Barometer: Who uses?

[AaronM]

Does anyone here pay attention pay attention to their barometer? This is the first summer I've been noting down what the meter is saying, but I have nothing to really compare to. What do you pay attention to? Whats good, whats bad?

[shizzy]

I pay attention to it quite a bit. it also helps to watch it for the days BEFORE you are going. It rearley stops me from going, but it sure helps to have a general idea what mood the fish might be in.

there are lots of charts online for what means what.

[out_fisherman]

Yeh, I believe it makes a difference. After 45 years

of fishing, I became a believer. I always tell my

friends I may not know when to go fishing, but I

sure know when NOT to go - by watching the barometer.

If I'm on a lake, and it's been overcast, maybe

rainy, all day and then the skies clear and the

wind switches to NW - GooBye...I'm outta there.

Same for ice fishing....I LOVE fishing in a

snowstorm, but once the snow quits and the

wind switches NW - I'm outta there again, 'cause

I know the NW wind means a sharply rising baraometer.

Just my $.02....and I don't have much money left...

(River fishing I think is less affected....)

[codyBfishing]

hmm. well im not a weather man but i can tell you that when your toilet sweets its humid and when the clouds are dark is gunna storm! Or i could pretend to be a weather man and tell you its gunna rain on a day that really has 0% chance of rain. haha.

[Muddog]

I watch barometer all the time. I have one right next to the computer I'm at right now (by the way the pressure is rising). I also have a iFINDER Explorer because it to has a barometer. I also have a barometer in another room. what I've found is the best times to fish is when the pressure is falling. A long slow fall is better then a quick fall. One thing that is just as if not more important is the wind. As stated before, a big wind shift associated with a pressure shift will shut thing down.

Wow. you should have been here yesterday, the fishing was fantastic.

[lovebigbluegills]

This was posted by Honda4life in the Metro Area forum, and I thought I'd post it here also, so it'll be a little easier to find for future reference.

These guidelines seem to be fairly accurate per my experiences.

Just wanted to share this if you guys havent seen it. pretty helpfull info.

Pressure Trend

Typical Weather

Fishing Trends

Suggested Tactics

High

Clear skies

Fish slow down, find cover or go to deeper waters.

Slow down lures and use baits more attractive to fish. Fish in cover and in deeper waters.

Rising

Clearing or improving

Fish tend to become slightly more active

Fish with brighter lures and near cover. Also fish at intermediate and deeper depths.

Normal and stable

Fair

Normal fishing

Experiment with your favorite baits and lures.

Falling

Degrading

Most active fishing

Speed up lures. Surface and shallow running lures may work well.

Slightly lower

Usually cloudy

Many fish will head away from cover and seek shallower waters. Some fish will become more aggressive.

Use shallow running lures at a moderate speed.

Low

Rainy and stormy

Fish will tend to become less active the longer this period remains.

As the action subsides, try fishing at deeper depths.

[fishermatt]

Here's an excerpt from an article at Walleye Central by Ted Kawasaki:

* Barometric pressure– the weight of the air– decreases as a storm approaches. It’s called low pressure. To understand how it works, imagine the palm of that giant hand the professor talked about easing up as it presses on the water’s surface. Its touch is lighter. The water isn’t as compressed as it was, and fish can move more easily through it. The mood of many fish often changes to what we might call a more ‘active’ mood. They move around more freely and feed.

A storm also brings clouds and wave-creating wind, reducing sunlight penetration. Active fish can move to shallower water. In the case of walleyes, they often rise in the water column. The sonar screen shows them moving up off the bottom. Or, they just move shallower on shoreline-connected and midlake structures.

Heitkamp believes that the absolute best fishing periods often occur when barometric pressure reaches its lowest point, just before the front arrives.

“The old saying, that fish bite best right before the storm,” he says, “is true.”

So, Heitkamp says, the best time to head to the lake is when the forecast calls for storms moving into the area.

The picture changes when the storm is over. Barometric pressure starts to rise again. The giant hand presses down harder, and the water becomes more compact. High pressure also brings clear, bluebird skies, and light penetration is often intense for the next several days. Fish feel the increased pressure and become less active. They move tight to cover or deeper, where the sun isn’t so bright. Their mood is lethargic.

“With underwater cameras, you can watch fish come up to a bait and not bite it,” observes Heitkamp. “People don’t understand that, but when air pressure is high, fish become less aggressive. They just come up and look. They may eventually take it, but you have to work a little harder.”

The effect of the pressure change is most pronounced on the first day after the storm passes.

