# Strange satalite image



## Jim Stedke (Dec 5, 2005)

I fished w/ Offshore 24 on Sat. We were surprised by dirty water out by the buoy and couldn't get bit untilwe found some cleaner water to the NE.

I had not considered the possibilities of dirty water and hadn't check the satalite, so I checked it when I got home, and found a unique pattern of dirty water. Frankly I can't figure out why it was the way it was.

Check it out.


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## bttmline (Apr 7, 2004)

what is the website for live satalite pics??


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## Wishin4Fishin (Feb 24, 2011)

bttmline said:


> what is the website for live satalite pics??



http://coastwatch.glerl.noaa.gov/modis/modis.php?region=e&page=1



Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


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## seahawk (Aug 1, 2008)

it looks like Jesus!


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## Jim Stedke (Dec 5, 2005)

They aren't live the time is stated.


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## Wishin4Fishin (Feb 24, 2011)

Jim Stedke said:


> I fished w/ Offshore 24 on Sat. We were surprised by dirty water out by the buoy and couldn't get bit untilwe found some cleaner water to the NE.
> 
> I had not considered the possibilities of dirty water and hadn't check the satalite, so I checked it when I got home, and found a unique pattern of dirty water. Frankly I can't figure out why it was the way it was.
> 
> Check it out.


Jim,

Do you have any thoughts on this? I saw your post last night and was quite interested to read today what people thought but it's been pretty quiet.....

Justin


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## Jim Stedke (Dec 5, 2005)

Justin, It's all a function of currents. That's the interesting part of the satalite images. You can see how the dirty water gets pulled from it's origin to other parts of the lake. And if you look closely you can see eddies where structure interrupts these flows. In the center of the eddie is where walleyes can hold and let the current bring prey to them. I'm sure that hump in the dirty water just before it turns South is the N end of the bar (the weather buoy), and the funny bowl is where the current is stopped by an appossing current, so to me the 2 places to fish would be at the edge of the hump, (which is where I think we were), or down beside the bowl,in clean water. Good fishing, Jim


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## Wishin4Fishin (Feb 24, 2011)

Jim Stedke said:


> Justin, It's all a function of currents. That's the interesting part of the satalite images. You can see how the dirty water gets pulled from it's origin to other parts of the lake. And if you look closely you can see eddies where structure interrupts these flows. In the center of the eddie is where walleyes can hold and let the current bring prey to them. I'm sure that hump in the dirty water just before it turns South is the N end of the bar (the weather buoy), and the funny bowl is where the current is stopped by an appossing current, so to me the 2 places to fish would be at the edge of the hump, (which is where I think we were), or down beside the bowl,in clean water. Good fishing, Jim


Pretty much what I had in mind. I've done a fair amount of offshore saltwater fishing (my dad lives and has a boat on the texas coast) and the offshore guys use satellite imagery religously. They pay good money for subscriptions to sites that offer the imagery and altimetry. It allows them to see current breaks/temperature breaks/color changes from their computer screen without having to run all over the ocean burning diesel fuel searching for such "structure." I assume the currents and breaks in Lake Erie are similar, I'm just not familar with them yet.


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## chromesteelhead (Mar 25, 2009)

Good stuff gentleman!! I can feel myself learning something new right now.


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## FISHIN 2 (Jun 22, 2005)

Those satellite pics work real good when clear out. Kinda tough to use when you have 3 days of cloudy overcast and want to fish on day 4. Oh well, use em when ya can get em. !!!


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## Fish Commish (Sep 8, 2006)

I agree the currents move the sediment from the humps, dumping grounds or shallow area to another. Some of that sediment is dumped by the dredging company working the mouth of Lorain Harbor this week. The barge made a big loop around me Sunday and dumped a load just north of 31 line on the dumping grounds. It created a big cloud in the water north of where I was trolling. Fished the edge of the cloud but the 2 ft clarity did not produce any walleye.


