By now most of you have had your fill of this series, but again, its winter and lots of time to read at your own leasure. At this point, we can't leave this series without discussing the real "meat" of this topic..."Fishing." So, how does the barometric pressure affect fishing? Barometric pressure doen't change drastically unless there is a storm approaching. When air pushes down on a lake's surface there is no place for it to go. Even though atmospheric pressure changes are relatively small, fish do feel these changes because any change in water pressue, ever how small it may be, is much more dramatic than air pressure changes. Barometric pressure affects shallow-water fish more than deep-water fish. During warm weather months, fishing improves when a storm is approaching, and the barometer is falling, especially in shallow water.
After a storm when the barometer is rising, fish move to deeper water to avoid swimbladder pressure discomfort. During this time, fish feel increased bladder pressure from bladder compression. This discomfort make fish lethargic and less likely to feed. Fishing after a storm when the barometer is rising, one should fish deep water structure and slow down lure retrieve. During late autumn, winter and early spring, north and northwest weather fronts have greater afftects on fish because these fronts tend to be stonger and last longer. During the warmer months, west and southwest fronts tend to be weaker and don't hang around long, thus fish have a shorter recovery time than in the colder months. Bass fishing will be the best when the BP is dropping during pre-frontal and low pressure conditions. If you fish prefrontal conditions, one should always be aware of storms on the water. Prefrontal lightning can be very dangerous, and I am sure some of you have stories about that. However, during long periods of low or high pressure, fish will compensate to the surrounding pressure changes and start to feed once again.
The direction of the wind does not affect fish behavior. A change in wind direction usually indicates a barometric pressure change, and barometric pressure change is what affects fish behavior. In the colder months, a strong north or east wind will indicate a fast moving front most of the time. In the warmer months, a gusty south or west wind will indicate a slow moving front. How many times have you been haveing a good day fishing and all of a sudden the wind starts to blow or change direction, and the bite stops? It wasn't the wind that stopped the bite; it was a change in barometric pressure. If you can catch a stable weather pattern where the BP has been stable for several days and a front starts to move in and the barometric pressure is falling, it is time to fish! If low-pressure conditions after a front continues for a number of days, fishing will pick back up. In the warmer months, the fish will move closer to the surface and/or shore to feed along lake points and deep water transition areas on low pressure days because fish move to shallow water on cloudy and/or windy days. The waves prevent the sunlight from penetrating the water. Fish use the refracted water to hide from predators as well as predators to hide from prey. When viewing BP in relation to light, prefrontal conditions are usually cloudy and rainy so fish will rise in the water column to feed.
During prefrontal conditions, finding shallow water close to deep water areas are good places to fish. After the front passes, skies clear producing bright, sunny days, and on these clear, sunny, high-pressure days fish are slow to bite. If you can find a post-frontal day with wind, the wind can force lots of dissolved oxgyen into the surface water and bait fish will migrate to these waters. This involves the prssure laws and molecular action of turbulent solutions. I remember in the head waters of Herrington one April. It was a post-frontal, high-pressure day with clear blue skies, but the wind was blowing in 20's and 30's against a long mud bank. The water was murky and only 2 to 3 feet deep, but 10 yards off the bank was a drop-off to around 7 or 8 feet. Here in this windy, turbulent water was a school of 4 to 6 lb hybrid bass feeding on shad. It was one of my best days of fishing ever.
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