Heitkamp said time of year must also be considered. The impact of a change in barometric pressure is more severe in winter. For one reason, the swing between high and low pressure is more drastic during the cold months. For another, the same high pressure is affecting less water volume when part of it is locked up as ice.

Heitkamp thinks fish like northern pike may be the least susceptible to changes in barometric pressure; they seem to be aggressive no matter what. But, the perch family, including walleye, may be the most impacted by the changes, followed by crappies and bluegills. Heitkamp doesn’t target muskies often, but anyone who does will tell you the best time to be on the water is when black clouds appear on the horizon.

A barometer isn’t needed to know what’s happening with air pressure. Read the wind instead.

“Anyone can play amateur weather forecaster,” says Heitkamp. “Before the (storm) front, wind is out of the south. When it switches to west-northwest, pressure begins to rise.”

The old saying, “Wind from the east, fish bite the least,” has a basis in fact, he added.

“Wind comes from the east the longer high pressure is in place,” he says. “By then, high pressure has taken a real toll on the fish.”

Link to the whole article:

http://www.walleyecentral.com/articles/?a=2151

[Muddog]

Lets all climb aboard and take a trip on the “Way Back Machine”. To 7th grade science. Remember putting a eye dropper almost fill with water in a jar, filling the jar with water and stretching a balloon over the top? You push on the balloon and the eye dropper sinks. Let off the balloon and the eye dropper will rise. Now replace the eye dropper with the air bladder of a fish and the balloon with atmospheric pressure. It is pretty basic but to the point.

[OnAFly]

I pretty firmly believe that you can always catch fish independent of what the barometer says. It may slow and you will have to change tactics, but it is always possible to get fish to bite.

I don't let the weather keep me from fishing (with the exception of dangerous weather). I always let it have an effect on how I fish. That being said, I do notice very good fishing when the barometer is dropping or is about to drop.

EDIT: Don't fish have an ability to adjust their air bladders? If not, wouldn't they all float to the surface and die during a tornado near water? Anyone know anything about this?

[Muddog]

Quote:

EDIT: Don't fish have an ability to adjust their air bladders? If not, wouldn't they all float to the surface and die during a tornado near water? Anyone know anything about this?

I'm sure they can. I would also have to believe some types of fish can do it faster then others. I would also have to think it would take alot less energy to move up and down in the water table with the pressure then it would be to consistently make adjustments to stay at one depth. As you can see from other posts, fish tend to rise off the bottom when the pressure is falling!

I have heard of fish falling from the sky during sever storms.

[Muddog]

Now I did say that the eye dropper thing was basic. You do have to remember that with the weight of water pressure change from 1- 12FOW is far greater then atmospheric pressure change of 29.5 -30.5 bars. The effect is still the same through out the water column.

[OnAFly]

Thank you for the refresher on Archimidi's Principle. I simply think that fish rise off the bottom during pressure drops because of more aggressive feeding patterns, not because they become more buoyant.

Next week we'll be discussing buoyancy of compressible objects! Everyone bring your books!

[Muddog]

A moving fish is an active fish and a active fish is a feeding fish!

I find it odd that when talking about something with a brain no larger then a pea, some people think that fish need complex queues that govern there behavior.

[broken_line]

i dont really bother with the baramoter in the summer but in the winter if its high i know nothing will bite but if its a overal crappy day the fishin is usualyl good..

[bronzeback]

A moving fish is an active fish and a active fish is a feeding fish!

I find it odd that when talking about something with a brain no larger then a pea, some people think that fish need complex queues that govern there behavior.

It's only complex to the fisherman that think about it.

There is nothing complex to a fish when it reacts to a change in the weather.

[wayne123]

I have definitely noticed that before a storm fishing is often good and after it is often bad but never watched the barometer much.

How much does the barometer need to change to be significant?

The National Weather service HSOforum shows the barometer for the Hibbing area for the last three days. Max = 30.1, Min = 29.96, and avg = 30.01. I assume this is basically a steady baromter reading.

[Muddog]

29.8-29.9 is about normal for this area.

[AaronM]

Going along the lines of what wayne was asking, my Lowrance GPS gives me readings in millibars. On my last outing, my reading gave me 969 then rising to 972 which is along the lines of 28.62 rising to 28.7. How much of a jump is required to consider it rising or falling?

[Muddog]

If the pressure is going up it is rising! If the pressure is going down it is falling. It doesn't have to have the bottom fall out to be falling. It is the trend.

[Muddog]

You can almost feel the pressure going up right now!

[LMITOUT]

Like a rocket.

[wayne123]

Wish I could go fishing!

[TurnUpTheFishing]

I prefer to avoid rising pressure but I was going to go today 'til my partner backed out. Best time to go is any time you can...