barometric pressure

[GoneFishingLTN]

Thoughts on barometric pressure? 

higher than 29.92 is supposed to be tougher fishing current but whats higher 29.94? or whole numbers like 31?

[GPtimes2]

I haven't figured it out in 50 years of fishing. But I never tried to scientifically. I only read up on it a few times. I have good days and bad days with highs and low (and winds from the east and west). About half of my larger fish came on high pressure, but they were one fish days.                              Here is a little trivia-

The highest barometric pressure ever recorded was 32.01 inches. This reading was taken in Agata, Siberia, on December 31, 1968, during clear and extremely cold weather. The lowest known barometric pressure was recorded over the Pacific Ocean during a typhoon on October 12, 1979. The pressure was 25.9 inches.

[Zcoker]

I always check the pressure with an app. Maybe a habit, I don't know. Or maybe I just like to feel like I'm on top of things before go out lol.

 

Here in south Florida the frontal line becomes so well defined as it hits the hotter air. That's when the weatherman snaps to life: the clouds increase, the wind flares up, rapid temperature fluctuations. After the front, things nose dive, the clouds vanish, temps stabilize, the wind dies. Yet I still have decent days (or nights) during this time. Even without the fronts or the barometric pressure changes, fishing is good as long as there is a bit of something going on. A cloudy or windy day is much more preferred than a stagnate clear day regardless of the pressure situation; a little wind at night always lights the bite!  

[GRiver]

I don’t know about the numbers, what’s good or bad but, I’d know change will turn on the bite.

One time, I was fishing a long a bank wasn’t getting anything, zilch, nada, nothing, kaput….. Clouds rolled in, I could fell the change and the temp drop. I started getting bites, I swung around and fish the same shore, using the same bait and was catching fish. For an area I thought was void of fish, I sure put them in the boat, figurative speaking, I turn them all loose. 
 

[BustedSwimbait]

Not sure, I always check and think that'll have an effect but my trip on Monday said different. Bio Pressure was 30.15 and had the best day of the year so far. Only 4 fish but they were chunky boys for the PNW

[Bird]

I plan all my trips around wind first and foremost.

This may sound like an '0le wives tale but has proven itself.

Buddy and I were heading to the lake yesterday morning and he said " this ain't gonna be a good day of fishing because

all the cows are lying down ".

We caught 2 fish in 6 hours with overcast and very light wind.

I may just buy a cow and plan around that.

 

[Bankc]

It's the speed and direction of the change that matters, not the raw number.  

 

Barometric pressure also changes with elevation.  It's a lot higher at sea level (29.92 is considered "normal" there) than up in the mountains.  For instance, Denver's average is about 24.9.  Now, if you look up Denver's air pressure on the internet, you'll likely see a number listed closer to 30.  That's because they use a "corrected" number that assumes the average air pressure for any elevation to be 29.92.  But if you had a barometer on hand, you'd get a much lower number than that.  

 

And it's kind of like that everywhere.  So the number you see published is very rarely the real number, unless it's a coastal town.  

 

And just like how we can get elevation sickness by rapidly ascending or descending a mountain, if we gradually climb a mountain over a period of several weeks, our body will adapt and we'll never notice the effects.  Same with fish.  It's not the degree of overall change, but the speed and direction that matters.  

[Team9nine]

One of those super obvious things that's easy to record in your log and think that you're on the path to bass fishing enlightenment. There are some incredibly detailed theories on fishing using barometric pressure, as well as some incredibly simple ones. Choose your path wisely, grasshopper.

 

[WRB]

Way back in 1960’s barometric pressure was very popular as we had few other methods to predict bass activity.

Where I live the pressure varies very little and soon set barometric away as it never was accurate. If fact the opposite was more accurate then the gage shown by Team9nine.

Lower pressure indicates rain was in the forecast and a slightly falling pressure was better fishing then a rising pressure indicating a cold front followed by wind and higher pressure clearing skies.

