Barametric Pressure...

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Matty C

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Quick n hopefully not too complicated a question..

we all know that barametric pressure effects fishing hugely, and I think I am right in thinking that a rising barometer isnt too great, where as a falling one is good (correct me if Im wrong please).. but I was wondering, how much of a change either rising or falling, makes a differance.. for example, I am going out fishing tomorrow (monday).. Today the air pressure is at 990mb's or there abouts, but tomorrow, it will be between 1000mb's and 1010mb's.. Obviously, it has risen, so the fishing could be tough.. but it hasnt risen by much, so how much will it effect the fishing ?

Or quite simply, does no one know ?
 
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Ray Daywalker Clarke

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Matty,

I dont bother with the pressure, i have caught fish in all sorts of conditions. I look at it this way, if a fish is hungry and your in the right place you will catch, high pressure or low pressure.

I think at times some anglers look to much into things rather than just going out and fishing. Have a good day tomorrow, you lucky git./forum/smilies/wink_smiley.gif
 
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john conway (CSG - ACA)

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The rise or fall BP effect depends on the species you are fishing for. If you are after salmon or sea trout you want a steady or rising pressure. This is because krill migrate to the surface with a rise in pressure therefore when the salmon experience a rise in BP in fresh water they may be triggered into feeding. There is an excellent book on the effects of BP on salmon and sea trout "The Barometric Breakthrough" by Andrew Bett ISBN 0-9552418-0-4 @ £19.95.There seems to be some kind of inverted snobbery about not taking an interest in the whys and wherefores of Angling and that those who do somehow are not also getting any pleasure out of their fishing. No matter what your interest is if you are curious then you want to know why, its in your make up, don't be put down by those who are not.
 
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Bob "chubber"Lancaster (ACA)

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John no snobbery here mate. If someone wants to know the scientific way then good luck. Personaly i just get up in the morning and look at the day in font of me. If it feels good then off i go. Weather or not i catch is of no concern to me. Just being there thats what realy matters. Once there the joy of sorting out a swim . Choosing what tackle to use to give me the best chance of catching. And lastly what bait to offer my little warriors of the deep. Then its me against them. And if they win good luck to em i say. I still have my day on the water to remember.
 
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Matty C

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I can agree with both points.. thank you for the help john, although there arnt any salmon or sea trout where I fish.. lol I am interested in the scientific things, and if its going to give me an edge of some kind, all the better..

I too just look at the day infront of me and go about it as best I can.. I am going tomorrow no matter what the conditions or how dreadful the airpressure situation is, but its always nice to know..a famous angler (i forget who) said something along the lines of "fishing can be likened to a game of chess, and the apponant is in effect nature, but nature always decides on how many pieces the game is being played with, and where and when the game will be played".. I think this is pretty much true, so I figure, if I can have some knowledge or where and when the game will be played, andfigure out how many pieces there are by looking at science, then I have more of a chance of winning..

Although just turning up on the day without looking at the whetheris fine, and I do do this quite often, youre always going to have slightly less of a chance than you would if you thought about the science aswell..

Cheers for the help guys.

Matt
 
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john conway (CSG - ACA)

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Like you Matt I also go fishing when the odds are not very good, may be it's because its the only time available or I'm just peed off at work, what I do know is I'll catch more going on a bad day than not going. But if I do have a chance then I'd like to know what conditions give me the best chance and thats the day I'll go.

Tight line for tomorrow Matt, up here in the Northwest though you might need a pound of lead/forum/smilies/wink_smiley.gif
 
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Matty C

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I too might need a pound of lead down here in the south east, if the rain doesnt stop tonight..

Cheers guys
 
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MartynC

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I can only comment on piking.

If you can find any of Barrie Rickards pike books he covers this issue in depth in all/some of them.

Whether he is right who knows.

In essence for piking he commentsthat pike want deads on a low barometer and lives (or lures?) when its high.

And periods of either sustained high or low are not good for fishing. Like now maybe when its basically bumping along the bottom with small changes either way.

Rapid ups and downs either way over a day can trigger a feeding binge.

I have no idea even after 30 years whether Barrie isright but what I do know is that fishing lives and deads sometimes the fish are heavily onto lives and wont touch a bait on the bottom. And that this is usuallywhen its risen quickly after being low.

For barbel many anglers carry thermometers and an increasing water temp can mark a feeding spell also. That though could also be linked in to changes in BP.
 
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Bully

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What no one mentions is that changes in pressure, especially dramatic ones, are accompanied by big changes in weather conditions.

I am not at all convinced by barometric pressure having any affect on fishing (i.e. the pressure itself). I think you will find that a fish changing depth in a body of water will be subject to much greater pressure change than anything that happens within a body of water due to a change in the atmosphere.
 
