This is an interesting question, and one that cannot be well supported by science, but can be well supported by years and years of observation by keen bass fishers. Otherwise, keep track of patterns and norms in your climate and specific location. If the pressure is higher than 30 inHg, you can usually consider it to be a high-pressure day. To alleviate this discomfort, the fish will try to move around in the water.
Temperature, atmospheric pressure, lunar phases and wind are all factors that should not be underestimated. As the air pressure rises and begins to stabilize, though, your results will be less pronounced. Rapid drops in pressure are the best – particularly if the change is more than 0.18 Hg every three hours.
Does Humidity Affect Bass Fishing?
When barometric pressure drops, the bladder expands to compensate for the lessened pressure. As atmospheric pressure moves in a given direction, the fish’s swim bladder must do the opposite to compensate. This can lead to discomfort for the fish and lead it to move shallower or deeper, depending on the situation. Weather apps on your phone are handy when fishing, as most contain barometric pressure readings. However, if you have no immediate way to look up pressure measurements, then the old-fashioned approach can still work well. 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.
Some articles even suggest that fish, amazingly, can anticipate changes in barometric pressure before it even occurs. It certainly would make fishing easier if this were true, but sorry – it just isn’t so. The simple fact is that most saltwater fish will not even be aware of any changes in barometric pressure nor will any change have any effect on their behavior. But don’t get too upset yet, there still may be some value in watching barometric pressure.
What is Barometric Pressure?
Water is almost 800 times denser than air; thus, hydrostatic pressure increases much more rapidly than atmospheric pressure. If you swim or dive just a few feet below the water’s surface, you feel this rapid increase in pressure. Scientific studies have found many organisms that respond in some way to changes in atmospheric pressure.
Bonny Fryer has always been interested in animals, even since she was born. This interest led her to get a degree in Veterinary Medicine and start working as a veterinarian when she was only 22 years old. She is now 44 years old and still works as a veterinarian. She loves her job and finds it very fulfilling to help animals stay healthy and happy.