Thermometer?

[Steeltrap]

I don't own a thermometer that I carry when I go fishing. Just wondering what kind\brand\size of thermometer you guys who have them use.

Thanks!

 

[sgrim]

I'm using the same metal encased Orvis stream thermometer that I've had for 20+ years. It's about 4 inches long, with a metal clip like a ballpoint pen, I recently evaluated it against new electric cooking thermometer to see how close it measures up and found it was within 2 degrees.

 

[mt_flyfisher]

I’ve had a Hardy thermometer for many years. It is a beautiful brass cased thermometer that is no longer being sold as far as I know, except you can find them on eBay from time to time, selling for $50.00 or more. Yikes!

More recently, I acquired a Fluke infrared laser thermometer which is a bit pricey, but excellent. You can get water, or other item’s temperatures as quickly as you can point and squeeze the trigger. Another nice feature of it is that you can take water temperatures at a distance, such as in different places across the stream, which are often considerably different from place to place. However, you’re getting surface temperatures, which also vary from top to bottom. It’s also not very convenient if you want something small enough to carry in your vest, but I ordinarily took it with me in my drift boat, or used it in the river front of where we stayed on the Yellowstone River in MT.

 

[Steeltrap]

It never occurred to me to check the Orvis web site. They have one for $12. Looks like they are selling one to me!!

Thanks

 

[just_jon]

I’ve carried an Orvis enclosed glass model for longer than I can remember. It’s harder for me to read these days, so I picked a instant read digital kitchen model with the folding probe.

 

[lestrout]

Yo steel

Try a cheapie kitchen dial meat thermometer at Harbor Freight or a dollar store. Should be less than $5.

 

[BrookieChaser]

I like the Fishpond model better than the Orvis model. More for storage than anything.

 

[salmo]

My Orvis has served me for over 30 years. It's my eyes that have difficulty reading the numbers.

 

[Bamboozle]

BrookieChaser wrote:
I like the Fishpond model better than the Orvis model. More for storage than anything.

Me too, one of the reasons being the Fish Pond is small and NOT made of brass, but aluminum.

It is REALLY EASY to put a stream thermometer in the water and forget you left it there. As a result, I have always attached my thermometer to me in some fashion, usually with a thin cord which I wrap around the thermometer when not in use.

Aluminum is light and doesn't CLUNK if you clumsily lower it to the stream bottom when it is on a cord. That will break a glass thermometer EVERY TIME if it is in a brass housing.

Accuracy is overrated too when you are talking about using a thermometer to decide if the water is too warm to C&R trout fish. Knowing that trout don't carry thermometers and water temp varies depending on location & depth, I just quit when my measured temps get within a few degrees of 70.

BTW - I also carry an extra thermometer in the car on a REALLY long cord so I can easily measure the stream temp when I see a likely looking trout fishing spot, but I am not sure if the water is too warm.

With my "long reach" thermometer, I can lower the thermometer on the cord from a bridge or high bank and make my decision on whether the water is too warm without suiting up and walking down to the creek to check.

The car thermometer has saved me a LOT of time and hassle when it's hot like it has been this week.

 

[wildtrout2]

Bamboozle wrote:
It is REALLY EASY to put a stream thermometer in the water and forget you left it there. As a result, I have always attached my thermometer to me in some fashion, usually with a thin cord which I wrap around the thermometer when not in use.

Totally agree! I'll have to start doing something like that. I've lost track of how many I've left in streams. Probably around ten, no lie. I just left one this past Friday. I actually keep a back-up because I do it so often.

 

[troutbert]

Is the FishPond thermometer easier to read than the Orvis one?

It seems like it should be easy for someone to make a small thermometer with a digital display that is powered by a small battery.

 

[Bamboozle]

troutbert wrote:
Is the FishPond thermometer easier to read than the Orvis one?

It seems like it should be easy for someone to make a small thermometer with a digital display that is powered by a small battery.

Probably not, but I can't thread a fly or untangle a tangle without my Hat Eyes hat brim magnifiers so I don't don't consider it as big a hassle as changing batteries (and remembering to carry spare batteries) for a kitchen thermometer.

BTW - Since the reason most of us carry thermometers is to monitor for water temps that are too high, why not get out the magnifying glass and a little florescent paint and put a tiny dot of bright paint on the thermometer at the temp(s) you don't want to fish?

Then it wouldn't matter if you couldn't see the little numbers...

 

[fritz]

I have a Fishpond. I did see an Orvis thermometer recently which was much easier to read for me.

 

[Trapshooter]

Geez, I still have my Hardy thermometer that I bought in the late 70's.

 

[Bamboozle]

Trapshooter wrote:
Geez, I still have my Hardy thermometer that I bought in the late 70's.

So do I, but they (and just about any old Hardy gadget) have become collectable. When I saw what some people pay for them, I retired mine years ago.

 

[beeber2]

I use a William Joseph infrared thermometer. Don't have to stoop over and dip it, very nice.

 

[Trapshooter]

Bamboozle wrote:

Trapshooter wrote:
Geez, I still have my Hardy thermometer that I bought in the late 70's.

So do I, but they (and just about any old Hardy gadget) have become collectable. When I saw what some people pay for them, I retired mine years ago.

Im still using my hardy reels and rods.

 

[mushumatt]

I use a fishpond thermometer, I use it every time I get to the water. Water temps help me figure out where the fish will be holding, as well as feeding behavior. This with some other tricks I’ve been taught by some top comp anglers have taken out much of the guesswork in fishing.

 

[Bamboozle]

Trapshooter wrote:

Bamboozle wrote:

Trapshooter wrote:
Geez, I still have my Hardy thermometer that I bought in the late 70's.

So do I, but they (and just about any old Hardy gadget) have become collectable. When I saw what some people pay for them, I retired mine years ago.

Im still using my hardy reels and rods.

I appreciate that and they do belong on the water, not a shelf.

However, most of the Hardy gadgets were made in much smaller quantities and can be as scarce as hen's teeth on the secondary market so it just makes sense for me to retire a thermometer than once broken, is worth a quarter.