicated fisherman, I only brought it once just to see how it worked.

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Thanks, ST.  That might just do the trick.

I think I've found what I'm looking for.  It is expensive so I'll give it some thought but check it out:
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This is a pretty amazing little device - it takes temperature readings every 5 feet up to 300 feet.  When you haul it up it stores and digitally reads out the incremental data.  The video on the site is very cool and compelling.

About as far apart as you can get price/technicaly, but only you know if you'll use it enough justify the cost. :-/

thermometers can be a handy gadget but you can also employ your noogin. Early in the year just after ice out fish will seek warmth not only to find food that might be attracted by an increase in water temps but also to stimulate egg development.

Surprisingly enough shallow mud bottom bays especially those with emergent timber in the water can hold some of the biggest female walleyes very early on. Small safety pin spinners and original rapalas cast in water as shallow as three feet can take them. Concentrate on any standing timber as the log grabs the suns rays and the water immediately around the timber will be warmer. This pattern happens usually within a few weeks after ice out......very early. I hit on it while casting for largemouth bass and was rewarded with some very big walleyes........since then I have seen it repeated by some pros........

Later on I would focus more on light penetration than actual water temps in canoe country. Clear water usually equals deeper fish. If the water is stained (think lake Conmee) then the fish may reside shallower even during the day.

But since I have never really spent much time tracking water temps  in correlation to fish location except early in the year I might be off base and in need of some furthering education......always more to learn isn't there? 

I would probably use this device for locating Walleye but mostly its about Lakers.  There's a lot of trout in WCPP which has become my haunt.  Last summer I caught quite a few 6 pounders so I can't complain.  But it all seemed pretty hit and miss.  I'd figure, it's summer so they must be down 60 feet or so.  So that's a guess.  Then I'd tie on a 3 oz weight figuring that would get me down there.  And that's another couple of guesses.  But if I know that Lakers like the water between 48 and 53 degrees and I can locate those temps.  And if I can determine where my baits are then I've put myself in a position to catch some fish based on something more than hunches and dumb luck.  Although truth be told, in most of the lakes in WCPP, the fish are so dumb that hunches and luck seem to be enough (evidently, because I'm catching fish.)

Kerry,
From your post, I think that $8.95 thermometer would do everything you want IF your just looking for temp/depth.
It would make a great stocking stuffer this X-Mas ;)

solotripper wrote on Dec 21^st, 2012 at 8:41pm:

Kerry, From your post, I think that $8.95 thermometer would do everything you want IF your just looking for temp/depth. It would make a great stocking stuffer this X-Mas ;)

Maybe so, ST, maybe so. But this is my thinking.  Theory says that Lakers, big Small-mouth, big Walleye and big Pike all follow schools of bait-fish and, in the Summer, often suspend in open water at their preferred temperatures close to the thermocline. 
Finding that depth is one thing, but knowing that your bait is running there is actually the biggest problem when trolling.
The Fish Hawk unit performs multiple tasks.  First, it records the temperature at multiple depths in one pass.  No futzing around trying to find the thermocline etc.  Second, and as important, is that you can attach it to wire, lead-core or a Dipsy-Diver (presumably it would work just as well with snap weights or 3-way swivelsl) and it will show you exactly what depth your bait is running at.  Now that's a real bonus!
Don't get me wrong.  I'm not trying to convince anyone else on this.  Right now I'm busy working on myself.  If I do pick one of these up I'll let you know its worth next September.

You know me Kerry......I love talkin fishin.  ;)

I learned a huge amount this past summer while on Basswood with my "ton" of tackle. Suffice to say I can do some "weeding" out.

Let me share some things which may or may not help you.......

I was surprised to find lakers in 30 ft on the bottom adjacent to deep water on a sloping breakline I would thought more suited to walleye including one laker at 15 lbs. They were not following schools of ciscos as I would of presumed.......(at least at that time)

I disliked using dipsys as they were a chore to pull and hung quite quickly as soon as they contacted bottom. I did catch some fish with them however.

