# Barometric Pressure and Fish??????



## Cathunter (Apr 8, 2015)

Can someone give me some insight to this idea and what pressures are the best to fish?


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## Sgrem (Oct 5, 2005)

I don't think it matters much at all. If a fish goes up or down just three feet of water depth change the hydrostatic pressure change is way way more than any atmospheric pressure change.

People like to find reasons the bite changed.....


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## Whitebassfisher (May 4, 2007)

sgrem said:


> I don't think it matters much at all. If a fish goes up or down just three feet of water depth change the hydrostatic pressure change is way way more than any atmospheric pressure change.
> 
> People like to find reasons the bite changed.....


I have said similar many times!!
However, I feel there are other changes associated with barometer change that really do affect the bite, so the assessment appears accurate. I can't claim to know the answer, but strongly feel it isn't actually the pressure though due to what *sgrem* said.


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## Csafisher (Nov 16, 2010)

I've always heard a falling barometer is best but who knows? I have no scientific data to offer but high pressure days never seem to be as productive for me.


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

I have a hard time getting the connection down, it seems very complicated. It is always complicated with a lot of variables at play whenever you talk "fish are biting" and some co-varying factor.
"This" can go up and fishing is better, and next time "this" can go up and the fish don't bite.
My observation over time says fishing is tough whenever there is an extended high pressure over us weather wise. Especially in the fall.
A blue bird day on the heels of a string of them in the fall make for tough fishing.

I try to learn from other fishermen as much as I can.
This year while trying my hand at crappie a fellow there who was doing well on them stated one day, "We wont catch many crappie today, the pressure is falling."
It seemed to be true, after days of catching at least at few I got skunked.

Some factors in fishing trump most pressure change, and some pressure changes trump all other fishing factors. A hard drop like when a hurricane is coming trumps all.
While on any given day bait presence, water flow, wind, moon phase, water temps, and other factors trump pressure change.
The days that you can go fishing, trump all :>)
IMHO


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## tbone2374 (Feb 27, 2010)

Ask any avid, Large Mouth Bass fisherman, and they will tell you the high pressure , and climbing pressure, will always make the fish have lockjaw. Sorry, but it is true, but I don't think it affects WB and cats, as much! :rotfl:


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## Basscat_chris_86 (Jan 25, 2016)

Simple rule I go by, pressure goes down fishing goes up if pressure goes up fishing goes down. Fish seem more active when pressure is steady or dropping I usually look it up before I hit a tournament to adjust lures accordingly.


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## Whitebassfisher (May 4, 2007)

*Sgrem* didn't just make up those numbers, it is fact. A fish moving 3 feet difference in water depth is a larger change in pressure than the lowest to highest ever recorded in most any weather station. 
That is why it is called fishing! Sometimes a little mystery makes it better.  Nature is so neat!


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## capone (Feb 25, 2013)

Whitebassfisher said:


> *Sgrem* didn't just make up those numbers, it is fact. A fish moving 3 feet difference in water depth is a larger change in pressure than the lowest to highest ever recorded in most any weather station.
> That is why it is called fishing! Sometimes a little mystery makes it better.  Nature is so neat!


Atmospheric pressure is just a metric for changing weather conditions. These conditions trigger animals, fish, and even humans to change behaviors. Migratory birds fly south or north, deer and cattle gorge on vegetation to maintain body heat, and fish move into a feeding pattern. Why I don't know, but typically bait is in concentration and ambushing fish like bass or trout gorge as well. Other fish who knows, red fish are the garbage disposals of the marsh.

If you don't believe barometric pressure is something to pay attention to, I bet you don't have an injured knee.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Whitebassfisher (May 4, 2007)

capone said:


> Atmospheric pressure is just a metric for changing weather conditions. These conditions trigger animals, fish, and even humans to change behaviors. Migratory birds fly south or north, deer and cattle gorge on vegetation to maintain body heat, and fish move into a feeding pattern. Why I don't know, but typically bait is in concentration and ambushing fish like bass or trout gorge as well. Other fish who knows, red fish are the garbage disposals of the marsh.
> 
> If you don't believe barometric pressure is something to pay attention to, I bet you don't have an injured knee.
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I know that changing pressure appears to affect fishing. I just think it is all the other variables that SS mentioned that tend to go along with the pressure. But the fish may be influenced by things we don't even to be measuring.


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## Jimmy Blue (Nov 20, 2013)

I've seen this ar work with doves many times so I can explain the theory (at least as it applies to dove hunting ... You can draw your own fishing implications)

The declining pressure means bad weather coming which may mean difficult feeding conditions so birds get very active and try to stuff themselves with food in case they can't eat for a day or two.

If this applies to the fish the same you still have to find them.


