TURNOVER BEGINS:

As all of you that fished Fayette between October the 11th and December the 15th know, fishing was horrible! This period marked the beginning and the end of an unusually long turnover! Fayette turnovers usually last two to three weeks not over two months! Catches ranged from 0 to maybe 10 fish on a good day. The average was about 5 fish for an all day trip. Not only was it slow but there was no pattern to success other than throwing your arm off with a crankbait!

WHY SO LONG:

The annual turnover is common for almost all lakes in the country. At Fayette it generally occurs in October. The hot days coupled with the hot water discharge cause the upper waters to become very warm. The first blast of cold weather occured on October the 11th illustrated in the diagram below. The cold air cooled the hot surface water enough to increase the upper water density causing it to sink down and mix with the lower water. This results in the transfer of nutrients from the hypoliminum (lower water) to the epilimnion(upper water).

ALGAE BLOOM:

Nutrients in combination with higher irradiance, rising water temperature and reduced turbulence enable photoautotrophic organisms (algae) to develop massive populations, so called algae blooms. The dark green upper layer of water present throughout the turnover cycle was indeed an algae bloom. Algae blooms can use up dissolved oxygen in the water in addition to releasing harmful toxins resulting in fish kills. We saw this at Fayette, however as in previous years the number of fish lost represented only a very small percentage of the lake’s fish population. So why did the effects of the turnover last so long?

WARM SUNNY WEATHER:

Following the initial blast of cold air the weather was on a rollercoaster. Lower evening temperatures were offset by unusually warm and sunny non turbulent days, just what the algae needed to continue blooming. The end result was to exacerbate the turnover cycle leaving it in limbo while continuing to feed the algae bloom impeding a rebalancing of the dissolved oxygen and limiting the water clarity to a meesely 7 inches at best! . What we needed was a period of strong cold winds creating turbulence coupled with cloudy days and some good ol super cold weather. This would complete the turnover cycle, get rid of the algae, increase the dissolved oxygen and clear up the water!

BRING IT ON:

Finally a real cold front. December the 15th produced sustained 25 plus mph winds prior to an extended cold blast of air with temperatures down to the low 30S!! Just what the doctor ordered!! I left my home for the lake on December the 21st telling my wife I was going to catch a 20 pound bag today!! She laughed knowing that for the last two months I could hardly catch a cold. As soon as I got to Oak Thicket and saw the lake bottom 2 feet deep below the dock I knew it was on!! The strong winds and cold air had done its job. The diagram and facebook link below tell the rest of the story. The 2019 turnover over and the fishing was on!!