Weather can be a major factor in fishing success
By BOB SAMPSON
Recently, I’ve opted to cancel two or three fishing trips to the ocean due to constant windy conditions. Over the past decade — since global warming became a recognized issue — fishermen have had to deal with the same issue. I’ve personally lost more days on the water due to high winds in the past five to seven years than I can ever remember.
There is a constant battle between temperature extremes of hot air from the south and cold from the north. As a result of the turbulence and storm activity associated along the frontal boundaries between these systems, dozens of potential fishing trips have either been scratched or turned into miserable, bumpy experiences on the water for many of us.
This spring, it seems, the winds have been blowing 15-20 miles per hour almost daily. We joke about it, but you can tell any time Eric Covinom, my son, Jared, and I are on the water because the wind will be whistling through our ears.
It’s like Mother Nature waits for us to launch the boat, then doles out a pay-back in the form of big waves and strong winds for all the fish we’ve stuck hooks into over the years.
In the end, many anglers are forced to pick and choose the time to make an investment in effort and money.
For example, if two anglers catch a limit of fluke — 10 fish at 19.5 inches each here in Connecticut — each of those fish will average roughly 31⁄2 to 4 pounds, for a total of about 35 to 40 pounds live weight.
The average angler may be able to slice 40 percent of that total weight into fillets. That equates to roughly between 12 to 16 pounds of fillets.
Figure in the cost of fuel (for car and boat), food, bait, launch or dock fees prorated over the season, plus any lost tackle, and an average fluke trip can cost fisherman anywhere from $100 to $250.
Few of us go fishing simply for the meat, though it may be a more important objective as food costs rise in this inflationary period we are living through.
The bottom line is, fishermen will be forced to pick and choose the times and places they will be fishing this summer, unless they are among the fortunate few with bottomless bank accounts.
Most of us are definitely not in that elite group of people, so in order to maximize the fun and fillets for any given trip, it will be more important to do some planning before committing your usually limited resources.
Planning trips
Consult the weather channel or weather radio stations in order to determine the direction and strength of winds, as well as the possibility of running into foul weather.
I prefer to fish under light to moderate wind conditions (at most, 10 miles per hour). A little chop on the water breaks up and reflects the sunlight. Bass, stripers and any fish that are in shallow water are generally very spooky under glass-like calm conditions, because they are programmed to react to shadows of anything passing over their heads.
Plus, a wind drift from the right direction makes it possible to cover more water when casting lures for predatory fish or to maintain a proper drift speed when targeting fluke.
Too much wind makes fishing much more difficult. Lures can be pulled to the surface; wind knots may be a problem when casting light super lines; waters become stirred up, reducing visibility. And if the wind is blowing into the tide, it can make things down right nasty. Places such as the Race or the Watch Hill Reef complex can become dangerous for small crafts when high winds blow from the wrong direction into the prevailing tide.
Wind blowing at 15 miles per hour is tolerable, but I don’t even launch the boat if it’s pushing 20, except during Nor’easters and major rain storms when fishing fresh water for pike or walleyes. Top predators all like it nasty.
There is a good degree of predictability associated with the weather systems that blow through the region. It is possible to use a little weather science to help put more fish on the end of the line.
Try to fish during the approach of storm fronts when the skies are clouding (possibly with the approach of rain) and the barometric pressure is dropping. At this time, most species of fish are generally active.
However, behind a storm system, the winds that follow, bringing clear skies (“blue-bird conditions” at their worst), often dropping temperatures and fast-rising barometric pressure will turn the bite off like a kill switch.
High pressure conditions, with bright sun and high winds create the absolute worst fishing conditions. It is great weather to fly a kite, have a wedding or picnic, but not the day you are likely to set any records with a fishing rod.
A slow day
Case in point: Last Monday, Captain “Q” Kresser, of River’s End Tackle, made an early-morning run to the lower Connecticut River looking for striped bass, under high pressure, “bluebird” conditions.
He told me that in some of the shallow areas, he observed more than 150 stripers sitting still but not doing much of anything unless they were spooked by the drifting boat.
They were casting soft plastic lures — they usually do well on schoolie stripers — but they only caught somewhere around four of those fish, with a couple in the 28- to 30-inch range.
