Author Topic: Atmospheric pressure and fishing  (Read 70378 times)

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okkiebutler

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Atmospheric pressure and fishing
« on: September 30, 2011, 03:26:57 PM »
 :rain: I would like to know what others experience with high versus low atmospheric pressure. My neighbour at Zona Braza(Xai Xai) maintains that the fish don't bite when the pressure is low and it is a waste of time. I think he is right - what do you say guys?

Offline REEFMAN

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Re: Re: Wind & Fishing
« Reply #1 on: September 30, 2011, 03:40:25 PM »
Atmospheric pressure is a good prediction of weather patterns.
Low pressure indicates stormy weather and the fish will go off the bite.
High pressure indicates fair weather and stable conditions... more chance of fish feeding during these conditions.
More importantly, is the very beginning of a dropping barometer - Fish will feed before an approaching storm or between the approaching fronts, or as the barometer rises and falls through the course of the day.
On a rising barometer (after a storm) the fish will feed better too. In my experience, it's when a Barometer starts to move that's important.

These are very basic, general guidelines, as there are always exceptions to the rule, but generally speaking...

 ■ Rising Barometer: Fishing is Best

■Rapidly Fluctuating: Indication of good fishing (regardless of fluctuating up or down).

■Static Barometer: Fishing is poor

■Falling Barometer: First part of fall is good fishing. After the fall continues for several hours, the more the it goes down the poorer fishing will be.

■Unusually Low Barometer: Don’t bother as there is no fishing, because there will be a big storm!


okkiebutler

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Re: Re: Wind & Fishing
« Reply #2 on: October 01, 2011, 03:01:48 PM »
 (clap) Thanks for the info - it is exactly what I needed!

Offline Manuel Junior

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Re: Atmospheric pressure and fishing
« Reply #3 on: October 04, 2011, 06:50:32 PM »
 :shre:

Offline Moolies

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Re: Atmospheric pressure and fishing
« Reply #4 on: October 05, 2011, 04:02:25 PM »
Now that is very good advice  :udman:
You can do anything, but not everything.
—David Allen

Offline REEFMAN

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Re: Atmospheric pressure and fishing
« Reply #5 on: October 05, 2011, 04:22:13 PM »
Now the difficult part is matching the barometer with Sea Temperature, the tides, the wind, the current, the time of the day, the moonphase, your bait, your tackle and your cast!!  :rotfl

Offline super_daav

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Re: Atmospheric pressure and fishing
« Reply #6 on: October 05, 2011, 04:33:21 PM »
Nice Reefs! Cred!
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Offline CASTSA

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Re: Atmospheric pressure and fishing
« Reply #7 on: October 05, 2011, 06:16:28 PM »
My 2c,

The barometer has caused every grey hair I have on my head, we wont say how many but you get my drift...

Ok, now the CORRECT barometer reading differs throughout the areas and obviously what fish you are targeting and to a fare degree what depth they are found at, or where they are found in the water column.

Reefs is spot on, although the comment on a "Static" barometer not producing bites is up for debate, only because of the fact that it varies from place to place. For example, on our SA coastline we the fish tend to bite on the move of the barometer, rise and first drop, but in mozambique a stable barometer around 1018 is perfect and you will find all species of fish eating in that, deepsea and R&S. Also in opinion In mozam especially but here in SA, if you have a flucuating barometer, you will battle to get a get a constant pattern for the fish to settle, flucuations mean change in wind High pressure, low pressure, High pressure, low pressure and this may happen daily, one day east, one day west, just like the weather we are having in KZN now. This seems to  make the fish very uncomfortable as the pressure on the water is on and off.

Think of it like this, fish balance themselves through the amount of oxygen in the water, if you have this increasing and decreasing constantly you will be unbalanced.
For example, best way of thinking of it, as a person we need oxygen to breath, in ordr for us to live, eat, walk etc etc, no give us too little oxygen we will become lethagic and lame, give us too much oxygen we will pass out, give us lots and them a little and them lots we will probably pass out too, but keep that flow constant we will operate to the best of our ability. If we know that the supply will be gone soon we will try get as much nutrients into our bodies, by eating, to obviously with stand the bad times and visa versa with a rising barometer,

High pressure, deep lethagic fish\
Low pressure, deep lethagic fish
Stable, fishing gets better
Rise, good fishing
First drop, better fishing

Anyway that all varies in regards to alititude etc,

Thats my 2c and my personal experiences and many many hours of research..........


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Re: Atmospheric pressure and fishing
« Reply #8 on: October 06, 2011, 12:01:52 PM »
u learn something new everyday.... i understand low is bad rising is good.
now...

http://www.southafricanweather.co.za/aat/line_chart_48.asp?areaID=FALE


is this good or is this bad?
as someone who knows didly squat looking at this graph after understanding this post, id say the fishing is going to be awesome from 5.42 onwards.

