Barometric Pressure

[Just Me 0]

I recall a thread where Ranger mentioned something about barometric pressure and the fish in his pond going "off the bite". Can someone explain this to me?as i understand it a low BP is good, but why? I heard that the fishes stomach expand and they can eat more food or some such, is this crap? What's the skinny?Also can someone tell me what the BP was like this week, cause i've had a shocking time on the water.Me and a couple of mates had to bust our asses for a few lousy squid.I reckon Ranger should start a sub forum just so we know what the fish in his pond are doing on a daily basis lol. Cheers,Just me.

[Just Me 0]

Ok, did some research...JFGI...and seems to me that alot of fresh water fishos swear by it, but not so much saltwater fishos. Then there's an old saying "1020" fish a plenty", but the general consensus is no one really knows for sure.Also it's not their tummies but bladder.

[brenton 637]

I'm pretty sure the slight change in BP would actually have no impact under water but fish definitley respond to the change,KGs go off on a falling barometre along with a few other species but i find bream the opposite.The fish in my pond will sulk on the bottom when the air pressure drops and only get active when it rises again. cheers brenton

[smokeykebab 175]

I've always thought a sudden drop or rise in bp turns fish on.

[rooboy123 9]

We've always believed to chase salmon on dropping pressure. I think that comes from my mate reading about the fishes bladder decreasing. Dont know if it really makes a differnce, but it sounds like a good theory to tell the cook while we're rushing out the door

[Ranger 48]

I just went and had a look. The fish in the pond just go round and round and round and round.There are two different trains of thought on barometric pressure.1. When pressure drops the stomach can expand, and the fish will feed up pending an oncoming storm front which may prevent them feeding for a time.2. When pressure drops the fish go deep and shut down, and come back on the chew following the blow, scavenging for easy food when everything has been stirred up.I tend to follow the second train of thought, bearing in mind that I'm a sh*t fisherman anyway.Here where I am the barometer has taken a rise recently and is now holding steady at 1021. Given winds will be mild (>10knots)and seas will be slight (0.5m) I'd say the time is ripe to get out and have a look around before the next low pressure system moves in.I've got a young lad visiting from Hong Kong and staying with me for a coupla weeks holidays. I'm sending him on a fishing charter tomorrow with John Winslet, coz I recon the time is ripe and he'll be in for a good score.

[afishyfish 4]

Seems every good fisho should have a fish pond

Also it's not their tummies but bladder.

My bladder usually goes full about 5am every morning :S

[Just Me 0]

Dont know if it really makes a differnce' date=' but it sounds like a good theory to tell the cook while we're rushing out the door[/quote']Brilliant! Baffle her with science

[Jack. 10]

I keep a fishing diary, basic water temp, wind, tide, phase of the moon and barometric pressure. A heap of other factors effect the fishing but you have to draw the line somewhere. A scrap book with these bits including the bait/lure and the spot is where I draw my line. As far as air pressure goes, I have found the following;A sudden drop in air pressure (before the arrival of a cold front) can sometimes see the fish switch right on and go ballistic. Once the front hits, the fishing will often shut down for sometime. Generally speaking, long periods of stable high pressure seems to be best.  The fish I target are local favorites, Snapper, Bream, Yellowfin whiting, Salmon Trout and recently Mulloway. The big Salmon and ST variety in the estuary setting are the best bet when the temp and pressure are down, because they seem to be more affected by wind and water movement than the barometer. An interesting note on salmon trout though is that rather than stop feeding, they will feed high in the water column when the pressure is up and deep when it is low, although this may well have more to do with where the bait is In the past I've gone from a metal slice or popper on top, then bibbed minnow, then plastics, until I've found them deep using a heavy jig head and working the plasic real close to the bottom. The reverse is also the case and when a nice school of salmon trout are feeding close to the surface, it can be pretty exciting stuff, often in spring you can see the surface strikes and it's awesome fun. The same with bait, sometimes a heavy weighted pilchard is required, higher pressure will allow you to use a float or unweighted pillie.For the big Bream, the end of December early January is my favorite with big stable highs and the water temp right up, you can work a popper under overhanging mangroves and get the Bream striking the surface. The pressure drops out and you're better off using a Blade even in the same spot. No different with bait, I can drift and unweighted crab about and have a run in the top third of the water column, pressure drops and it's better to use some weight. The fish still feed if you've got good water temp and movement, the presure definitely effects them though. Snapper are a bit different, I find any kind of change can freak em out and cause a hot bite. Like bottom of the tide change, the first crack of a storm, a wind change, anything but a full moon. You have a fortnight of heatwave because a massive h pressure cell hasn't moved and the second that barometer drops.... Race out and launch the boat and head for your favourite wreck.... can be a dicey time on the water though.I don't fish much for KGW so haven't really got much info on what effects them.

