High pressure vrs low pressure

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Fish-N-Fool
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High pressure vrs low pressure

Post by Fish-N-Fool »

Whats your thoughts on the effects of barometric pressure on fishing. If you think it does, how and why does it effect fish?
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WRB
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Re: High pressure vrs low pressure

Post by WRB »

High and low pressure directly affects the atmosphere above the water by changing light, wind and humidity. In general low pressure indicates cooling temperatures with clouds and possible rain that directly affects terrestrial critters that bass feed on being sight predators more food in the water means opportunity for the bass. High pressure is the opposite to low pressure and generally means clearing the atmosphere, wind and bright light conditions. Wind makes it difficult for terrestrial critters to move around, bright sunlight reduces the predators ability to successfully hunt fewer prey.
The shallower the bass are located the more impact high and low pressure affects them. Deeper water defuses light and very few terrestrial critters are a prey souce opposed to shallow water.
The pressure change has minimal affect on the bass physically, 6" of water depth change offsets any pressure differential.
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Gary Dobyns
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Re: High pressure vrs low pressure

Post by Gary Dobyns »

Most generally low pressure means a better bite and a high pressure a tougher bite. Once it’s high for a few days the affect is minimal. Low going to a high sucks. A high going to a low is usually a very good day. Rainy days will be low pressure and a good bite… but sucks for fishermen :D Nothing is ever in stone with Bass but these are pretty standard thoughts with anglers. WRB is correct too. Deeper fish seem to be less affected with the high pressures. Low pressure seems to help shallower fishing better too. Good luck!!
Rod Martin
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Re: High pressure vrs low pressure

Post by Rod Martin »

Hurricanes are about the max in going High, Low, High. Before the hurricane we caught around 20-25 fish biggest was around 6lbs. I say around because I no longer weigh or handle fish any longer than it takes to release unless it is in a tournament .
After the hurricane , we caught about the same numbers but biggest was around a 4lb fish. All fishing in the same way.

I couldn't talk myself into fishing during the hurricane to see how that was. I will leave that to someone much more into fishing than me.
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Larry Hemphill
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Air mass - cold vs warm

Post by Larry Hemphill »

Gary's first sentence pretty much nailed it. To go a bit further, the incoming air mass during an approaching storm is often a warm front. Most storms are followed by a cold front, featuring cloudless skies with bright sun, or at night, a bright moon (during full moon periods). An incoming daytime storm will darken the sky, cause windy conditions, warm the atmosphere, and add fresh rain water to the lake The fresh water is important for the first storms of the year as the oxygen content of most lakes is low in the fall. Many, many of the 10 lb + bass my clients and I have caught at Clear Lake have been landed during an incoming front or when the warm rain begins, especially mid-October thru December. I have had to do several post-front, cold, night trips in the fall at Clear Lake because the clients needed to go on that date. We have caught a few nice bass, but only one over 10 lbs on a post-front night trip with bright moon. There are exceptions to every rule of bass fishing, and that "10" was a nice exception!!
WRB
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Re: High pressure vrs low pressure

Post by WRB »

Gary's 1st sentence is accepted by everyone, we all know that. The OP asked why and that was what I tried to answer. Rain water is void of DO until it mixes with surface water with wind waves.
Light wind or breeze with warm rain are conditions trophy bass anglers dream about, cold fronts are a nightmare.
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Criley
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Re: High pressure vrs low pressure

Post by Criley »

Fish-N-Fool wrote:Whats your thoughts on the effects of barometric pressure on fishing. If you think it does, how and why does it effect fish?
It does effect fishing. Bass are very in tune with the environment and sensitive to changes. They can detect a change in pressure. Usually when the pressure is considered as a "low pressure" on any given day there are other things associated with it like cloud cover and rain. Cloud cover and rain translate to low light conditions which increase a bass's success rate when attacking prey. Vice versa for "high pressure". Baby and juvenile bass are too inexperienced to recognize the success rate, but the bass that have been around for some time and aren't dumb recognize it and tend to feed more actively during "low pressure". It's all about taking advantage of optimum feeding times, but it may take them a while to figure it out. Similar to small ponds that were stocked with trout. The experienced (older/bigger) bass realized that when the trout truck pulled up they could hang out right there at the launch ramp with their mouths open. I doubt they cared if it was high pressure or low pressure in those cases though.
Criley
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