Fish and Barometric Pressure
Ask ten fishermen about the best time to fish and you’ll get ten different answers: full moon, new moon, stormy weather, clear weather. Many fishermen believe that changes in barometric pressure strongly affect fish feeding behavior. Some even believe that a fish can sense a change in barometric pressure before it happens, but science shows that there is no truth in this. Barometric pressure does not change quickly enough to cause fish to stop or start biting. A rise or fall in barometric pressure signals a change in the weather and it’s the weather changes, among other factors, that account for changes in fish behavior. For example, when a cold front comes through and there is a fast drop in water temperature, many of the water bugs that small fish feed upon die. With the loss of their food source, small fish stop moving around and hide in the grass. Large fish, which feed upon smaller fish, also stop moving around and feeding. Temperature, cloud cover, wind direction, wind speed and humidity are other factors that can affect the bite.
Viewer Tip: It’s spring, when the bugs, flies and aquatic insects that fish feed upon are starting to hatch. Because of the plentiful supply of food in the water, fish will bite at just about anything. This is the time to try every lure and fly in your tackle box!
This information is provided by the Georgia Wildlife Federation. For more information, visit www.gwf.org.
Season: Spring
(Additional Source: Fly Fishing Science: The Pressure Myth, Dr. David A. Ross http://www.midcurrent.com/articles/science/ross_pressure_myth.aspx)
