What Is Barometric Pressure And How Does It Affect The Fishing?

This is where a change in barometric pressure could be playing a role. Barometric pressure affects fishing through the physiological changes it causes in the fish. The swim bladder senses changes to the atmospheric pressure on the water and causes fish to react by swimming higher or deeper in the water. When the barometer was falling slowly (less than 0.21 inch per hour), 65 percent of the bass that were presented lures struck, while 35 percent did not.

Under these conditions I normally throw reaction type lures and don’t worry much if my casts aren’t right on target. On the other hand, when the barometric pressure is high, the amount of dissolved oxygen in water increases. This can lead to less active fish as they don’t need to search for areas with higher oxygen levels. The best times to fish for bass are during days of extended low pressure, because a bass feels good, and is ready to eat. It isn’t well understood by scientists, but it is believed that changes in barometric pressure have an impact on a fish’s swim bladder. When the atmospheric pressure stagnates in the normal range for several days, surf fishing remains productive but attracting fish becomes challenging.

Best Barometric Pressure for Fishing

Therefore, barometric pressure is an important environmental factor to consider when fishing. Similar to water temperature, wind, currents and light levels, barometric pressure can affect fish feeding patterns. By being aware of which changes in barometric pressure lead to fish moving to different depths, you can better prepare for your next fishing trip. Falling rain has a different Ph than the lake surface, and that same rain is often of a different temperature; both effecting – changing – the surface or upper layer of the lake. Weather patterns change drastically to much darker than normal skis, and the wind picks up a great deal, putting further chop on the surface. Predators chase bait during the cold fronts because they know it has changed the core of their life style.

When you start to see the clouds roll in, you knowthere is a good chance the atmospheric pressure is about to drop,and the fish are about tofeed. Just like all living species, we are affected by changes differently. The differentiating factor for how air pressure influences fish has everything to do with the swim bladder size for each species.

Similarly, days with low pressure are not good for surf fishing because they expand the fish bladders and force them to escape the surf zone to deeper areas with higher atmospheric pressure. In general, fish species with larger bladders are the most affected by barometric changes. Nearshore fish feed less when the barometric pressure is at its lowest or highest levels.

Under Pressure

In other words, at 32.8 feet, the total pressure, due to the weight of both the atmosphere and the water, is two atmospheres. Fish can tolerate hydrostatic pressure because they have a swim bladder containing a volume of gas, which they adjust to equal their environment. This enables most fish to comfortably make small and quick up or down movements in the water column.

Changes in barometric pressure have a direct impact on the buoyancy of a fish’s swim bladder, and this is believed to strongly influence feeding behavior. The swim bladder responds to pressure changes and causes fish to react by swimming higher or deeper in the water. However, it may be argued that the ideal barometric pressure is when the readings start to fall just below the baseline level.

Barometric pressure is a force created by the weight of the air within the Earth’s atmosphere. The Earth’s surface temperature combined with the atmosphere’s movement creates zones of either high or low pressure, which are continually shifting. You’ll want to monitor the barometric pressure during either of these times, as both can indicate the prime time for fishing. One of my fishing buddies was a firm believer in checking the barometric pressure to determine if he was going fishing that day.