Last week I broke my trusty old stream thermometer. It was a simple, small, analog (liquid in glass tube) device in a plastic protective housing. I think that I paid 99 cents for it about 10 years ago.
I went on line this morning to look for a replacement and found that we flyfishermen have been seduced by technology. Most of the thermometers for sale at fly fishing sites were digital, infrared, battery-powered, etc. They were also expensive.
I wonder if anyone knows where I could find a rapid, simple, cheap ($5-10), small (< 5 inches in length so that it will fit in my pocket), rugged thermometer that is suitable for use as a stream thermometer.
I use the Orvis Rugged too. I had a plastic one and sat on it… I had a digital one, it leaked… The Orvis one is simple, straight forward, and easy to use. Connect it to your line and you can use it at depth in a lake (if you pull it up fast enough).
I use one very much like this but without the compass. Works fine and is obviously small. I stopped with the long, metal encased ones because they always seemed to get a ‘bubble’ in them when bumped and then never read correctly.
I’m using a small, inexpensive thermometer I bought at Eastern Mountain Sports. It’s made to put on your winter jacket, but it works fine in the stream.
Randy
I’ll be shopping for a simple, inexpensive one soon. I had bought a pricey, digital William Joseph thermometer. Difficult to read (especially on bright days), and an overall pain in the B, I just gave it away.
I just needed to remind myself of one of my favorite rules…KISS!
Mike
The little Coleman one (and probably the EMS one) look pretty good and meet my stated criteria. The only question I would have is whether the temperature gradations on the scale are too close together to permit one to differentiate between 58 and 62 degrees with precision. The picture of the Coleman one shows pretty crude temp gradations. But I will definitely look for these jacket pull models around town. Great suggestion.
After looking at the zipper pull thermometers, I concluded that the temperature gradations are too small to give me the precision that I need. But I came across another interesting device: the Umpqua Digital Thermometer. It appears that this device uses a liquid crystal display that lights up the temperature on the thermometer. Does anyone have any experience with this thermometer? It appears that Umpqua may not be making these anymore, but there are a few on-line shops that still have them in stock.
Yes, with the EMS thermometer it’s difficult to get an exact reading, but to me a few degrees one way or the other isn’t that important.
When fishing season is over I just put the thermometer back on my winter jacket.
Randy
The Coleman shows temperatures from 30 to just over 100 degrees farenheit in increments of 2. If you turn the tube slightly you will also see Celsius readings from 0 to 40 in increments of 1. Depending on the light at the stream, I sometimes put on my magnification glasses to get a clear reading.
