Ok, I am asking for any and all advice on these subjects. If anyone has reference material they can lead me to in the forums or on the web, that would be great.

Thanks, LT

LT, Thermals really come into play when the wind is very light, as a stiffer wind can somewhat over ride them. Air will flowsimilar to water over the terrain. Air warming up moves up. Air cooling down moves down.

That's one reason I prefer hunting mornings. I feel the air currents are rising with calm to light winds. Pressure also affects air movement.

A lot of variables!! It's just one reason I like having some wind floaters with me. Nothing like watching exactly what the wind is doing for a distance

Dan

So, a high pressure will push thermals down and low pressure will allow them to rise?

I understand the warming and cooling part, and how thermals react to them.

I have an example though:

Suppose you are hunting a creek bottom and the deer are coming out of a thicket from the East/NorthEast. I generally hunt this stand from the edge of a small ridge facing the bottom which is North east of me. Question: How will thermals react in this situation? Will they be pushed down into the bottom? How quickly? Is this what is meant by scent pooling?

Thanks, LT

Was this my dumbest question ever, or is this the only info available on the subject?[:-]

Just thought I might get a lot more input on this subject.

LT

Not your dumbest... but close. It's not that difficult. Carry some windfloaters and play with them. People get all wrapped up in this theory of currents going uphill in the AM and down at night when they're only really hunting a little bump and not a mountain. La. doesn't have a lot of thermal country. LOL BUT, that said, a lot of things can change wind flow. That's why you should carry some wind floaters. You say there's a stream bed you're hunting.With the lack of a breeze just the cooler temperature of the water in the stream can change the scent cone depending where you are. If you're sitting on a stool in a stream bed tucked up under a tree root watching a crossing(which I've done) with cold water running past you with a rush... well it's not the same as being sitting on the bank 10 feet higher. Move 20 yards from the stream and everything changes. It doesn't take a lot to tip things in your favor or screw you. Use wind floaters. Some day you'll be sitting in a stand with the wind in your face and watch a wind floater move off 25 yards and suddenly change directions 180. You can cast one after another and they keep doing it. Many variables cause it.. I don't care if the wind is steady at 10 mph from teh west... you can find a spot where it's going backwards.

Well, being the King of COF's has replied, I digress to ask another dumb question.

Thanks David for your input. I kinda have to disagree with the thermals "not being an issue in La." I have used wind floaters, and will continue to do so. I also have tried the powder stuff, just can not watch it as long. On a frosty morning where I hunt, in general, I can watch the mist/cold air rise in the morning, and can feel it as it falls in the afternoon. I guess I just thought there was more to it than that.

I always hear people speaking of "scent cones". Can you explain this a little better? Anyone?

Thanks, Dumb Question Asker LT

LT,

In it's basic form and how it relates to hunting.....A thermal is a mass of rising or sinkingair caused by differing temperatures on the ground.

Thermals always happen they are just more pronounced during fair weather as the time of switching back to solar heatingbegins (about an hour or so just after sunrise) As theincoming solar energy starts to build enough strength to reverse the heat loss effects from terrestrial radiation, the thermals rise.Thisdoes not take intoaccount severeweather, I'm talking about a nice calm day and night with no major weather fronts moving through the area.

Now for hunting I'm talking about thermals that are associated with theradiant and terrestrial heating and cooling cycles. There are other "thermals"that can form throughout the day as a result of heat buildupsand keep in mind that those thermals as they rise cannot leave a vacuum behind them, so air has to move in to replace it around both or one side of the thermal. Youcan also experience lee wind shifts around he thermals as well. These types of "thermals" are more interesting to aviators and para gliders as it effects them way more than us hunters on the ground. Again, my approachconcentratesmore on the the thermals associated (as mentioned) with the solar heatingand terrestrial cooling of the planet. I think about thermals when I hunt hilly terrain, I'll never hunt a stand in the bottoms (hollows) in the evenings when the thermals drop because they tend to settle in the lowest spots first thus bring my scent down with it.

With the diminishing effects of surface radiation through the night, the effects of surface or "solar radiation" start to drop. As surface objects loose their radiant heat (from the sun during the day) it starts to cool thus cooling the air as well. As the aircools it fallsbringing your scent down with it. It should also be noted that somewhere during the early morning period, the radiation balance curve crosses thezero line (a balancebetween gain and loss) and therefore no temperature change.

The time of switching back to solar heatingbegins an hour or so just after sunrise because theincoming solar energy does not yet have enough strength to reverse the heat loss from terrestrial radiation.As a result, the surface and lower atmosphere air are still losing heat for about an hour after sunrise and thus the coldest temperature of the day has yet to be reached. This meansthe time of coldest temperatures areabout an hour after sunrise. Again thisdoes not take into effect weather fronts, I'm talking about a nice calm day and night with no major weather fronts moving through the area.

It's just after this time that the Thermals will start to rise....as the sun heats the earth and radiant heat builds up, the hot air from the surface will rise and theoretically bring your scent up with it away from Mr. Whitetails nose.

One of the biggest things to keep in mind is that every little hollow, flat, ridgetop, draw etc. will have it's own characteristics as far as thermals and wind directions go. And these will usually stay consitent.......until a different weather front moves in. Here in SW PA, I can bank on a prevailing South-southwest-west wind on normal days. That doesn't really mean anything, until I get into my spots and see how that particular prevailing wind behaves in that particular piece of woods. Then you have to account for the thermals also. Now on a day when a cold front moves in, I'm normally looking at a North/northwest wind, so then I have to alter my tactic to account for a wind coming in basically the opposite direction. Sometimes you just have to sit a spot and see what happens. After a year or 2 of playing in a certain spot, you can get acquainted with how the wind behaves in certain weather patterns, and adjust accordingly. Some stands will be bulletproof, they won't wind you no matter what. And others, well, you may abandone after one sit, or wait for a different weather pattern to switch the wind for you.

It's nice having a meterologist on board.My cigarette smoke usually tells methe story.

Agreed. Basically, under most conditions on evening hunts being on the ground is generally better than being in a tree. I also love hunting mornings better and being in a tree on morning hunts is a big advantage most of the time. You guys should be hunting the area I've been currently hunting during the evenings when the deer move most........its quite a challenge due to the terrain an thermals.