CALLING ALL FISHOLOGIST

[calebw]

How does the change in barometric pressure, i.e. storm or any type of cold front, effect fish and the way they act and bite.

[Anders]

I have been asking this question for some time now and have only received the following answers:

1) when the pressure is falling, fishing is good

2) old timers say that as long as the pressure is changing, fishing is good, it is when it is constant that fishing is not as good

3)I have no clue, I just go fishing, it's not that serious

Sorry but that is all I got for ya. I agree with the third one, but it would be a confidence builder if I knew what was best and was fishing at that time.

Hope that helped.

Anders

[Captain Michael Buffington]

were on the boat for at least 2 weeks twice a year to collect fish for the aquarium and I asked them ten million questions. They said the drop in pressure put less pressure on their swim bladders thereby making them hungry but tuna dont have a swim bladder...

Mike

[calebw]

111 views and only 2 responces Come on guys I would like to hear opinions from a couple more people

[Captain Michael Buffington]

but suffice it to say over 14 years of pro offshore fishing when the pressure changes they bite. In PR the best tarpon bite on earth(I think) happened the first day of the first real cold front of March. If you were lucky enough to hit that day it was UNBYGODBELIEVABLE. I castnetted 24 mojarra and bought 38 more and had 47 tarpon on and jumping between 70 and 120 and landed 17 last year. The nastier and more dramatic the change the better. High pressure has almost always been tough.

Mike

[controlled chaos]

I don't know about other places but in south florida the sails go nuts right after a cold front rolls through and the high pressure sets it. The best conditions for the sails I have seen was when it was in the low 50's really sunny and really windy. We can go 2 miles offshore and catch 20 or more sails in just a few hours and not have any other fish even look at our baits. Normally the sails are out and about in florida but you gotta wade through all the dolphin, kings, little blackfins, all types of sharks and whatever else is swimming around. Never trolled for em down there but live bait is king in south florida. Drifting flatlines and a deep bait if it is too windy to get a kite out.

[Gusman]

I have always heard that it is the High Pressure that shrinks the swim bladder allowing the fish to be more comfortable and rise in the water collumn. The low pressure actually expands the swim bladder and makes the fish uncomfortable so they dive deeper to regulate the pressure. So, in theory, the high pressure will make fish that have swim bladders (baitfish) more comfortable in the upper levels of the water collumn and the fish that feed on these, will come up with them. As with any pressure change, an even amount of pressure over an extended period of time allows the gasses to redistribute and adjust, therefore making pressure not have any effect on the fish at all....

Basically I have more questions than answers. I don't think that pressure is the end all be all of how fish feed, but I do think that it plays a part in the whole system. Just my .02

[Captain Michael Buffington]

I have always heard that it is the High Pressure that shrinks the swim bladder allowing the fish to be more comfortable and rise in the water collumn. The low pressure actually expands the swim bladder and makes the fish uncomfortable so they dive deeper to regulate the pressure. So, in theory, the high pressure will make fish that have swim bladders (baitfish) more comfortable in the upper levels of the water collumn and the fish that feed on these, will come up with them. As with any pressure change, an even amount of pressure over an extended period of time allows the gasses to redistribute and adjust, therefore making pressure not have any effect on the fish at all....

Basically I have more questions than answers. I don't think that pressure is the end all be all of how fish feed, but I do think that it plays a part in the whole system. Just my .02

ok but other fish than "baitfish" have swim bladders like snapper, grouper, striped bass, amberjack, ect. The only fish without swim bladders are pelagics if I'm not mistaken. One more thing. Atmospheric pressure is magnified underwater. It doesn't compute to me that it would lessen the pressure on the swim bladder. I just fish good so I don't know for sure.

Other thoughts?

Mike

[Catcher's Mitt]

My bbf Mark called me yesterday and said that we needed to go to his camp because the low pressure system in the gulf had the Reds stacked up at the wier like cord wood. that means that you can walk across the water on their backs

when they are like that you can throw a jig head with a gold hook with nothing on it and get tired of catching them.

that ought tell you what low pressure does.

[Flatdog]

Ok lets talk basics here. One atmosphere of air pressure at sea level "standard" is 14.7lbs sq in, or 1013mmb or 1 bar.
So if you take a high pressure area of lets say 1032mmb or 14.8lbs sq in this equates to a 1% increase in air pressure at sea level.
Water pressure also has to be taken into account for every 30ft of water the pressure on a body suspended with in it, increases by 1 atmosphere , therefore at 60ft underwater you will have 3 bar or 44.1 lbs per sq ins pressure exerted against you.
The 1% change at the surface has very little effect on you or the fish as water pressure is a constant within the water column.
So the biggest pressure change within any water (salt or fresh) column is in the top 30 ft were it will double as you go down or half as you come up. This is why we have to vent fish that have been cranked up fast from depth, the little bit of air that they have in there body's will expand.
Perhaps an easier way is to think of a balloon, if I fill a balloon to its normal size on the surface with air and take it to 30ft underwater it will be 1/2 it's size, if i was to fill the same balloon to normal size at 30ft and bring it to the surface it will be twice the size at the surface.
Now lets try to think like a predator fish, you are moving around in a 3 dimensional element called water to make your life a lot easier to catch your prey, you remove one dimension,
by forcing bait balls towards the surface you will half the sphere that they get way from you.
I have no Idea how fast a small fish can regulate the air in the swim bladder but just by chasing fish quickly towards the surface this must induce some expansion in the swim bladder, which will not allow them to sound.
Low pressure air normally means it is sporty topsides, waves have energy and things suspended get pulled around allot underwater but the deeper you go the less effect this has
perhaps fish just go deep for a rest, less energy to use, and wait for a high when all is calm.
just my 2 cents