Storm fronts pt 2

[snowplow]

So you guys have taught me a lot about storm fronts or the front of a weather pattern. I was thinking about it and I guess I didn't really understand this part. Say Tuesday it's raining, Wednesday at some point the weather supposed to change and get a little nicer. Thursday it's supposed to be Nice and sunny. 

 

I'm assuming the front would be Wednesday like right on the actual change. But would fishing be good right then during the change or more like before or right after the change when it's changed to whatever it was going to be? Do you guys get what I'm saying? Which day would you choose to fish?

[thediscochef]

Personally I would fish Tuesday morning before the rain and then twiddle my thumbs until Friday but that's just one opinion 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

The "front" in your example would be the hours leading up to the increased wind, slight drop in air temp, drop in pressure, and ultimately the rainfall on Tuesday.   

 

Weds. would be post frontal + 1 day, and so forth.     

 

The common thought is that the best time to fish is leading into that front, so the hours leading up to that rainfall event, and during it given it's not to dangerous to be out in.    

 

The more I fish, and I've spent about 300 days a year over the last two on the water......the more I realize there is no definitive answer to "when's the best to go fishing based on weather/fronts".

 

Perfect example, 5/31-6/1 I was on the water hours leading up to and during the perfect pre front and actual frontal event the other night.   Textbook conditions for a big fish bite, 3.8lbs was my biggest that night.

 

Just got home from getting a 7.1 and a 5.9 on just another "post frontal" night fishing the exact same time frame, and milk run.    

 

The best time to fish is when you can!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

[Swamp Girl]

6 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

The more I fish, and I've spent about 300 days a year over the last two on the water......the more I realize there is no definitive answer to "when's the best to go fishing based on weather/fronts".

 

I agree. Our species has been here for about 300,000 years. Bass have been here for about 3,000,000 years. To survive 3,000,000 years, you have to be a highly adapted animal, one that Mother Nature has fine-tuned a guhblillion times. Anyone who asserts that bass are simple feeding and spawning machines lives in Make-Believe Land. They are sophisticated feeding and spawning machines. NEARLY EVERY TIME I go fishing, I find the bass have moved and like @AlabamaSpothunter, I fish a lot. They're reacting to every little tick and click in their environment and always shifting their position and approach.

 

However, I too like to fish right before the change happens because I remember moments of angling bliss at such times. 

 

I know that someone of you might dismiss what I'm about to share next, but I can feel coming barometric pressure changes like wild animals can.* I have literally lived years of my life in tents and when you sleep outside, you must be aware of coming change. I think we could all feel barometric pressure changing if we hadn't been numbed by decades of living behind thick walls, where weather really doesn't matter, but living outside forces you to pay attention...or else.

 

*I once felt a tornado well before it arrived and that pressure shift yanked me out of deep sleep, but I can also feel the pressure shifting before lesser storms arrive. I've been in the wilderness when the sky was Robin's egg blue and said more than once, "There's a storm coming." 

 

Then, the next day, it was howling. I think all wild animals feel change coming too and so they get their essential business done right then, like eating, before the change hits.

[gim]

I am a believer in fronts in the summer time.  In the spring or fall, not so much (don't winter fish here).  I cannot completely control when I'm able to go fishing all the time, but I do have some flexibility.  If there is a low pressure system coming into the area and we have had several days of high pressure, the hours right before and possible during (depending on how severe it is) is quite often my best fishing of the entire season.  The fish are often very aggressive and you can catch them with fast moving lures.  I want to stress that you should not be out there when its unsafe.  There is a fine line between being smart and being dumb when it comes to the weather.

 

Obviously there are going to be times when this just doesn't work out so its not written into law.  More often than not, it has worked out for me.

 

I caught the biggest largemouth since 2006 a week ago with a low pressure front over head.  It was light rain off and on most of the morning but there was about a 15 minute heavy rain.  I switched to a fast moving black spinnerbait and it paid off.

 

 

[Swamp Girl]

2 minutes ago, gimruis said:

I switched to a fast moving black spinnerbait and it paid off.

 

Clever lad. Heavy rain means less light, where black is best. Pounding rain means you better make some noise yourself. Beautiful bass! 

 

We're both front fishers! 

[casts_by_fly]

1 hour ago, ol'crickety said:

 

I agree. Our species has been here for about 300,000 years. Bass have been here for about 3,000,000 years. To survive 3,000,000 years, you have to be a highly adapted animal, one that Mother Nature has fine-tuned a guhblillion times. Anyone who asserts that bass are simple feeding and spawning machines lives in Make-Believe Land. They are sophisticated feeding and spawning machines. NEARLY EVERY TIME I go fishing, I find the bass have moved and like @AlabamaSpothunter, I fish a lot. They're reacting to every little tick and click in their environment and always shifting their position and approach.

 

However, I too like to fish right before the change happens because I remember moments of angling bliss at such times. 

 

I know that someone of you might dismiss what I'm about to share next, but I can feel coming barometric pressure changes like wild animals can.* I have literally lived years of my life in tents and when you sleep outside, you must be aware of coming change. I think we could all feel barometric pressure changing if we hadn't been numbed by decades of living behind thick walls, where weather really doesn't matter, but living outside forces you to pay attention...or else.

