Barometric Pressure ?

[dwag70]

Can one one give me a quick run down on how barometric pressure affects fishing namely panfish and walleyes ? Dont need to be two scientific

[Deitz Dittrich]

This is an Exerpt from an article I wrote a while back... may hep.. may not?

Denny Brauer says in his book, "Weather is the most important thing to

consider when it comes to fishing." I can't argue that. However, I don't

think minor weather changes directly affect bass as much as we think they

do. Minor barometric pressure changes affect fishing in that they affect the

lowest end of the food chain. When we are stuck in a high pressure system,

the zoo plankton are less buoyant. Thus they stay on the bottom and are

unavailable for minnows and other bait fish to feed easily on them. If the

barometric pressure falls, the little creatures become more buoyant. They

float up off the weeds and bottom making them easy prey for the minnow and

other creatures. When this happens, the bass follow. Bass are opportunistic

feeders. They feed when its easy, whether they are hungry or not. When the

minnows and other bait are not easily available during high pressure times,

you can still get them to feed, but they are not out looking for food

because they know the food is not out. So, this means you have to go find

them. Conversely, when the pressure is falling and everything is on the

feed, you can throw just about anything in your tackle box and as long as it

ran near the proper depth and is in an area with fish, it would catch fish.

When the pressure is rising, this is the worst time. The fish have ended

their feed and are now like you and I are shortly after our Thanksgiving

feast-- not in any mood to eat, that is for sure. But, like I said, they

will still eat. A major weather change is something different--especially if

its a cold front. Bass are cold blooded, they have no way of regulating body

temperature. When we are hot, we sweat. It's not that easy for them. They

need to adjust, so you might have to work a little harder than normal, but

you can still get them to bite. I think my favorite quote of all is by Kevin

van Damm, he says "If it weren't for weather we would have nothing but

ourselves to blame for a bad day fishing."

[Lynno62]

There was another post on this, some intresting reading.here is a link to it hope it works.

http://www.fishingminnesota.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB24&Number=544942&Forum=,,All_Forums,,&Words=barmetric%20pressure&Searchpage=2&Limit=25&Main=539732&Search=true&where=bodysub&Name=&daterange=1&newerval=2&newertype=w&olderval=&oldertype=&bodyprev=#Post544942

if it doesn't work i found it in the alexandria lakes part of the forum under barometric pressure how it affects fishing.

good luck.Lynn

[dwag70]

I found this on the web by searching it does seems accurate but I will take other opinions on it

Pressure Trends: High

Typical Weather: Clear skies

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

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

Pressure Trends: Rising

Typical Weather: Clear or improving

Fishing Trends: Fish tend to become slightly more active

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

Pressure Trends: Normal and stable

Typical Weather: Fair

Fishing Trends: Normal fishing

Suggested Tactics: Experiment with your favorite baits and lures

Pressure Trends: Falling

Typical Weather: Degrading

Fishing Trends: Most active fishing

Suggested Tactics: Speed up lures. Surface and shallow running lures may work well.

Pressure Trends: Slightly lower

Typical Weather: Usually cloudy

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

Suggested Tactics: Use shallow running lures at a moderate speed.

Pressure Trends: Low

Typical Weather: Rainy and stormy

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

Suggested Tactics: As the action subsides, try fishing at deeper depths

[Ole #1]

I've nailed them during high pressure and been skunked with falling or low pressure. If I have the opportunity to get out and fish, I go. The only way the weather effects my fishing is if it's too windy or lightning.

[Captain B.R.K]

Where can a guy get a barometric gauge to carry with him while out in the boat? AND are these cheap??

[Duffer]

most fishing stores have little ones just for that. i dont know the exact price but i know they are not that expenceve.

[Duffer]

for got to add some of these gauges insted of numbers say good fishing ok fishing and bad fishing the numbers might still be there but im not sure just a cool feature tho. never actually tride one.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Brk- I have one that I bought at Gander Mtn.. it clips to my belt loop.. I pretty much have it on every fishing trip.. If you know anybody that has fished with me they can attest to this. Its also an altimiter and a compas, alarm, stopwatch. Think I payed about $150 for it. To me.. worth every penny.

I'm in no way endorsing this exact product.. but the one I bought is called Highgear Altitech

[Duffer]

deitz that sounds like a nice one the only ones ive seen looked plastic and cheap. its probalby worth the extra penny.

[EYEHUNTER10]

Hey lynno how did ya copy and paste the link to my thread could ya go back to the alex thread and give the link to this one I had a heck of a time trying and it never worked. Your imput is very valuable. I can't add a whole lot to what you guys said my only hopes is this thread continues my alex thread died off. I like to fish a falling barometer and prefrontal conditions any time I can and honestly the lightning and rain don't mess things up for me only improves the action a little scary when your hair stands up though, I was 4 miles out on a lake in the big storm end of august last year and fished right through it all we just couldn't bring ourselves to do 51 mph through 4 miles worth of 45 mph winds when it was pouring so hard it was stinging are skin on are face at 2.2 mph but with doubles consistantly 4 hours it was the best night of the season yes we released alot of em. I will say that a sw wind for 3-4 days in a row is as good as it gets and 29.92 is my favorite reading.

