Water Level

[LrgmouthShad]

Between

1. The actual water level 

2. the change that is occurring in the water level (falling/rising) 
 

Which do you think affects fish and their positioning more?

[A-Jay]

I'm going with they are equal ~

One positions them in a certain area and so does the other. 

Duration in & around an area could be more or less depending on the situation.

And that would include tidal deals, which are often over looked.

A-Jay

[Jar11591]

I’m going with the level changes, kind of like water temperature. Fishing is more predictable when the water level and temperature are more stable, regardless of high or low, where fishing can usually get more unpredictable with rapid rises or falls in water level or temperature, so it seems like it affects them more. Just my experience anyway. 

[Dwight Hottle]

High water has the greater effect to the fisherman. Fish will disperse into new shallow areas that didn't exist before which the fisherman can't readily access. But conversely falling water levels will generally concentrate the fish into areas that are known to the fisherman & readily accessible. 

[Catt]

29 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

Which do you think affects fish and their positioning more?

 

Rising/falling 

 

Each depends how much & how fast.

[Pat Brown]

I fish on reservoirs that only fluctuate during extreme downpour and they are drained while it happens back to their appropriate level.  As a result I don't have much experience with flooded banks/cover but it seems like it would be more challenging than falling water.

 

I find that while it's raining, areas the current is concentrated are great and areas the fresh water is coming in can also be great.

 

When it doesn't rain for weeks in the summer, the water will fall a lot, exposing lots of bank that's normally under water.

 

I actually find this makes the fishing easier in general.  The deeper drops and shallow cover that are often a few feet beneath the surface become much easier to see with polarized glasses and shallow fishing visual targets can be very fun during low water.

 

 

[N Florida Mike]

It depends on the type of water body too. If the water’s way up and out of it’s banks into a swamp fish will be dispersed and harder to find. If the water is contained in a lake , just higher, fish will often  be up shallow to get all the food washing in. They will also face drains and pick off food sources coming through.

When the waters low they are more concentrated and should be easier to find, especially the smaller the water body…

[LrgmouthShad]

Anyone have a gauge for how quick a 675 CFS dam discharge is? Lake is getting pretty overfilled and believe Corps of Engineers is letting out water very quickly - if in fact 675 CFS is fast. Sure sounds fast.

 

[Edit] Correction: I found a report. Over 1000 CFS

[Susky River Rat]

Anytime there is high water I fish the new flooded areas. Usually the best time for me in a high water situation is after it peaks and just starts to drop. It gave the fish time to get up there. Water tends to clear a tad. They also seem to be hungry. Lower levels have always been more challenging for me than high in lakes or rivers.

 

So rising makes them hungry and move. Falling makes them just slide out. This is what I have seen anyway.

[Darth-Baiter]

i think it depends on the body of water.

 

i dont know how many times i have waited for a higher tide to punch a juice looking weed mat.  at low tide, there just didnt seem to be enough water under it.  or at low tide, i can punch a weed mat because the mat is so wide that i imagine the low tide pushed them towards the outer mat where i could reach with a bait.  

 

most days i just fish..and i just watch the wind.

[Bankc]

I can't say that I've ever really noticed water level effecting the fish that much.  Then again, I'm not a great angler.  Sure, when the water level rises, the fish will push up into new areas that weren't accessible before.  And when it falls, they'll pull back into new areas that weren't as accommodating before.   And the water level can completely change the layout of the lake and how it fishes, as seen from above the surface.  But I try to view the lake from the eye's of the fish, and not think about it in terms of surface features.  So while water level changes can definitely change where the fish will be located from our perspective, I don't feel as though it has as large of an effect on their actual behavior.  

 

Then again, what do I know?  

[AlabamaSpothunter]

I'd rather fish a flooded lake than a drought stricken one.

 

You'd think lower water would make congregating fish easier to catch vs rising water making scattered fish harder to catch but that's not been the case for me.  

[WRB]

Spring up, Fall down.

Tom

[Catt]

As mentioned what body of water plays a major roll.

 

I fish tidal waters quite often, the tide has to be moving or don't even bother going. 

 

For ponds, lakes, & reservoirs, how much rise or fall & how quickly. 

[Darth-Baiter]

1 hour ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

I'd rather fish a flooded lake than a drought stricken one.

 

You'd think lower water would make congregating fish easier to catch vs rising water making scattered fish harder to catch but that's not been the case for me.  

i was told by a biologist a lake drastically drying up holds less oxygen, and the fish wont eat.  dunno.  also something about toxins build up.  

[Pat Brown]

Well let me clarify a little bit here.  A draught is bad but here what generally happens is we get MAJOR thunderstorms that dump lots of water and cause major flooding and the water folks preemptively draw the lake down a foot or two so the surge doesn't cause damage or injury to people nearby.

 

The couple days before those BIG downpours where the water is low can be very very interesting and in my experience they do NOT stop biting at all.

 

They are after all generally getting ready for BIG low pressure fronts when this happens.......??

[Darth-Baiter]

1 minute ago, Pat Brown said:

Well let me clarify a little bit here.  A draught is bad but here what generally happens is we get MAJOR thunderstorms that dump lots of water and cause major flooding and the water folks preemptively draw the lake down a foot or two so the surge doesn't cause damage or injury to people nearby.

 

The couple days before those BIG downpours where the water is low can be very very interesting and in my experience they do NOT stop biting at all.

 

They are after all generally getting ready for BIG low pressure fronts when this happens.......??

yea.  that is different.  then the only thing is to find where they went.  they are 100% not in that bush that is now up on a bank exposed by the downdraw.

 

i always tell myself to memorize where the juicy cover is, only to forget as soon as the water comes back up.

[WRB]

Take photo’s when water is down, helps your memory!

Lake Castiac has risen 98’ vertical feet since January storms and 100% full spilling water as we speak.

The water has finally cleared, still floating debris the bite is tough  but coming around.

Lake Casitas is now 70% full up from 30% since January. Shore trees and brush now flooded has 15 years of growth, a jungle for the bass to hide in. Fishing is decent.

Cachuma is 100% full and spilling up from 30% and like Castias the shore is a flooded jungle. Fishing is good as NLMB and Smallmouth at Cachuma are more aggressive easier to catch then the FLMB in Casitas and Castaic.

So bass species plays a roll in behavior.

Tom

[fishingram24]

Since I mainly fish tidal river systems, I deal with constantly changing water levels every time I go. Fish set up differently depending on tide movement and since its also a river system, the river levels play a big part in my decision on where the fish may locate. Taken altogether it can make for finicky fish, one day great and the next you may zero but under normal conditions, falling water is better by a good bit.