Kresser noted that they scared fish with the boat, scared fish with casts and only had a few turn to investigate and occasionally swipe — half-heartedly — at their offerings.
That same afternoon I fished a small private pond for bass, panfish and trout.
I thoroughly covered a couple hundred yards of shoreline using spinnerbaits, Slug-Go’s and small jigs.
After more than an hour of being skunked, I finally resorted to cheating and broke out the worms.
I pulled out my favorite “Jack Ulrich” custom-made, ultra-light panfish rod, tied on a chartreuse, 1⁄16 ounce lead head, pinched off an inch of night crawler and started working that same shoreline for a panfish.
Only because this small pond is littered with stocked trout who love worms, I managed to catch three of them and a small calico bass over the course of an hour — very slow fishing for this normally very productive spot.
Others I talked to who fished Monday had similar sob stories.
Temperatures are the primary driving factor when it comes to fish, with light intensity and tides also being major factors. The negative effect of rising pressure and the positive one of dropping pressure is something to consider when planning a fishing trip, especially in freshwater.
The point is to fish the approach of, rather than the retreat of those storm systems that blow this way from the west and south about every three to five days throughout the season.
Beating “blue-bird”
It’s not as if you can’t catch fish under blue-bird skies; it is simply more challenging and requires tactical changes.
If there is clear blue skies, hot sunny days and stable conditions, for a couple days the fish become acclimated to the conditions and fall into fairly predictable feeding patterns, with the best bites taking place around dawn and dusk.
When the fish are in a neutral mode, use light line and smaller baits, fish slower and close to structures and cover the water thoroughly. Under blue-bird skies, fish don’t usually move very far to feed.
There are many top-notch fishermen who consult solunar tables as a means of predicting — with some degree of accuracy — when fish will turn on. These tables are based on moon phases and in my experience, they do seem to predict major and minor feeding times to a degree.
I’ve been playing around with tables published from John Alden Knight on and off for many years and find them to be another useful tool that will at least tell you when you shouldn’t take a break for lunch.
No one can predict for sure when the fish will bite. However, using tools like solunar tables, a barometer, weather forecasts, and tide charts, you can eliminate a great deal of the guesswork.
By BOB SAMPSON
Recently, I’ve opted to cancel two or three fishing trips to the ocean due to constant windy conditions. Over the past decade — since global warming became a recognized issue — fishermen have had to deal with the same issue. I’ve personally lost more days on the water due to high winds in the past five to seven years than I can ever remember.
There is a constant battle between temperature extremes of hot air from the south and cold from the north. As a result of the turbulence and storm activity associated along the frontal boundaries between these systems, dozens of potential fishing trips have either been scratched or turned into miserable, bumpy experiences on the water for many of us.
This spring, it seems, the winds have been blowing 15-20 miles per hour almost daily. We joke about it, but you can tell any time Eric Covinom, my son, Jared, and I are on the water because the wind will be whistling through our ears.
It’s like Mother Nature waits for us to launch the boat, then doles out a pay-back in the form of big waves and strong winds for all the fish we’ve stuck hooks into over the years.
In the end, many anglers are forced to pick and choose the time to make an investment in effort and money.
For example, if two anglers catch a limit of fluke — 10 fish at 19.5 inches each here in Connecticut — each of those fish will average roughly 31⁄2 to 4 pounds, for a total of about 35 to 40 pounds live weight.
The average angler may be able to slice 40 percent of that total weight into fillets. That equates to roughly between 12 to 16 pounds of fillets.
Figure in the cost of fuel (for car and boat), food, bait, launch or dock fees prorated over the season, plus any lost tackle, and an average fluke trip can cost fisherman anywhere from $100 to $250.
Few of us go fishing simply for the meat, though it may be a more important objective as food costs rise in this inflationary period we are living through.
The bottom line is, fishermen will be forced to pick and choose the times and places they will be fishing this summer, unless they are among the fortunate few with bottomless bank accounts.
Most of us are definitely not in that elite group of people, so in order to maximize the fun and fillets for any given trip, it will be more important to do some planning before committing your usually limited resources.
Planning trips
Consult the weather channel or weather radio stations in order to determine the direction and strength of winds, as well as the possibility of running into foul weather.