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## Rod Holder (Jul 30, 2011)

In yesterday's picture at 18:28 GMT, which was pretty much clear of cloud cover, the western and central basins were still pretty turbid compared to the eastern part of the lake. I hadn't thought that there had been enough rain to swell the Maumee and Sandusky Rivers to bring in so much mud. It's been horrendously dry here in Indiana with some northern county exceptions. Any thoughts on where this mud is coming from? I could be wrong about rain over your way.


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## ErieGoldSportfishing (Feb 5, 2009)

I have a hunch some of the the mud may have washed down the clay bluffs on the Canadian side and followed the heavy NE winds all the way along Pt Pelee until the Detroit river currents pushed it back to the SE. Looking at the coastwatch views that's what it looked like. I do know that the shoreline along the east side of the point is sand and stone so it had to come from east of Wheatley where the high clay bluffs are. We were steelhead fishing out of Wheatley and noticed thousands of what appeared to be dead zebra mussels floating about 3 miles from the clay bluffs out on the lake. At least I think they were dead because the shells were closed and they were floating due to gas from decomposition. It almost resembled the mayfly carcass rows we see in June. I'm guessing they were blown loose along with plenty of mud from the northern shore and when the winds turned to the SW Sunday it started blowing the mussels back up along the north shore.

Just a thought.


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## RODSABENDIN (Feb 27, 2007)

Most of the Muddy water came from winds and not rain. We get a good soaking but the rivers are not high and muddy.


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## Tightlines (Jun 29, 2012)

Mud? Sediment? Turbid? This looks pretty good compared to last year!


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## Hardtop (Nov 24, 2004)

Whats up with the light blue/green color pattern after the little NE blow last weekend..? What does the water actually look like over the side of the boat.....? Never seen this color from overhead, usually more "mud" brown when stirred up. Is this possibly the beginning of the dreaded algae bloom of 2012.....?


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## Carpman (May 18, 2005)

It's the start of the bloom......only going to get worse now.


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## Bobinstow90 (Apr 13, 2006)

Hardtop might be on it. Was out 10 days ago N of the Lorain dump and saw a lot of greenish sediment in otherwise fairly clear water. Wondered at the time if it was the beginning of a bloom.

All blooms are not equal. If it's a bloom, lets hope it's not like 2011.


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## Jim Stedke (Dec 5, 2005)

On the water it looked like the water around the reefs in the Spring. Nothing that looked at all like an algae bloom. There is lees than 10% of that stuff according to Travis.

It was all the mud last spring that got that stuff started, along with the manure.


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## joewallguy (Jan 18, 2008)

I saw a batch of the green soup 2 weeks ago about 5 miles north of Vermilion. Have not seen it since??? Also was wondering, guy who was steelie fishing wheatley area, how is the steelhead action over there rigt now..?


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## hageman.2 (Jan 8, 2008)

My cousin fished Wheatley this weekend and he said one of the days he brought in 2 out of the 4 fish seen come in that day to an overflowing parking lot full of boat trailers.....


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## joewallguy (Jan 18, 2008)

Hummm. Bummer. Thanks


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## hageman.2 (Jan 8, 2008)

My impression is that if the the dirty water was a yellow-brown color (diatom algae) it was from a recent upwelling of cold, anoxic (oxygen depleted) water forced up from below the thermocline. That would explain the dead mussels which get trapped in cold anoxic water that infiltrates the nearshore zone which also killed a bunch of fish (mostly drum and gobies) along the NY and PA shoreline during the same time frame you are referring to......


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## Jim Stedke (Dec 5, 2005)

John, Something is out of kelter, with the steelhead not being where they normally are.
Your explanation seems to make as much or more sense than anything else I heard (or thought). 

Interesting explanation. later Jim


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## c. j. stone (Sep 24, 2006)

James-Maybe the Canadian commercial fleet has already "harvested" the brunt of them since the seasonal temperature changes occurred two to three weeks early this year, and the rod fishermen are still on past, historical schedules. I see lots of them at Giant Eagle, ready to smoke, fry, or whatever!


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