How Does Wind Direction Affect Eastern Basin

[Shorthanded]

How Does Wind Direction Affect Eastern Basin

Interested in hearing from a walleye fishing perspective

[mostlymuskies]

Give this one a good read:
http://larrysfishinghole.com/BelieveIn.html

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[kingfisher72]

How far down the rabbit hole do you want to go? lol....

I'm fascinated by limnology and could ramble on for hours.  Water like any fluid is in constant motion even when it appears to be for all intents and purposes "still". 

This is a good read and discusses some generalities of how water moves through Lake Erie.  The LE Gyre is what our summer time Eastern basin fish "ride" back East after they spawn to the west.  The predominate  west/southwest winds magnify the current and Northeast winds tend to disrupt it.  This current is driven by how the lake warms in the spring (west to east and shoreline out).  Too much NE winds will slow the warming lake and delay that summer pattern.

https://www.glerl.noaa.gov/pubs/fulltext/1999/19990004.pdf

Once the thermocline sets up, things are more stable, but winds can cause reverse submarine currents which mess with a bait's action at depth as it is trolled along.  A thermocline can bend and change depth after strong winds.  The depth you caught fish at before the blow could be drastically different temperature and void of fish after. 

This infish article is also worth reading on the topic....

http://www.in-fisherman.com/walleye/principles-of-wind-and-walleyes/

 

 

[Dmd113]

Interesting

[Puking Dog]

It's been my experience that if the wind is blowing out of the north or north east, you won't catch fish. I fish out of Dunkirk or Barcelona or Sturgeon point or the Catt creek. If it's blowin out of  Canada, you are better off launching in Buffalo. At least the waves won't beat the hell out of you. The further West you launch, the bigger the waves. Buffalo fish seem to disappear when the lake temp gets too high because it's so shallow up there so I try to fish just off the Canadian line when the water temp gets to high near the shallows. Lake O also generally sucks in in a NE wind. And the weather man will always tell you the wind speed is half out what it really is on the lake. Try to look up an off shore bouy before leaving home but it will always get worse by the time you get out off shore. I most always fish out of Wilson when on Ontario, but Olcott is a nice port too.

Edited April 9, 2017 by Puking Dog

[jimski2]

In the spring, steady SW winds stack warmer water in the Buffalo area. The fish turn on. Off shore winds blow the warm waters away and cold deep water up wells slowing and shutting off the fish. When summer conditions raise the temperature above the mid 60's the fish move west of Sturgeon Point and as summer continues they will move past Silver Creek. A thermocline forms and that cold water has low dissolved oxygen contact and the fish suspend above it. Come September and the water cools down the fish will return to the East end again till next summer.


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[J. Sparrow]

On 4/1/2017 at 10:11 AM, jimski2 said:

A thermocline forms and that cold water has low dissolved oxygen contact and the fish suspend above it. 

Colder water holds more dissolved O2 than warmer water.  

[kingfisher72]

9 hours ago, J. Sparrow said:

Colder water holds more dissolved O2 than warmer water.  

Aye, it does but Jimski said "contact" with DO or essentially mixing with the air.  The thermocline forms a density barrier which prevents layers below from mixing with layers above, thus no further inputs of oxygen.  In a relatively shallow lake like Erie, there is a minimal volume of water between the thermocline and bottom.  Especially East of Sturgeon Point.  Nutrients dissolving in bottom waters consume oxygen.  Leading to anoxic conditions below the thermocline...ie, a dead zone.   A deeper lake such as Michigan or Ontario has more volume below the thermocline and can "eat" more nutrients than Erie can. 

Edited April 8, 2017 by kingfisher72
Spelling

[J. Sparrow]

Ok..... I see that..... but I didn't realize there were hypoxic zones(DO<2mg/L) east of Presque Isle.......all the maps I've seen are a central basin phenomenon, roughly Cleveland to Conneaut. 

http://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/visions/ocean_research/image2.html

 

Edited April 9, 2017 by J. Sparrow

[kingfisher72]

I've never boat fished up at that end of the lake so I can't say from personal experience with regard to the thermocline.  I was speaking more generally why oxygen could be low below the thermocline.  I don't know to what degree walleye would be stressed enough by lack of oxygen to go outside their preferred temperature or feed less.  I see a 50% or so decline in that graphic over the course of that year in some places in the eastern basin.  Looks like the biggest change in the eastern basin is east of Sturgeon Point.  Some of that is probably shallow enough over there to be above the thermocline in late August or September though, so it may just be the water temperature at the bottom being warm.  Can't say. 

Walleye should be at or above the thermocline in most instances.  Oxygen concentrations below the thermocline would be more relevant to lake trout fishing.  You could almost label that September image "Lake Trout Hot Spot" instead.

[allcode]

On 3/28/2017 at 10:18 AM, kingfisher72 said:

How far down the rabbit hole do you want to go? lol....

Once the thermocline sets up, things are more stable, but winds can cause reverse submarine currents which mess with a bait's action at depth as it is trolled along.  A thermocline can bend and change depth after strong winds.  The depth you caught fish at before the blow could be drastically different temperature and void of fish after. 

This infish article is also worth reading on the topic....

https://nouw.com/rabattkodse

 

 

Grateful fot the article.

[Jimdski]

Early Spring SW winds blow warmer surface waters to our near areas Walleye and Perch spawn around 52 degree surface waters in our bays and shoreline areas. Rocky and gravel grounds are the main attractions here. Hard bottoms keep the eggs aerated to hatch.

[Jimdski]

For fourteen years I worked gill nets mainly for walleyes in the eastern basin of Lake Erie. After 65 degree surface water temperature the walleyes  moved west of Sturgeon Point. The White Dunkirk Fish Tug moved from the eastern basin after the July Fourth, Then it picked up and went off shore of Dunkirk to fish for perch and walleyes there. After the "hook and liners"  influenced the regulations to regulate American fishermen and processors out of their jobs, the Canadian industries assumed the harvest and processing business. During the Depression Lake Erie fed a lot of families here. My Grandfather left home at 5:00 AM daily to fish for the local markets.

[Jimdski]

Decaying biologics, plankton, fish, plants consume the oxygen on the lake bottom and the thriving walleyes, etc. will suspend above the low oxygen areas.