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john conway (CSG - ACA)

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Bully fish certainly have the mechanism for detecting very small changes in BP and can distinguish PB changes against changes in pressure due to swimming at different depths. Fish have to make adjustment to their swim bladders if they want to take up a stationary position at a given depth without swimming. If they did nothing this position would change with changes in BP. All this is covered in the book "The Barometric Breakthrough" by Andrew Bett"

Another consideration is how BP affects other aquatic life upon which fish feed. Does BP trigger a hatch? Coarse anglers consider this only applies to the game lads but these hatches also provide an abundance of food for coarse fish.

And finally BP, as said previously, is an indicator of changing weather and that certainly affect the feeding habits of fish.

Like Jim Matty I'd like to know how you got on?
 
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Bully

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John - that just does not make sense to me.

Pressure within a given environment, in this case water, cannot be differentiated (well, that is based on my fading memory going back to uni days). Its the same in the atmosphere, there are various factors that influenced pressure, but at the end of the day you only measured pressure, you could not distinguish between the effects.

I cannot see how a fish can detect different sources of pressure change. Pressure is pressure.

Hatches are normally associated with temp and sunlight I think.
 
Graham Whatmore

Graham Whatmore

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Bully, the fact that it doesn't make sense to you doesn't mean that barometric pressure doesn't affect fish feeding habits, there is plenty of scientific evidence to prove that it does. Hereis but one explanatory text but there are loads if you care to look.

Not only that but there is evidence that moon periods also affect a fish's habit along with many other things, whether you choose to ignore them is a personal choice but the facts remain nevertheless.
 
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john conway (CSG - ACA)

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Bully if you read Andrew Bett's bookhe references technical papers dealing with fish’s ability to detect very small changes in pressure.He also deals with BP and the hatch.

The only non technical analogy I can give is: - If a fish takes up a stationary position in the water table it will sink or rise depending on BP. If it wishes to stay in that position then it has to do one of two thing, swim or make an adjustment to it’s swim bladder.
 
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MartynC

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Moon phases also affect tides and anyone who fishes rivers/drains emptying into the sea (even if sluiced) will know that the "size" of a tide has a big effect on fish movements and therefore catches. Sometimes....

Big tides create large rises/falls in water levels on affected waters, and fish can move miles because of it.

However, IMHO its still only one factor of many which is why its so diffult to take advantage of it so you catch lots.

Worth considering it though, when you decide where/when/how to fish, like with BP IMHO.
 
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Bully

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Well, I have read exerts of Betts book and I have no doubt his views are well thought through. As for the link Graham provides, there is a lot of contradictory stuff in there. Firstly there is the line -

"Assuming the theory that fish sense pressure changes with their swim bladders is correct...." At least its agreed that its a theory.

Second - barometric pressure is miniscule when compared to pressure change through depth. If I accept that a fish can detect BP change if at a certain depth (which from my searches is still only described as theory, not fact) course fish do not just stay at one depth do they? So is their feeding pattern continually triggered by depth changes?

Third is this paragraph -

"When the barometric pressure is dropping, there is less pressure on the fish's bladder, which means there is less pressure squeezing on the bladder, causing it to expand. When their bladders expand, fish feel the discomfort and don't concern themselves with feeding as much"

Are you kidding? When you get a BP drop it is as a result of weather fronts etc. which is normally a prime time to kick fish into feeding.

Finally there is this statement -

"Just before a low-pressure system is about to move into an area, the fish can sense that the barometer is about to drop."

How? There is absolutely no evidence to support this. What do they do, check the weather forecast? How can they realistically detect that a change is about to happen?

Honest, I am open minded on this, but I just dont think the figures add up......
 
Graham Whatmore

Graham Whatmore

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A fishes ability to detect barometric pressure changes is as nothing compared to some of the amazing things the creatures of this earth are capable of, we humans are ignorant to the reasons why or how but they are evident nonetheless.
 
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john conway (CSG - ACA)

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Bully the link Graham gave you is my review of the book. You need to read the actual book and if you want to take this further then read some of the scientific papers on which Andrew bases his theory. His book is mainly about how salmon and sea trout react to changes in BP. Its not all theory he has also carried out his own field test re salmon caught over a given period against BP. It is possible that coarse fish may react differently to salmon and sea trout.

I’ve bought a watch that gives BP readings and that’s fine for my fly fishing but what I need for a BP project re my Chub fishing sessions is a device that allows me to down load the BP over a session and as yet I’ve not seen a watch size device that has a built in memory and a USB output. I’m sure there is one out there, our Lass downloads her Heart Rate and Sat-Nav info re her fell running training onto our computer. I did find a weather site on the Internet for the Preston area but they packed in providing hourly BP readings after about a year. I could of course pay for this information but there are other things at the moment to spend my money on, like petrol to go fishing.
 
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Bully

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John - that link took me to something by Tony Salerno and didn't even mention the book? And some of the things Tony said, as per my note above just didn't make sense.
 
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