Texas Hunter has recently announced a new line of artificial fish structures, including 30 inch wide green lily pads. These are touted as shallow water attractants, as they provide shade & cooler water.
The shade is beyond question. But is it really cooler?
Yeah, I know: Shaded water, all other things being equal, is cooler than unshaded. But note that all other things are NOT equal in this case! The green artificial pad absorbs the sun's heat, perhaps more than the surrounding bottom. If it passes along that extra heat to the water, perhaps it causes more warming, not less.
The genesis for this question is that I once did a bit of research on the impact of water hyacinths in my favorite fishery. I was quite surprised to discover that, despite shading the water, they absorbed so much heat that water temps under them actually increased. Could this be true in this instance?
