Has anyone been checking their ponds lately?

Just curious what the temps are.

I am in N.E. Oklahoma and hope to get out today to check but my not make it.

Wanting to stock Tilapia and curious if anyone out here has stocked this year and where you are located and what the temps are.

Thanks

I live in Southern Indiana on the Ohio River. I have found that our lake temp runs pretty close to the temp in Kentucky Lake. Both Kentucky and Barkley Lake are 68 degrees up here. You may check the temps in bodys of water around you. I would bet they are close also.

I live in NE Indiana and have a 1/4 acre 12' deep pond. Temp @ 1' is 72, was 74 yesterday but we had a cold front come through and dropped it 2 overnight.

Checked it about 2 hours ago, 62. I'm in southwest michigan

I live in E.C. Indiana, and checking at 5:30 AM this morning my one 1 acre 10 feet deep pond was 63 degree, and the air temp was 40. I could only find a big outdoor thermometer so these measurements may not be that accurate. I was dressed in winter clothes for the 600 foot walk to the pond. Cold!

Surface temp.at 6.00p.m. today was 59.9. Quite a change from early last week of 74.1. Fish still feeding,only much slower.

Thanks for the update, if I get out this weekend I think I will grab a pool thermometer and try my best to test the water.

Should I do it in 1-2 foot increments down to a max depth?

I've never worried about anything deeper than 5 ft. That's where my thermocline usually hangs out.

How deep is your pond?

Well, that all depends on the weather. It started out at about 15 ft. I'm sure some sand washed in and that could lessen it by a foot. Then, we haven't had(as usual) really good rains so I'm down about another 5 ft. No matter what the depth, my feet get cold and I'm 6 ft tall. Thus, I figure a 5 ft thermocline.

that is crazy. I have yet to get into my ponds I wonder if I have a thermocline?

Do you have any colder water fish then?

Colder water below the thermocline soon after stratifying looses its dissolved oxygen. Thus in almost all ponds and very rarely are there any fish in this colder water. Exceptions do occur, but rarely in ponds. It is more likely to occur in a quarry with vertical sides.

If your pond is over 6 to 7 or so ft. I expect you have a thermocline. And, as Bill says, there is very little oxygen so the fish don't stay there that much. They might go there but will have to move in and out of it.

Could be a reason for not catching much on the bottom. How often do you think CC hang out on the bottom? It seems you are always taught as a kid to tight line for catfish on the bottom.

I may need to change my strategy to cat some of my CC.

Any ideas?

By the way my pond was 77 degrees.