best digital river thermometers?

[PaScoGi]

my old eyes can read my standard thermometer that i always carry. anyone got a good digital recommendation, preferably with large numbers? i saw fishpond sells one but im always skeptical & like asking recommendations before buying. thanks for any help!

 

[Bamboozle]

I don't know about river thermometers, but all of thermometers I use come from ThermoWorks.

Tip - I still use a Fish Pond Swift regular thermometer because they are small and hassle free meaning no batteries.

The ONLY reason I carry a stream thermometer is to keep an eye on temps in the summer so I used a paint marker and put a bright yellow dot at 65 degrees so I can see in an instant if I need to worry.

Works like a charm and no numbers to read!!

 

[Cebe]

Infrared Laser Thermometer

Amazing deals on this Laser Sight Infrared Thermometer at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

Here is the one I have been using for the past ten years.

 

[wildtrout2]

Tip - I still use a Fish Pond Swift regular thermometer because they are small and hassle free meaning no batteries.

That's what I've used for years, I just need to stop leaving them in the creek.

 

[Bamboozle]

That's what I've used for years, I just need to stop leaving them in the creek.

I'm a moron so for decades I've had a length of thin cord attached to my thermometers with a swivel and the cord is attached to the pouch where I store the thermometer. I keep the cord wrapped around the thermometer case secured with two O-rings (that's the reason for the swivel).

When I want to take a temp I unwrap the cord, lower the thermometer into the stream and I haven't left one behind since...

 

[wildtrout2]

I'm a moron so for decades I've had a length of thin cord attached to my thermometers with a swivel and the cord is attached to the pouch where I store the thermometer. I keep the cord wrapped around the thermometer case secured with two O-rings (that's the reason for the swivel).

When I want to take a temp I unwrap the cord, lower the thermometer into the stream and I haven't left one behind since...

I might have to go that route as well. I tried attaching a red fletching from one of my old arrows, so I could possibly see it better when I went back to look for it. Problem was, I'd often forget the last spot I took a temp.

 

[Bamboozle]

The cord I use is about 2mm in diameter so it is not bulky.

What I USED to do before I came up with the tether idea was to shove the thermometer into the neoprene guard sock I have between me and my wading shoe.

That obviously wasn't foolproof however or I wouldn't have found a need for a tether...

 

[discomidge]

I'm a big fan of the waterproof digital cooking thermometer I got on Amazon a while back. Best thing about it is that it takes a reading nearly instantaneously. Cheap too.

 

[Swattie87]

I have the old school kind in my fishing pack, for space/weight reasons.

But, ThermoPro makes really nice stuff. Bought one of their IR “gun style” (can I say that?) ones to troubleshoot some a/c problems I was having a couple years ago. Keep it in the kitchen, use it all the time now for all kinds of stuff. Got a flat top griddle for over my gas stove for Christmas, it’s invaluable for that.

 

[Vtsalmon]

I use a digital thermometer that I got from Snap-on . Was originally going to use it at work for temping ac systems, until I realized it was perfect for fishing .

 

[DaveKile]

I will never get a traditional analog thermometer again. A bubble always seems to show up and screw up the measurement. I was considering purchasing another of the same meat thermometers I use at home.

https://a.co/d/3Vjiifl

 

[Cebe]

Infrared Laser Thermometer

Amazing deals on this Laser Sight Infrared Thermometer at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

Here is the one I have been using for the past ten years.

This one is small, about two and a half inches long (about the size of a car key fob) but it can measure at a distance. You can stand on a bridge, point at the water and get an instant reading. I also use it to point at spots near the bank to identify cold springs seeping into the stream.
It beats waiting for a glass thermometer to dip into the water and I found it much more accurate. For $11 each I bought three of them and keep one in each of my fishing bags.

 

[mt_flyfisher]

When I spent the entire summer on the Yellowstone River, and often floated the Yellowstone and other rivers in my boat, when size and weight were not a major consideration, I used a very nice, but expensive, Fluke infrared digital thermometer. It was fun to use, and almost like shooting a handgun, to point it, pull the trigger, and instantly get a digital reading of the surface water temperature from virtually any place across the river. It was also surprising to see how much that temperature varied, some times as much as 5°-10°.

At home today I have a Thermapen One that I use to take water temperatures for making my coffee. It is almost instant, accurate, and waterproof according to the company, Thermoworks. It’s similar in appearance to the one @Vtsalmon mentioned previously. You could use this to get stream water temperatures near the surface, but they’re not going to give you accurate temperatures subsurface if that’s important to you.

 

[JeffK]

I am a Thermoworks fan - they make professional grade thermometers that I appreciate as an engineer. They are also great to work with. Order with them not Amazon etc because of copies.

I use this https://www.thermoworks.com/ir-pocket-20/ because it is tiny and inexpensive. Used to use one with metal probe for decades, but really appreciate non-contact IR thermometer.

 

[NetWork]

I am a Thermoworks fan - they make professional grade thermometers that I appreciate as an engineer. They are also great to work with. Order with them not Amazon etc because of copies.

I use this https://www.thermoworks.com/ir-pocket-20/ because it is tiny and inexpensive. Used to use one with metal probe for decades, but really appreciate non-contact IR thermometer.

I use this thermometer as well and really like it.

 

[chief17]

I'm another Thermoworks junkie. I keep a dash mini in my waders:

DASH™ Thermometer

Specializing in cool, unique and professional temperature tools. Super-Fast thermocouples, thermistors, infrared thermometers, data logging and more.

www.thermoworks.com

 

[ryansheehan]

I'm another Thermoworks junkie. I keep a dash mini in my waders:

DASH™ Thermometer

Specializing in cool, unique and professional temperature tools. Super-Fast thermocouples, thermistors, infrared thermometers, data logging and more.

www.thermoworks.com

Just ordered one, thanks!

 

[bringthepain]

I am a Thermoworks fan - they make professional grade thermometers that I appreciate as an engineer. They are also great to work with. Order with them not Amazon etc because of copies.

I use this https://www.thermoworks.com/ir-pocket-20/ because it is tiny and inexpensive. Used to use one with metal probe for decades, but really appreciate non-contact IR thermometer.

I have one of these and wrote it off as junk when it was giving readings that were 15 degrees off from a traditional dip thermometer that a buddy had. Maybe i just need to put some quality batteries in it...

 

[Swattie87]

I have one of these and wrote it off as junk when it was giving readings that were 15 degrees off from a traditional dip thermometer that a buddy had. Maybe i just need to put some quality batteries in it...

Just as possible his thermometer was screwed up. Always test with a glass of ice water. You should get a reading of about 32-34 deg. If you’re +/- a degree or two from that you’re fine.

 

[chief17]

I have one of these and wrote it off as junk when it was giving readings that were 15 degrees off from a traditional dip thermometer that a buddy had. Maybe i just need to put some quality batteries in it...

Was it sunny out that particular day? IR thermometers just read the surface of the water and don't really penetrate into the column. I wonder if sunlight reflecting off of the surface could skew the readings? I briefly considered an IR when I got my Dash Mini. I started to look into it and decided I didn't want to re-learn physics/optics so just got the little probe guy and measure temp directly.