[Just Me 0]

I've got a young lad visiting from Hong Kong and staying with me for a coupla weeks holidays. I'm sending him on a fishing charter tomorrow with John Winslet' date=' coz I recon the time is ripe and he'll be in for a good score.[/quote']Hey Ranger, how did the lad go on the charter?

[urhookedfish 12]

Spot on Jack, I find the Reds fire just before a storm front hits. Especially if youve had a big high pressure for a long time.The salmon that I have caught locally have been caught with the low pressure.so Have to agree with your post entirely Jack...Ranger is also on the money with fish foraging for food in close after a storm.Ranger, I take it John was to target the snapps on the charter???Having travelled all the way from HK, he wasnt out there chasing whiting was he??BrettI dont have any goldfish, so just fish as often as possible and i also keep snapper records.WHATS THE PRESSURE DOING NOW - I MIGHT GO FISHIN!

[Ranger 48]

Hey Ranger' date=' how did the lad go on the charter?[/quote']It was a 6 hour local charter chasing KG's.With wind working against tide on the day, waters were calmer inshore than out further, so John chose to fish inshore drops for passenger comfort.It wasn't a great "bag out" day, but they did pull a number of fish with quite a few decent flathead included in the catch.The lad was impressed that he had a day out on a boat and got to catch a few fish, I was impressed that I got a good feed, my wife was impressed that Uncle Ranger organised a fishing trip for his nephew, the cat was impressed that it scored a few leftovers. the only downfall was that I had to clean and cook the fish (musta been the maids day off).Tonight for something different I'm taking the lad to the gun club to fire a gun for the first time.

[urhookedfish 12]

Ah nice work Ranger, I must apologise for my KG comment.Glad he had a great trip out with a local Legend!The fishins been super tough of late, so John did well to find some fish by the sounds of it! :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer:

[Moggy23 625]

Took this photo of a low pressure cell after a bag out session on whiting at Pt.Victoria, it was like a calm before the storm.

[Rickster 0]

That's a pretty heavy T-Curve for chasing whiting Moggy, i guess you were chasing the real kidney slappers of the 60cm variety. :woohoo:

[Moggy23 625]

That's a pretty heavy T-Curve for chasing whiting Moggy' date=' i guess you were chasing the real kidney slappers of the 60cm variety. :woohoo:[/quote']That's observant Rick, that one is always loaded with squid on a 6'0 circle, just incase a red wants to play.

[bjorn2fish 4,612]

I've recently been researching the affects of Barometric pressure on fishing and amongst the info on this thread which was very helpful, I came across a couple of other sources, they had tables and info so it was easy to read etc.I put together a table with the info I found for us noobs, it shows barometric pressure, fishing conditions, how to fish that kind of thing. I know different fish do different things but this could be a kinda overall guide.please more experienced fishos let me know if you think I should change anything on there ;)I know I had too much time on my hands BarometricPressureandFishing.pdf

[FreShIe-FisHeR : D 0]

When the barometer is high the fishing is often better because the fishes air bladder gets compacted by the pressure therefore giving the fishes belly more room for its stomach to expand and thus they feed more regularly and subsequently eat more