question on how weather effect fish under the ice

[Anthony Anania]

My past fishing experience has been to find out where people are catching fish and try my luck. If they bite fine and if they don't fine. As I have gotten older I am not satisfied with that anymore. I wanna know how to find them and what makes them bite. The biggest part of the puzzle is how does weather effect fish below the ice, and also do you change your approach depending on the weather. If so what do you guys do different depending on the weather. The biggest things are how do cold or warm fronts effect fish and also barometric pressure. Thank you in advance for any info regarding this issue

[Charlie Mason]

Weather certainly plays a role in whether a fish will be agressive or take the tight lipped approach. Location though should be your first thought though, if they aren't there, then it does not matter what mood the fish are in.

Panfish example:

When fish are agressive, they tend to have been exposed to the same type of weather or barometric pressure for a number of days. 4 and 5mm jigs are highly effective, and spoons or minnow type baits will work as well. When a front moves in and the pressure drops, then the approach becomes vital into putting fish on the ice.

When that sudden shift occurs, put the spoons and minnow baits away, as well as the 5mm jigs. The 4mm jigs will have their time and place if there isnt too much fishing pressure on the lake, but the action can be spotty at best. 2, 2.5 and 3mm jigs will rule the day, and more often than not, very subtle action to know action on the jig at all will be the most effective approach.

With these small jigs, hook gap is very important. Often from the factory/store the gap between the hook's point and shaft of the hook are too close together to effective stick a fish. Take a pair of forceps and bend the hook point away from the shaft to increase your hook-ups.

[Charlie Mason]

I should clarify, I was talking in reference in the examples with using tungsten jigs.

[aaron otto]

Thx Charlie. This very topic has long puzzled me. Size down post-front. Do you have Low or High pressure tactics that are different? Or does it not matter. Any change= size down.

thanks for the help!

ao

[fishadb]

Barometer was dropping yesterday caught fish like crazy, tonite it is rising still caught fish, but the size was smaller.

[Jarrid Houston]

There are lots of different opinions on fishing vs. weather. Most talk about barometric pressure, moon phase, time of year, etc etc. In my experience, I'll agree with Mr. Mason. Location should be the top priority. No point in fishing an area with no fish regardless of what the weather is doing. I am not a total expert on this, and there are many many better anglers than I, but in my experience, I like consistant weather. A few days in a row of the same weather pattern will put fish in a routine. This routine can include peak hours of a day when they will bite more often than not. Then when the weather changes, fish take a step back and begin a new routine which can unfortunetly include "slow" fishing. One thing is certain, fish can always be caught no matter what the elements bring. A guy just needs to be fishing in order to catch fish. Just my take! Gd luck man!!

[Scott Seibert]

All the other guys gave you good info so here is a little info on what I do in cold front conditions I will down size my baits. Once you find fish if they are just looking at your bait I will put on a smaller jig and either cut my plastic tall off and make it smaller or I will go with maybe 1 or 2 magots instead of 5-6. Sometimes this will help make a looker into a biter in cold front condition.

[Anthony Anania]

Thank you for the good info guys. Got out fishing for a couple of hours and caught some fish, but noticed more lookers then biters. I will experiment with what I have in my tackle box and see what happens. Have enough bait in my fridge to last me awhile.