[CrappieJohn]

Dawg.....

You found a pretty decent list of general rules to follow and Dietz has assisted with another good bass tactic. I'd like to remind you of a couple other things.

You are dealing with fish and they have a way of setting the rule as life goes on from day to day. Some of the best fishing I have had was when the fish, according to the barometer and what was read about it's affect on fish, should have been so tight lipped that a guy wouldn't have been able to put a hook in the mouth without pliers.

The barometer will affect different fish in different ways.

Depending on what type of water you fish, the barometer may or may not have an effect on your fishing. Large rivers suffer the barometer's ploys far better than a small stream. Lakes get hit harder than rivers, and again the larger the water the less demanding on the fisherman.

And fifferent parts of the nation show different barometeric havoc on the fishing. Here in Minnesota we get serious high pressure areas with cold air seemingly like no other place in the world and the summer months are not exclusive of this. Florida gets the opposite with the lows. If we had lows the likes of what Florida gets on a regular basis we'd never get out of the tornado shelters. What is a general rule in Louisianna certainly will have little credance here.

As for the barometer and what it is supposed to do to the fishing? If I have the time I go regardless of what anything says. Fishing time is too precious not to use when you can. Common sense should dictate when to fish or not, not a barometer.

[Giant_Jackpot]

Quote:

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As for the barometer and what it is supposed to do to the fishing? If I have the time I go regardless of what anything says. Fishing time is too precious not to use when you can. Common sense should dictate when to fish or not, not a barometer.

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Tom,

I could not agree more. We can’t let the barometer tell us when to fish!

I bought a Casio watch that has a barometer on it more for fun than anything. Also, Motorola has 2 way radios with barometers. Just a couple of ideas on where you can get one…………….

[EYEHUNTER10]

I agree with tom go fishing any chance you get, despite the barometer, I just am studying the topic myself so I can develop a better game plan once I get there cuz I can bet if I get a chance to go Its gonna be post frontal conditions and that is where i need the most help how to fish after the cold front passes, most of the lakes I fish are Gin Clear lakes, and don't have many rivers around, or even many stained water lakes for a back up, the lakes I fish you can see bottom in 20 feet on one of the bluebird sky days. I love the challenge though and wouldn't have it any other way. What I'm really looking for is how the fronts effect each species. I have found northerns to go super shallow, walleyes seen to go deep and stack up in the inside corners versus spreading out over a breakline, or stacking up off the tip of a point during, and following the passing of the front. Also I'll take a SW wind with a stable barometer over just about anything my logs show that ti be true at least. They changed the forcast for the wwekend guys sounds like more cold and snow I could just as well head down to Kato to see toms seminar, but i'm sure the wife wouldn't understand She wouldn't want me spending that precious Gas Money. I'll be lucky if she understands my need to put 6 gallons of gas in my boat to go freeze my but off. Either way tommorow morning and sunday morning I'm on the water rain/snow I dont care I'm gonna have to get out deeper like 8-9 feet maybe even 12 if I wanta a chance at a real slab.

[dwag70]

I agree the Barometric presure does not and will not ever keep me off the lake I find any time I can get on the water valuable even if it is pooring rain !!!! I was trying to find where the fish would be in relation to the pressure. I beleive more in the theory that the zooplakton becomes more buoyant thus creating a feeding time than the other theroys out there. But is one piece of the puzzel I was not all that knowlegeable about. I have always trusted the advise here and again I have gotten great response to my questions Thanks guys

[EYEHUNTER10]

I like the zooplankton theory its really got my mind going and am flipping threw my memories and it really seems to make sense I am gonna do some heavy searching on the subject on the web and get back to ya guys if I find anything, it seems to be not well understood, and many people seem to have the exact opposite opinion on the subject, believe it or not I spend just as much time reading on the subject of fishing on the net as I do fishing well almost that is.

[poutpro]

A low pressure will almost always produce a better fish bite and a high or rising pressure results in a poorer bite. It isn't really known why this is, but it does happen and you don't really need to know why if you want to catch fish, just that it does happen. When you are look at temperature and wind when fishing, you are actually look at pressure. If you have a wind from the North or East, they are being caused by pressure. When the skies are clear of clouds, this can be because a high pressure system has pushed them away. I think that pressure is probably the most important factor on whether fish are biting or not, but what can you do if you only have the chance to go out fishing once or maybe twice a week? Just try and make the best of it.