Offline tkei

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Re: Atmospheric pressure and fishing
« Reply #9 on: October 07, 2011, 08:38:10 AM »
And when you are out at sea and you can see the wind coming as it whips up the surface, and you know you should be running home, the fish go on the mightiest feeding frenzy ever. This happens without fail and usually ont he days when you havnt had a decent pull all day. The temptation to stay is always there as the fish are bossies when this happens. eish.
I personally have always been too lazy to monitor pressure and catches, but am going to start doing it more to establish my own patterns for the species we target (were once allowed to target)

Offline adam

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Re: Atmospheric pressure and fishing
« Reply #10 on: October 12, 2011, 06:37:48 PM »
As CASTSA said, I believe the oxygen in the water to be a major influence on fish behavior.  Have never been successful when the pressure is low. 

I remember an old fisherman's pointer - when the mountains are clearly visible the fishing will be good.  Makes sense as the fogginess on mountain tops is usually the result of low pressure.  Somehow they got it right!
"I once caught a fish thiiiiiiiiss big, now pass another beer"

Offline deezynking

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Re: Atmospheric pressure and fishing
« Reply #11 on: October 18, 2011, 12:10:11 PM »
and according to this chart fishing is going to be poor.
 
http://www.southafricanweather.co.za/aat/line_chart_48.asp?areaID=FALE

Offline Ray Hall

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Re: Atmospheric pressure and fishing
« Reply #12 on: October 18, 2011, 04:01:22 PM »
i must admit you guys have some good topics!

Offline Capt. Hook

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Re: Atmospheric pressure and fishing
« Reply #13 on: October 18, 2011, 07:42:54 PM »
For most fishing, salt, fresh, river, offshore as the barometer starts to fall is when fishing is best.

Offline malcolm

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Re: Atmospheric pressure and fishing
« Reply #14 on: December 09, 2011, 03:56:55 PM »
 :cnfzd :-( SO NOW THE BIG QUESTION IS WHERE CAN U BUY A GOOD AND FAIRLY CHEAP BAROMETER

Offline Rory mundy

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Re: Atmospheric pressure and fishing
« Reply #15 on: December 10, 2011, 06:20:46 AM »
casio watch

vidalbum

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Re: Atmospheric pressure and fishing
« Reply #16 on: March 07, 2012, 12:01:47 PM »
If one is looking at barometer readings, lets say those provided by SA weather, one can see what has been happening over the last couple of hours to a couple of days.

My question is, is it possible to predict what the readings / graph will or might do in the days ahead??
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ashley

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Re: Atmospheric pressure and fishing
« Reply #17 on: August 07, 2012, 03:37:18 PM »





brilliant info. (clap)

Offline deepblu

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Re: Atmospheric pressure and fishing
« Reply #18 on: August 07, 2012, 04:50:22 PM »
great info Reefz a quick one what is a good website to use to check out all the condtions before planning a trip :dunno:

Offline kapenta

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Re: Atmospheric pressure and fishing
« Reply #19 on: August 07, 2012, 05:18:54 PM »
The observations here are pretty much aligned to what I have found over the years.  But it gets a bit trickier than what the guys have set out.  Consider:


Fish behaviour will be heavily influenced by their recent past experiences - of barometer, tides, moon, wind and sea conditions, ground swell, temperature... the list goes on.  If the fish have had ideal conditions for a couple of days then they will be well-fed and disinterested no matter what. If they are trapped for eg by a cold current into warm bays you will catch them even if conditions are less than ideal.   


So while barometer is one of the things you should look at when planning a trip, you need to look at what it has been recently.  You also need to look at all these other windows and see how to get the information to work out when a good few of them are going to coincide.  If you keep a good diary and do so for a few seasons you will get a reputation for (a) being a bit anal in your approach to fishing, and (b) your predictions about the fish are going to start becoming true more often than not.  Good local knowledge is the most important thing you need to access.


As far as the windows go the following is a rough order of importance I am attaching to the bigger ones these days:


  • [size=78%]Moon phase (cf tides and whether you can get to the ledges/banks at what time of day).  In some areas you want the neaps, in others the new moon springs for the changes that these phases bring to the local sea conditions.  And local [/size][size=78%]knowledge[/size][size=78%] is the key to getting this one right.[/size]
  • [size=78%]Recent wind and wave conditions - if these are good or bad will affect whether the fish are even there or not[/size]
  • [size=78%]Water temperature and prevailing wind conditions (trapping warm/cold water, clearing surf or working surf).  you need a week's historical observations [/size]
  • [size=78%]Predicted wind and wave conditions - this goes to whether the fish are going to be reacting to a change.  This is where the barometric trend comes into it.[/size]
And that's about as much as I look at.  I look at weather models, sea conditions and I talk to as many people as possible when I am fishing.  You soon learn to sort out the b.s. from the proper observations. 










 

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