When will your lake turn over this year? Will it come early or latter? Will it be from lack of rain or hot temperatures? Is the fishing better ,or worse?
Unless it's deep enough to develop a thermocline, it does'nt turn over.
turn over occurs when the warmer water on the surface which is lighter cools and sinks mixing with the colder water below. My lake usually turns in late october early november. I have been here for 26 years and you notice a difference in how the water looks. There will be small waves when there is little or no wind. Great thing is it does not seem to hurt the fishing. The best days are late fall when the water cools off and the Yahoos take there big boats out.
Here is the fancy answer. I like (Limnic Eruption).
There actually exists a process known as Lake Turnover and an event known as Lake Overturn (Limnic Eruption).
The first, known as lake turnover occurs on many large and/or deep bodies of water. As air temperatures drop so does the water temperature of the upper layers of a body of water. As these upper layers cool they become denser and heavier. Eventually they become cold enough and heavy enough to the point they begin to sink. As this heavy dense layer sinks it displaces the water at the lake bottom forcing the lower layers to the surface. It is the unique properties of the water molecule which causes water to contract down to 40 degrees F and then to begin expanding at 39 degrees F to 32 degrees F that makes this process possible without freezing the lake through.
The second, known as lake overturn is also known as limnic eruption and, by all accounts, is much more rare and can be deadly. Limnic eruption occurs when a layer of carbon dioxide rich water at the bottom of a deep body of water is displaced or disturbed and rises rapidly and erupts from the surface releasing the gas into the atmosphere. These eruptions have been identified as the cause of mass death events in villages at Lake Nyos in Cameroon, Africa when these areas were overcome with the heavier-than-air carbon dioxide resulting in the suffocation of those close to the ground or unable to flee. As currently understood, carbon dioxide rich springs seep into the lake bottom and over time a thick layer of this carbon dioxide builds up in the lower portion of the lake. Pressure from the upper layers of water keeps the gases from escaping to the surface similar to how the cap on a bottle of soda water keeps the gases from escaping. This gaseous layer continues to build until it is displaced, perhaps by vulcanism, seismic activity or landslides. When any of these events occur and bring the carbon dioxide rich bottom lake layer to the top of the lake you have what is know as lake turnover
Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_a_lake_turnover#ixzz26fha3Lpj
That was a heck of an explanation. Learn something new everyday.
Ahh,flashbacks of science class. Great explanation dartag. Very interesting reading
The water temp of the lake I fished at yesterday was 63, so it has a ways to go to get to the 40s. Dropped about 4 degrees over the last week. So turnover will be around the end of October or so...
Just took my thermometer out of the lake and it was 41 degrees. even a couple little ice burgs floating around from shore ice. Lake should be in its final stages of turn over now. Won't be long till hard water is here.
Hunt camp is in Kalkaska County, right across 612 from Mannistee Lake. Most lakes up there were frozen over with a thin layer of ice, opening day. Fishing that week was a no go on the lakes. From shore anyway. Saw a couple guys in a boat fishing for gills, they crunched through the shore ice and made it to open water.