Hello Everyone, Last October I came across this site and started following the Major and Minor times that were convenient to my work schedule and it became a Marked Improvement like Instantly.... Living on a small lake and maybe 50' from it's bank, makes it very easy to pop in and pop out... I fished this lake as a teenager and occasionally caught some very nice fish, but the key word is OCCASIONALLY. I had seen some sample hand outs that had a monthly Best Fishing Calendar, (unfortunately outdated) and began to explore, resulting in this really great site.
As Good as anything Is, there are ALWAYS those things that come into Factor; WEATHER being about the Biggest.
Where I have had great successes with Fishingreminder; Rebelliously following these best times there are those that are Less Productive and are beyond control of any advanced dated Solunar Schedule....
Recently I came across the following article for those of us where high expectations go unfilled and needs an answer to the Burning Question of regarding GOOD DAY's NOT Being As Good As Expected !!!!!
This is NOT My Writing; I came across it on a Google Search pertaining to Best Weather for Bass Fishing, I've seen it a couple of times in varying word lengths. This is perhaps the best, most Concise Explanation of Weather & Conditions and understandably presented that I felt it was very much worth sharing.
Hope you enjoy,
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You can ignore the effect air pressure has on bass and go on pretending it doesn't matter.
And You'll go on being wrong!
What Makes Weather: "Weather" is caused by uneven heating of the earth's surface. Warm air is lighter than cold air, so it rises. Rising air would create a vacuum, but nature won't permit that, so surrounding air rushes in to fill the void that rising air is trying to create. The result is "wind". Also, its the warm air, rising air in one area, and the cold, descending air in a different area that creates differences in air pressure, i.e. barometric pressure, and at any given spot in the world this pressure is constantly changing. We humans seem a bit out of tune with barometric pressure changes, as they don't seem to affect us as much, at least outwardly. Do these pressure changes affect other land animals? Probably so. Some of this we can maybe document, but a lot of this is still open to further study. Most anglers agree that fish react considerably to changes in air pressure. Why? To understand the answer to that question, we should think of the "air" above as pushing down on a lake or river because of the air's weight. We now know that the weight of that air is constantly changing through air pressure changes. One key to why fish are so affected by air pressure changes is that when air pushes on the water there's no place for it to go, or at least there's very little water compression. Further, when air compresses down against a body of water, the pressure in the water itself is more (water pressure) than the difference than the air pressure has experienced because air will compress so much more. The "standard" for barometric pressure is 29.92 inches of mercury at sea level. This means "standard" air pressure will hold up 29.92 inches of mercury (if it's inverted just so). If air pressure increases, i.e. there's more weight on it, the pressure goes up, maybe to 29.99, 30.13, something like that. If air pressure goes down, there's less weight pressing down on it, so the numbers might read 29.85, 29.79, something like that. The thing to remember is that while you might imagine these fluctuation to be small (maybe because we can't feel them), fish like bass do feel these changes, perhaps dramatically because the air above is pressing down on the water where they live and the changes in the water pressure are much more dramatic than in the air.
How Pressure Affect Bass: Sorry for that lengthy explanation, but maybe this is the first time you've been able to better understand what barometric pressure is, as well as why fish are maybe more affected by these changes in their watery environment. One of the reasons bass are so challenging is that they seem more influenced by environmental changes like barometric pressure. These atmospheric pressure changes affect shallow water bass more than they do the deeper dwellers. It is thought that fish are able to monitor pressure changes via their swim bladder. We can assume that when barometric pressure goes up (higher), bass feel increased pressure on their swim bladder. The swim bladder might even compress. Does this make them feel lethargic, uncomfortable, less inclined to feed? Might high pressure even affect their equilibrium or sense of balance? Probably so on all counts, or at least that's what many people are theorizing at this moment. Recall how a bass reacts when it is kept out of the water longer than it normally take to release it? They turn on their side when you turn them loose. One plausible reason this might occur is that by being out of the watery environment for a while, their swim bladder expands considerably, fouling up their equilibrium. It probably takes a bass quite a long time to recover from this. Same deal with a marked air pressure change (up or down) which in turn affects the pressure in the water.