Today we have accurate weather forecast with satellite imaging indicating low and high pressure regional maps and wind velocity and direction. 

Tom

[scaleface]

Barometric pressure, whats that?

[Bankc]

20 minutes ago, scaleface said:

Barometric pressure, whats that?

It's the impact of bears in Canada catching fish out of streams that feed into U.S. lakes where we use the imperial system of measurements.  It makes the bass more skittish and less likely to bite.  

[Bankbeater]

On 4/28/2023 at 11:47 AM, scaleface said:

Barometric pressure, whats that?

It is what makes my shoulder hurt.  I don't know what it does as far as fishing.

[Fishin Dad]

On 4/28/2023 at 10:08 AM, Bankc said:

It's the speed and direction of the change that matters, not the raw number.  

 

Barometric pressure also changes with elevation.  It's a lot higher at sea level (29.92 is considered "normal" there) than up in the mountains.  For instance, Denver's average is about 24.9.  Now, if you look up Denver's air pressure on the internet, you'll likely see a number listed closer to 30.  That's because they use a "corrected" number that assumes the average air pressure for any elevation to be 29.92.  But if you had a barometer on hand, you'd get a much lower number than that.  

 

And it's kind of like that everywhere.  So the number you see published is very rarely the real number, unless it's a coastal town.  

 

And just like how we can get elevation sickness by rapidly ascending or descending a mountain, if we gradually climb a mountain over a period of several weeks, our body will adapt and we'll never notice the effects.  Same with fish.  It's not the degree of overall change, but the speed and direction that matters.  

bankc, this makes some sense.  Thanks for the info.  I am going to see if I can track pressure this year.  Just might be interesting.  I always say I am going to log every trip, and always fail to do so.   Maybe this is the year.  I love learning this stuff. 

[Pat Brown]

To me thinking about barometric pressure when you're bass fishing is like observing that you are wet to know it's raining.

 

Just pay attention to clouds/wind/rain etc.

 

Barometric pressure being low just means clouds.  Barometric pressure being high just means no clouds.  (Not really but basically)

 

Most of the rules for high pressure or low pressure situations are just rules for clouds or no clouds.

[Functional]

ive heard pre front they feed to hunker down during the storm.

 

Ive heard they are more active during the storm because surface gets oxygenated with waves/rain

 

Ive heard they are feed after the storm because of all the new bugs/critters washed into the water from the storm.

 

Ive had luck during all 3 at completely different times. If someone knows more...please save me some time lol. My biggest issue has been my local lake gets like chocolate milk after every rain storm and its rained now 16 times out of the last 18 weekends. Its looked like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory's river of chocolate for weeks now.

[Jig Man]

I tracked and recorded it for several years.  I never could find any real correlation to it and how the fishing was.  Much of the time it changed while I was out.  I gave up and track the wind and moon now.

[Fat Ika]

Barometric pressure has been fairly consistent with power fishing vs finesse fishing for me over the past 5 years. Prior to that, for 20+ years I looked at mostly season, night temps, warm/cold trends, wind, wind direction, water clarity etc. I definitely catch more fish, larger fish, and a more consistent moving bait/bigger profile bite with dropping pressure trends. For the most part, in north midwest, especially in the spring & fall, warm fronts with wind/overcast/pre-storm systems, obviously........ basically a given the pressure is dropping or still trending lower than average.  Since I exclusively bank fish and rent boats, checking the pressure helps me pack light & commit to whatever is prepped. 

[Fishin Dad]

53 minutes ago, Jig Man said:

I tracked and recorded it for several years.  I never could find any real correlation to it and how the fishing was.  Much of the time it changed while I was out.  I gave up and track the wind and moon now.

Thanks.  I will add that to my list!!

[TOXIC]

All I know is that moving pressure gives me a headache and I’ve heard it does the same to the bass so they move in the water column to offset it.  Where they move is the big question. As for the cows laying down, it’s something my grandfather told me when I was young.  I didn’t figure out until later that most animals feed on a set of factors and it somewhat applies across the board.  