 

*I once felt a tornado well before it arrived and that pressure shift yanked me out of deep sleep, but I can also feel the pressure shifting before lesser storms arrive. I've been in the wilderness when the sky was Robin's egg blue and said more than once, "There's a storm coming." 

 

Then, the next day, it was howling. I think all wild animals feel change coming too and so they get their essential business done right then, like eating, before the change hits.

 

 

This is where I am.  I like to fish the calm before the storm and then right into the storm itself.  Lightning will put me off the water (like it did last Wednesday) but rain is no problem.  Side benefit- it keeps all of the pests as bay like mosquitos and other boaters.

 

I've noticed that deer are particularly acute to coming storms.  When its hunting season, I hunt the storm fronts, especially for shorter duration storms.  I've found that around here they are always very active in the 2-4 hours before a storm rolls through.  They'll go bed down for the storm, and be up as soon as its done.  Deer eat 4-5 times a day and if the storm aligns with a time when they would normally be bedded between feeds all the better.  Nothing better than an early afternoon storm- they get their mid-day feed right before it, go bed down, and pop up in the last 2 hours of daylight when the storm is done and they are hungry.  I like to sneak in during the storm using the rain and wind as cover sound.  You can sneak right up on their bedding areas (or at least much closer than normal) and be ready when they are up.

 

I suspect bass have a similar relationship with weather fronts, though muted because they don't actually live in the above water area where the storm affects most.  I mean, they are already wet so the rain itself doesn't bother them (deer will bed before the rain to keep a dry bed).  

 

 

8 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Perfect example, 5/31-6/1 I was on the water hours leading up to and during the perfect pre front and actual frontal event the other night.   Textbook conditions for a big fish bite, 3.8lbs was my biggest that night.

 

Just got home from getting a 7.1 and a 5.9 on just another "post frontal" night fishing the exact same time frame, and milk run.    

 

The best time to fish is when you can!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

I had one of those textbook days on Wednesday 29th here.  Grey light, barely a light breeze, front approaching when I got there.  2 hours later I was off the water, chased off by lightning.  Should have been the time for some bass to eat, but I never touched one.  One grabbed the tail of a swimbait and another followed another swimbait but just curious.  The muskies were on the prowl though and I think the bass knew it and stayed tucked in.

 

Two days earlier was 2 days post frontal, clear skies, and otherwise uninteresting conditions and the bass were chewing.

 

As much as I like a pre-frontal day for comfort of fishing and keeping others off the water, I'm just going to plan to fish when I am able to get out for the longest periods to give me enough time to sort out what kind of day it is.

[Swamp Girl]

1 minute ago, casts_by_fly said:

I like to sneak in during the storm using the rain and wind as cover sound. 

 

Hardcore. Respect.

 

2 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

I mean, they are already wet so the rain itself doesn't bother them (deer will bed before the rain to keep a dry bed).  

 

It's not the rain that bothers them. It's the wind, which churn water, making hunting harder. 

 

4 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

The muskies were on the prowl though and I think the bass knew it and stayed tucked in.

 

I totally believe this. I once had a classroom aquarium with largemouth bass, bluegills, etc. I bought minnows to feed the bass and the minnows KNEW when bass were feeding, as they darted about the aquarium with the bass in pursuit. The minnows also knew when bass stopped feeding, as they'd suddenly stop darting and swim right beside the mouths of bass. I think bass could also read the body language of muskies and know when it was wise to hide. 

[Skunkmaster-k]

If the weather has been stable for three or more days before Tuesday I’m probably going to choose Monday and Tuesday for the best fishing. 

[snowplow]

I've noticed that deer are particularly acute to coming storms. When its hunting season, I hunt the storm fronts, especially for shorter duration storms. I've found that around here they are always very active in the 2-4 hours before a storm rolls through. They'll go bed down for the storm, and be up as soon as its done. Deer eat 4-5 times a day and if the storm aligns with a time when they would normally be bedded between feeds all the better. Nothing better than an early afternoon storm- they get their mid-day feed right before it, go bed down, and pop up in the last 2 hours of daylight when the storm is done and they are hungry. I like to sneak in during the storm using the rain and wind as cover sound. You can sneak right up on their bedding areas (or at least much closer than normal) and be ready when they are up.

 

I suspect bass have a similar relationship with weather fronts, though muted because they don't actually live in the above water area where the storm affects most. I mean, they are already wet so the rain itself doesn't bother them (deer will bed before the rain to keep a dry bed).  

 

This is exactly how l hunt too! This is what got me thinking about the bass. Thank you very much all! This was super helpful.

[snowplow]

One quick follow-up question. Does it work both ways? I could see how if it's been nice and the bad weather starts to roll in the bite would be on. What if it's been mostly rainy, bad weather and is turning nice. Will the bite still be ideal on the front side of that while it's still bad weather?

[Skunkmaster-k]

In my experience a rising barometer isn’t usually a good thing. But , I still go fishing just because of FOMO and sometimes get surprised.