How To Check Your Local Pressure: What about the barometers you keep in your house? Are they worth owning? These probably have marginal value unless you monitor them almost constantly. Why? Because, unless you looked, you don't know what the pressure was an hour ago, or eight hours ago, or yesterday. These instruments will, however, tell you when there are extreme swings in pressure, i.e. very low or very high pressure, both of which are relatively uncommon, and neither of which tends to last very long. It's probably a better idea to monitor the Weather Channel or your local weather for barometric pressure readings.
Predicting Bass Reactions to Barometer Changes: Can fish, especially bass, predict weather changes as well as, maybe even better than, the National Weather Service? Maybe so, and if they can, a lot of what fish can predict might be associated with their swim bladders. One rule to go by is, concentrate on fishing shallow water during air pressure drops, deeper water during air pressure rises. Air pressure changes impact on the fishing more in the fall, winter and early to mid spring. This might be because fronts that pass during this time of year tend to come from the north and northwest, while late spring, summer and early fall frontal systems often come from the south and southwest. The colder weather fronts that come from the north and northwest involve more drastic barometric pressure changes, while the warmer weather fronts associated with coming from the south and southwest involve relatively mild pressure changes. While you forward to the day's fishing when it's as clear as the proverbial bell, not a cloud in the sky, you're not likely to encounter great fishing because the barometric pressure readings are probably very high. That reasoning is a lot more plausible than guessing that it's too bright and the bass have no eyelids, and this is the reason for them being off the "bite". But we all fish in these conditions. There is something we can do about it though. Bass are going to head for the thickest of cover they can find, and you'll have to do plenty in the positive sense to encourage them to bite. So select slow moving baits and slow down your retrieves. Make your presentations soft and easy. Worms, grubs, the jig n pig will probably be among your best lure choices.
The Best and Worst Conditions: Bass bite fairly well when the barometer is from, say, 29.98 to 30.02. However, from mid-spring to early autumn you may have your best catches, when barometric pressure has dropped from the 29.98 to 30.02 range, and dropped dramatically in a relatively short time. It's the drop of .10 to .15 in pressure (and especially a fast drop) that triggers two things: (1) the bass go on a relatively brief rampage, and (2) it's an approaching weather front that causes the air pressure drop. Of course, it can be hazardous to fish once the front gets too close, what with the probability of high winds and lightning. So a second game plan might be to fish a couple of days after a significant front has passed through, once air pressure has stabilized. And a third game plan would be to go fishing when the air pressure has been relatively steady for several days. The worst times to go fishing, in terms of barometric pressure, are when the pressures are below 29.90 or above 30.15. It is thought that bass tend to recover more quickly from air pressure changes in warm water than they do in cold, as much as three of four days in cold water, despite barometric pressures otherwise seeming to be fine. In conclusion, many environmental factors affect fish behavior, like PH, water clarity, water temperature, water fluctuation, just to mention a few. But changes in barometric pressure are critical, and understanding them will help you concentrate your best bass fishing efforts even more.
Though the weather swirls around us constantly while we're fishing, we anglers often fail to identify the details of the conditions that can help us find and catch more bass. Yet, if we keep a weather eye on the sky, we can often adapt our tackle and tactics to increase our catch rates significantly. The following information summarizes the sometimes obvious, sometimes subtle changes in the weather, how these change affect fish, and how we should adapt our tactics and locations to the changing patterns.
WARM FRONTS. Identification: 1. These are the edges of slow moving masses of warm air. 2. Weather does not change quickly, but often brings thickening clouds and rain. 3. Barometric pressure stabilizes and drops slowly. 4. Temperatures rise slowly as warm air pushes aside cold air. 5. Bad weather that arrives is not usually severe, as it's more likely to be a light dizzle or rain than a hard downpour. 6. Bad weather takes longer to leave. Bass Activity: 1.The most active feeding periods. 2. Bass will be persuing a wide variety of forage. 3. Fish will be widely dispersed and moving throughout feeding areas. Where To Fish: 1. Wherever forage holds. 2. Largemouths will likely to be in weedy, shallow cover, but are also apt to be moving through it. In the early season, look for fresh bloom of water plants in south facing bays and shallows. Later, find submerged weed beds, midlake humps and the like. Don't ignore shallow hard structure such as brush, logs, piers and so on. Effective Tactics: 1. Nearly any lure can be effective, but if possible, match it to water conditions and typical forage. 2. For largemouths in weedy cover, use weedless plastic worms, jigs, leeches, buzzbaits and so on. 3. For smallmouths, use crankbaits, crawfish imitating soft and hard baits, mid to deep running crankbaits, and so on.