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## robjord (Dec 3, 2009)

If the goldfish in my stock tanks won't come up to eat I may stay home. If they are skimming the top when I go out there I may tear a gate down getting out of the driveway.


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

Jimmy Blue said:


> I've seen this ar work with doves many times so I can explain the theory (at least as it applies to dove hunting ... You can draw your own fishing implications)
> 
> The declining pressure means bad weather coming which may mean difficult feeding conditions so birds get very active and try to stuff themselves with food in case they can't eat for a day or two.
> 
> If this applies to the fish the same you still have to find them.


Pretty good. It does seem to work that way.
Especially if all other factors are even.


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## dbullard (Feb 13, 2008)

For me the high pressure days tend to be bad for catfish.
I have seen it many times in the spring we would be filling coolers every day then a front would come in with high pressure and shut them down.


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## BSchulte (Apr 21, 2014)

I agree with dbullard. I've always tried to fish for cats on falling pressure. The best trips I've had were on the eves of thunderstorms (excluding big rises, but those are hand in hand). As far as panfish and bass, I'm sure the principle carries over to some degree.


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## Cathunter (Apr 8, 2015)

What is a falling pressure considerd and a high pressure considered.


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## BSchulte (Apr 21, 2014)

Average Sea-Level pressure:
101.325 kPa /1013.25 mbar / 760 mmHg / 29.921 inHg

Typically in summer/high fronts, we see over 30.000. Any time the pressure starts falling (a low front moves in from the north) is good. Any weather app will show what the pressure is/will be doing.


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## tpool (Aug 21, 2005)

I used to be told a falling barometer was best, but in my experience, a MOVING barometer is best, be it falling or rising. Now, I don't mean to fish until you get struck by lightning (falling), or after it has been blowing for several hours (rising), but the time it's falling and rising up to the main event (falling barometer before a low and rising barometer before and during front blowing through..

T-BONE (tpool)


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## Whitebassfisher (May 4, 2007)

I think hunting or fishing is better on falling and worse on high barometer. But, I also suspect that there are other variables going along with that we just don't understand or haven't considered, even if simple. One thing for sure, nature has a reason for things. Jimmy Blue's dove example is correct I think in that nature provides for everything to eat, get full, and then take shelter.


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## CB Aggie (Jan 7, 2014)

High pressure definitely hurts a bite, but white bass are definitely less affected by it compared to stripers/largemouth in my opinion. Stripers and largemouth seem to prefer cloudier days (usually associated with low pressure) as opposed to bluebird skies(usually associated with high pressure). I'm with Jimmy Blue. But once whites get back in the lake from spawning, they really don't seem to care that much about pressure.


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## Lone Eagle (Aug 20, 2009)

sgrem said:


> I don't think it matters much at all. If a fish goes up or down just three feet of water depth change the hydrostatic pressure change is way way more than any atmospheric pressure change.
> 
> People like to find reasons the bite changed.....


Very Good Advice. I fully agree with you.


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## Lone Eagle (Aug 20, 2009)

tbone2374 said:


> Ask any avid, Large Mouth Bass fisherman, and they will tell you the high pressure , and climbing pressure, will always make the fish have lockjaw. Sorry, but it is true, but I don't think it affects WB and cats, as much! :rotfl:


Tbone, I also find that true. Like ShadSlinger posted earlier; things change with all sorts on variables.


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## rgb123 (Mar 9, 2014)

I read once that after a pressure drop and the pressure rises, a fish's swim bladder is affected and causes the fish to be less able to suspend and therefore will hug close to structure and be less active until the swim bladder stabilizes making it more difficult to catch.


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## tpool (Aug 21, 2005)

Fuel for my "any moving barometer can be good - steady barometer bad" fire... (at least for bass):

Just now caught all 3 of these at my pond behind the house (20acre lake) from 5:42pm till 6:04pm (span of 21 minutes). First one was on a jig tight to willows. Had 2 short strikes on the jig as I was reeling it in to flip again, so switched to a red skirt willow leaf spinnerbait to catch the next 2. Barometer shows 29.97 and rising...


T-Bone (tpool)


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## blanked (Sep 23, 2007)

For bass it matters if your fishing shallow. Fish deep and it doesn't matter


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## tpool (Aug 21, 2005)

That could make sense blanked... ALL of my examples have came while I was fishing shallow. Didn't think of how water pressure could impact barometric pressure (or I should say how barometric pressure doesn't impact deep fish)!

Thanks,
T-BONE (tpool)


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## wacky-worm (Mar 10, 2008)

My dad told me he had an uncle in Arkansas that had a funny way of deciding when to go fishing. He had a horse trough with a catfish in it. If he wanted to go fishing he would go look in the trough. if the fish was layed up on the bottom, he would go back to working. If the fish was moving around he would head to his fishing hole. He said it was his barometric pressure gauge.


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