I prefer to fish under light to moderate wind conditions (at most, 10 miles per hour). A little chop on the water breaks up and reflects the sunlight. Bass, stripers and any fish that are in shallow water are generally very spooky under glass-like calm conditions, because they are programmed to react to shadows of anything passing over their heads.
Plus, a wind drift from the right direction makes it possible to cover more water when casting lures for predatory fish or to maintain a proper drift speed when targeting fluke.
Too much wind makes fishing much more difficult. Lures can be pulled to the surface; wind knots may be a problem when casting light super lines; waters become stirred up, reducing visibility. And if the wind is blowing into the tide, it can make things down right nasty. Places such as the Race or the Watch Hill Reef complex can become dangerous for small crafts when high winds blow from the wrong direction into the prevailing tide.
Wind blowing at 15 miles per hour is tolerable, but I don’t even launch the boat if it’s pushing 20, except during Nor’easters and major rain storms when fishing fresh water for pike or walleyes. Top predators all like it nasty.
There is a good degree of predictability associated with the weather systems that blow through the region. It is possible to use a little weather science to help put more fish on the end of the line.
Try to fish during the approach of storm fronts when the skies are clouding (possibly with the approach of rain) and the barometric pressure is dropping. At this time, most species of fish are generally active.
However, behind a storm system, the winds that follow, bringing clear skies (“blue-bird conditions” at their worst), often dropping temperatures and fast-rising barometric pressure will turn the bite off like a kill switch.
High pressure conditions, with bright sun and high winds create the absolute worst fishing conditions. It is great weather to fly a kite, have a wedding or picnic, but not the day you are likely to set any records with a fishing rod.
A slow day
Case in point: Last Monday, Captain “Q” Kresser, of River’s End Tackle, made an early-morning run to the lower Connecticut River looking for striped bass, under high pressure, “bluebird” conditions.
He told me that in some of the shallow areas, he observed more than 150 stripers sitting still but not doing much of anything unless they were spooked by the drifting boat.
They were casting soft plastic lures — they usually do well on schoolie stripers — but they only caught somewhere around four of those fish, with a couple in the 28- to 30-inch range.
Kresser noted that they scared fish with the boat, scared fish with casts and only had a few turn to investigate and occasionally swipe — half-heartedly — at their offerings.
That same afternoon I fished a small private pond for bass, panfish and trout.
I thoroughly covered a couple hundred yards of shoreline using spinnerbaits, Slug-Go’s and small jigs.
After more than an hour of being skunked, I finally resorted to cheating and broke out the worms.
I pulled out my favorite “Jack Ulrich” custom-made, ultra-light panfish rod, tied on a chartreuse, 1⁄16 ounce lead head, pinched off an inch of night crawler and started working that same shoreline for a panfish.
Only because this small pond is littered with stocked trout who love worms, I managed to catch three of them and a small calico bass over the course of an hour — very slow fishing for this normally very productive spot.
Others I talked to who fished Monday had similar sob stories.
Temperatures are the primary driving factor when it comes to fish, with light intensity and tides also being major factors. The negative effect of rising pressure and the positive one of dropping pressure is something to consider when planning a fishing trip, especially in freshwater.
The point is to fish the approach of, rather than the retreat of those storm systems that blow this way from the west and south about every three to five days throughout the season.
Beating “blue-bird”
It’s not as if you can’t catch fish under blue-bird skies; it is simply more challenging and requires tactical changes.
If there is clear blue skies, hot sunny days and stable conditions, for a couple days the fish become acclimated to the conditions and fall into fairly predictable feeding patterns, with the best bites taking place around dawn and dusk.
When the fish are in a neutral mode, use light line and smaller baits, fish slower and close to structures and cover the water thoroughly. Under blue-bird skies, fish don’t usually move very far to feed.
There are many top-notch fishermen who consult solunar tables as a means of predicting — with some degree of accuracy — when fish will turn on. These tables are based on moon phases and in my experience, they do seem to predict major and minor feeding times to a degree.
I’ve been playing around with tables published from John Alden Knight on and off for many years and find them to be another useful tool that will at least tell you when you shouldn’t take a break for lunch.
No one can predict for sure when the fish will bite. However, using tools like solunar tables, a barometer, weather forecasts, and tide charts, you can eliminate a great deal of the guesswork.