COLD FRONTS. Identification: 1. These are the edges of masses of cold air that push in and under warm air. 2. This is severe but short lived weather, characterized by hard, fast moving thunderstorms followed by clear skies and dropping temperatures. 3. Barometric pressure will fluctuate rapidly, then rise dramatically as high pressure builds. Bass Activity: 1. Bass will move away from standard feeding stations, usually to deeper water and submerged cover. 2. Activity can be varied as the weather, from short feeding binges to liplocked activity. Where To Fish: 1.Transition areas where bass are moving back and forth between feeding areas and deeper cover and structure. 2. Pronounced transition areas include channels between coves and islands, old river beds, and manmade structures such as underwater railroad beds. 3. Subtle transition zones include areas between shallow weed beds and submerged weed lines, or along the side of sloping points of land. Effective Tactics: 1. Use searching and attracting lures such as rattling crankbaits and bright, big spinnerbaits. 2. Once bass are located, cover transition areas thoroughly with slow moving jigs or plastic worms, and switch to big, bright spoons, spinners, and crankbaits.
LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS. Identification: 1. Air circulates in a counterclockwise direction. 2. Air is gathered from closer to the ground, and is thus warmer and usually more moisture laden. 3. Air rises and intensifies the moisture, forming clouds and causing rain. 4. Cloud cover prevents radiational cooling, and temperatures don't fall. Instead, they generally remain the same or rise. 5. Steady rain causes some air cooling. Bass Activity: 1. Bass remain actively feeding. 2. Fish are well dispersed throughout their feeding areas. 3. Activity is similar to that experienced when there is an approaching warm front, but bass are more widely dispersed and roam about less. Where To Fish: 1. Largemouths are more into ambushing prey, and they will be found throughout good forage areas. 2. Look to the shallows and weeds early in the season, and to deeper sructure such as weed lines and submerged weed beds later in the season. 3. Smallmouths will be moving less, too, but will be found in their preferred hard structure areas where forage is plentiful. Effective Tactics: 1. Use searching lures, and cover a lot of water. Feeding fish won't be as concentrated. 2. Use plastic worms, lizards, and so on in weeds. On weed edges and submerged weed lines, use deeper running stickbaits and crankbaits. Buzzbaits can be deadly. 3. For smallmouths, match the colors to water tint, such as earthy tones for teastained water and florescents, silvers and blues for clear water.
HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEMS. Identification: 1. Air circulates in a clockwise direction. 2. High pressure is literally a high stack of dense air that pushes down and out from the high pressure center. 3. Little moisture accumulates, and there are few clouds. Also called a bluebird day. 4. The weather is beautiful, and the barometric pressure is high. 5. Temperatures tend to fall because air from high altitude is cold and is pushed down to ground level. Lack of cloud cover causes radiational cooling at night. Bass Activity: 1. Bass metabolisms tend to slow, both because of colder temperatures and, some feel , because of internal discomfort from the high pressure. 2. Bass move to deeper water, or suspend. 3. In spring can postpone spawn and push fish back into staging areas. Where To Fish: 1. Pre spawn drop offs adjacent to feeding areas. 2. Transition areas, such as the nearest comfortable deep water structure. ( The fish aren't leaving for the long term, just until the next warm front passes through. ) Effective Tactics: 1. Use big, slow, deep running lures. 2. Use lighter tackle and line. 3. Go slow and be thorough. Coax the fish into striking. 4. Work big baits and lures, such as plastic worms, jigs, and sinking crankbaits, through holding cover.