I also pulled some in line weights which also tended to hang on bottom almost instantly upon contact with bottom.......not fun

What I did like to do was what I usually do....... pull crankbaits. This time however I used a linecounter reel and that was the single biggest advancement in terms of productivity and enjoyment that I found. With a little bit of experimenting I could find out EXACTLY how deep a lure was running. Let out 70' of line and lure "X" would bang bottom in 35'ft,.... adjust accordingly. This was very helpful.

One thing I did notice is how I tore the walleye up using mono on a reef and a week later using braid on the same reef with stable weather while marking fish I couldn't buy a strike. That in itself doesn't prove anything but my intention is to get the smallest line counter I can find and load it with 8ib mono and hope it doesn't get into the sides of the spool.

What was especially nice about the cranks is how snag resistant they really are........banging bottom is not usually a problem.

The only thing I truly regretted was not using the jigging spoons I brought.......I forgot. On the walleye reef I should of used them and on the smallys in 55 ft of water I REALLY should of broke them out, DUH! That probably would of been a riot since I was marking fish on the finder. What was I thinking.......?? Oh well, next time for sure. 

FWIW.......the night in August I spent on a sandbar next to the waters edge in WCPP after my knee broke was quite interesting......lots of humongous splashes from fish right outside my tent on the sloping sandbar......no smallies> had to be walleyes.

interesting thoughts on the thermometer. my fish locator/depth finder has a thermometer on it and i found it only slightly useful. its got a long enough cord on the transducer i can drop it down to the thermocline most of the time, but i think worrying about the exact depth/temp is getting a little too scientific for fishing. there is a time and place for science in terms of fishing but i think we have reached our peak in terms of that. knowing structure/time/temp/depth/feeding tendencies are all valuable bits of information but we are dealing with creatures with too many variables to be that precise. if it was up to me id spend that money on someone else, say a friends child/neice or nephew and get them hooked on fishing.

even just this last trip, my first with the fish locator, i found myself too entranced with the screen and not enjoying the outdoors enough. i got caught up in watching every bottom contour and fish i marked and i lost touch with what quetico is all about. the pristine beauty of nature and untouched wilderness. the vast endlessness of forest and water, only the sounds of the wind and water splashing on the rocks. i felt even the crackle of the fire was out of place up there. my next trip will probably be the most minimal ive done. just enough to survive

jaximus wrote on Dec 22^nd, 2012 at 1:35pm:

even just this last trip, my first with the fish locator, i found myself too entranced with the screen and not enjoying the outdoors enough. i got caught up in watching every bottom contour and fish i marked and i lost touch with what quetico is all about.

If one is not aware of it this very scenario can take place. I became aware of my propensity to have my eyes glued to a fishfinder from a friend.......we used to go to a fishcamp with a tin boat/motor up around Sioux Lookout Ontario every year......once while looking back through our pics we came across one of me while trolling.........Dan said, "that is how you looked every time I looked back".......what do you mean"......."well, you always had your eyes glued to the depth finder".........

Once you are aware that the pitfall is there it is easy enough to avoid. While I do dearly love to catch fish my depth finder is as much a "hassle eliminator" as a fish finder. I can happily troll along knowing my deep diver is trailing along out of harms way, be it a big log or a big rock pile. That way I can concentrate a bit more on my surroundings than constantly worrying about where my lure is. I go to canoe country to get away from hassles and complications and fishing can be prone to both if truth be told. The depth finder helps avoid both, preserving my blissful state  ;D  8-).........otherwise my nirvana is upset by the unexpected bending of my rod and another dadgummed snag  >:(

jaximus wrote on Dec 22^nd, 2012 at 1:35pm:

even just this last trip, my first with the fish locator, i found myself too entranced with the screen and not enjoying the outdoors enough. i got caught up in watching every bottom contour and fish i marked and i lost touch with what quetico is all about.

I had a friend who watched his GPS like that.

I saw a bear feeding on a dead moose once. I quietly turned the boat and slowly paddled toward it. He finally looked up to tell me I WAS OFF COURSE.  ;D