[Fishin Dad]

I have always heard that if the animals are active, the fish will bite better.  I have seen that for sure.  While driving to the lake, if the deer, squirrels, pheasants, etc. are out, my fishing is good.  When I don’t see much wildlife, it has been a struggle.  

[Bird]

This thread is still going on after I gave the most intellectual response yet easy to understand.

I'll repeat, " if the cows are lying down, don't go fishing". ?

[Team9nine]

15 minutes ago, Bird said:

This thread is still going on after I gave the most intellectual response yet easy to understand.

I'll repeat, " if the cows are lying down, don't go fishing". ?

STAY HOME…

[gim]

1 hour ago, Fishin Dad said:

I have always heard that if the animals are active, the fish will bite better.  I have seen that for sure.  While driving to the lake, if the deer, squirrels, pheasants, etc. are out, my fishing is good.  When I don’t see much wildlife, it has been a struggle.  

There is some truth to that.  They can tell when there is a storm coming and they often feed before it arrives knowing that they may need to hunker down for a while until it passes.  I've seen this many times in November when I'm deer hunting.

 

I don't track exact barometric pressure in terms of fishing, but a dropping pressure almost always means a weather change is imminent.  It often produces an east or northeast wind prior to arrival, and clouds/rain/storms, depending on how severe the frontal change is.  In the summer time, my absolute best fishing comes just prior to the arrival of low pressure.  I muskie fish, and this is the most predictable pattern I've noticed when targeting them.  A week of sunny, warm weather with high pressure followed by a weather change coming in is almost a virtual lock to get fish feeding aggressively in the summer time here.  The bite is usually very good while the front is overhead too (rain/clouds).  When I see rain in the forecast during the summer, those are the days I target.  Not only is the bite usually better, but it keeps a lot of other people off the water.  After it passes, the fishing slows for a period of time.

 

In the spring, my success is the opposite.  Warm, sunny days move fish shallow and make them bite more willingly whereas a low pressure system that drops the air temperature shuts them down.

[Fishin Dad]

18 minutes ago, gimruis said:

There is some truth to that.  They can tell when there is a storm coming and they often feed before it arrives knowing that they may need to hunker down for a while until it passes.  I've seen this many times in November when I'm deer hunting.

 

I don't track exact barometric pressure in terms of fishing, but a dropping pressure almost always means a weather change is imminent.  It often produces an east or northeast wind prior to arrival, and clouds/rain/storms, depending on how severe the frontal change is.  In the summer time, my absolute best fishing comes just prior to the arrival of low pressure.  I muskie fish, and this is the most predictable pattern I've noticed when targeting them.  A week of sunny, warm weather with high pressure followed by a weather change coming in is almost a virtual lock to get fish feeding aggressively in the summer time here.  The bite is usually very good while the front is overhead too (rain/clouds).  When I see rain in the forecast during the summer, those are the days I target.  Not only is the bite usually better, but it keeps a lot of other people off the water.  After it passes, the fishing slows for a period of time.

 

In the spring, my success is the opposite.  Warm, sunny days move fish shallow and make them bite more willingly whereas a low pressure system that drops the air temperature shuts them down.

I agree with fish biting right before and during the front (change).  I am going to pay more attention this year in a journal and see what the numbers say.  
Since you fish muskies, do you ever get to Waconia?   I grew up on that lake.  

[RHuff]

It depends on where you live.... in lakes near where I live where we are used to getting cold fronts and changing weather constantly it doesn't really impact the fish as much.....  In areas like FL when a major front moves in it can have a bigger impact on the fish...    I don't really pay that much attention to it...

 

Buck Perry used frontal conditions.....The front and post front drives fish inactive into sanctuary water. Around 3-4 days after the front moves out the fish will turn on and move shallow. The day before/right before another front hits is when he says fish are the most active while shallow..