[Pops']

From an article by John Neporadny

"In his book Climate Makes The Man, Dr. Clarence A Mills wrote, "bad moods and falling barometers go hand in hand." When humidity is low and the barometer is rising, the average man tends to go about his chores cheerfully and more efficiently with more optimism. But the same guy on a muggy day with a falling barometer muddles through his work and is gloomy, sullen and pessimistic.

A change in barometric pressure seems to trigger similar changes in a crappie's behavior. Dr. Loren Hill, professor of zoology at the University of Oklahoma, theorizes that barometric pressure changes affect adult crappie more than smaller fish. Similar to humans, as fish get older, they more readily feel the effects of changes in the weather.

Dr. Hill's studies have shown that when the barometer is falling in the springtime, crappie move off the shoreline to deeper habitat. "In our evaluations, we've found that they can be anywhere from 10 to 13 feet deep," he says.

A barometer can be a valuable tool in locating and catching crappie.

After the barometric pressure has fallen, crappie remain in a dormant stage for 6 to 8 hours, then they make their trek back to the shallows once the barometer starts to rise.

A steady barometer has little effect on the fish. During stable weather, crappie remain in the shallows to feed and spawn. "Real high pressure also impacts the fish's behavior," Hill says. During extremely high pressure conditions in the spring, crappie tend to abandon their spawning duties in the shallows and suspend in deep water.

Crappie bite best before a storm because the change in barometric pressure -- from steady to falling -- triggers aggression. "They start moving around aggressively and seek other locations," he says.

Even after the barometer drops, some crappie will bite during this dormant period. "Occasionally that change won't cause all the fish to react in the same way," Dr. Hill says. "Some are affected and some are not."

Threading the line through his fingers allows Guy Winters to better feel bites during low-pressure conditions.

When the fish drop into the 5- to 20-foot range, Winters ties his jigs on 4-pound-test line, but most of the time he uses 6-pound test.

Despite the tough conditions presented by low pressure, Winters never switches to live bait. "I'm convinced that I can catch as many or more fish on a jig than I can a minnow. That's because I can keep my lure in the water a higher percentage of the time -- I'm not in the minnow bucket fishing around for a minnow and then putting it on."

In high-pressure conditions, crappie suspend above the brush and eventually make their move back to the shallows as the weather stabilizes. During this transition period, they can be caught by casting jigs and swimming them back to the boat. Working a bobber-and-jig combination over the top of the brushpile is another productive method for catching these high-pressure fish. The technique is most effective when you set the jig at the same depth the crappie are suspending (usually 5 or 6 feet deep) and let the wind push the bobber along. This creates just enough action for the lure as it drifts through the crappie's strike zone.

When the barometer is steady, springtime crappie return to the shallows."

[DougSpringBay]

I have developed a theory, which I can nor cannot state as an absolute truth, but I do feel is on the mark.

Fish are very dependent for movement (especially depth changes) on the use of the swim bladder. It is an organ which purpose revolves around the use of compressed air for stability and movement. When the pressure is stable, the fish are "used" to the pressure and are acclamated so they are more predictable and patterns are usually unaffected. Low pressure and high pressure work in unison to affect fish behavior. With the approach of a front (low pressure) fish are able to move and change depth rapidly and with little effect on them physically. When the front leaves and is followed by the high pressure, the fish are very sluggish due to the high pressure making it harder for them to acclamate the swim or pressure bladder. That is why they usually tend to locate and or suspend at a depth and move very little. They get comfortable so to speak and stay there, moving very little due to the fact that the high pressure makes the swim bladder somewhat uncomfortable so to speak. They seem to act as they are hungover. After stable weather remains and they acclamate, they then return to a normal pattern, even if high pressure is still present. They are then acclamated to the current barometric pressure, makeing it in their world, stable pressure as opposed to high pressure. Again when a low approaches, they know (God made them that way)that high pressure will soon follow and they had better get with it while the gettin' is good, as they will be inactive once again after the high moves in.

Just an opinion that seems to match my on the water experience.

God Bless,

Doug

[EYEHUNTER10]

All great stuff guys I'm trying to suck it all in and alot of it makes some sence too. I already know when the winds from the NE I should just fish out of the toilet. What I want is a better understanding of what each species does given a certain barometric condition front ect warm front cold front high pressure low pressure basically I want to figure out why I blew across the lake in my little boat today to where I caught the crappies a week ago and find out how I could have used the barometric reading to know I'd end up finding them on a whole different spot in 10-12 feet of water today pinned bellie to the bottom with only a ratfinky and a spike when I should have known to look for them first but then I'd have to figure in Insanity gos I almost sunk my boat to catch a couple slabs why do I keep doing this?? I already know when to go fishing thats when the wife says I can go basicaly thats when it snowin blowin or whitecapps it seems this year!! Next comes lightning