Barometric Pressure and Tournament Fishing Tactics

[George Cawthorn]

OK, I know barometric pressure affects all fishing in some way.

What I was interested to find out is what specific tournament tactics are used in response to barometric pressure rising, being steady, or falling?

[mofish]

Wish I could help you more with subject and it will be interesting to see what the rest have to say!

For me I am going to be on the water no matter what the pressure situation maybe. I use the Prime times tables more than the pressure for putting myself in a position to catch fish during a tournament. I know that right before a front hits that the fishing gets better and fishing gets worse after the front has passed.

So with that said before the front hits I use reaction baits trying to draw a strike from the aggressive fish that are feeding. If the front coming through and the prime time fishing fall in the same time period I want to be on prime big fish areas hopeing for that kicker fish. After the front has passed I will go to flipping baits in thickest cover I can find and really soak the bait or work it in one spot just a little longer to draw a strike from the finiky fish that are in a funk.

This is just based on my experences on the water! I couldn't tell if the pressure is rising or falling on an approaching front, I just know that the fishing gets better as the front comes in and worse after its passed.

[George Cawthorn]

Thanks mofish!

Last year I got a barometer after reading advice from Brendan that they are helpful on figuring out when the fish will be active. I have definitely noticed that fishing is generally better when the barometer is falling or relatively low.

I was wondering in a tournament, lets say you had the barometer reading on a day you prefished a new lake and it was 29.50. Bass were biting like crazy along grass lines and dropoffs fairly shallow.

Next day you go out to fish the tournament and the barometer has risen to 30.00 for example. Would any of you guys make particular adjustments because of this. Such as fishing deeper or like mofish was saying here fishing closer to the cover, or switching from cranks to plastic worms.

Obviously since the tournament must be fished on a particular day this factor is the same for all. A half inch change in the barometer in 24 hours would indicate a major change in fishing conditions I would think.

[johnnie crain outdoors]

Good post! In a rising barometer situation, I* have found it best to do one of two things. Find heavy overhead cover to fish or move away from hard bottoms and fish sand-muck or mud bottoms. Here's my theroy. High barometric pressure puts excessive pressure on the fish's swim baldder, to aleave that pressure bass especially, move to a softer bottom-or seek the overhead cover so the pressure bounces off. I often look for carp wallows, places where carp are active and stirring up the bottom discloring the water, this again, will be a muck bottom. I use spinnerbaits, but nothing too flashy, it's one of the rare times I will use a colored blade such as lime green or even my hand painted gray blades. Works for me. Hope it works for you. Johnnie Crain

[brendanc]

Nice question Geo...

I follow three general rules when the barameter is rising from low pressure to high pressure (I stress "general" because there are always exceptions):

1) Bass hold tighter to cover under these conditions, so making contact with cover in your presentation becomes even more critical.

2) Bass will seek out deeper water as the pressure rises, so if given the choice I like to focus on areas that offer easy access to depth changes (more vertical breaks).

3) Fish behaviors "trump" everything! I try to always let the fish dictate what you should be doing... not only the conditions. Usually anglers will down size and slow down during post-front conditions. That's a good rule to follow, however I keep an open mind and I am willing to try something different if I'm not getting the results I had anticipated. For example, sometimes burning a crankbait or spinnerbait into/through cover can produce bigger bass that will only strike out of reaction.

Hope you find something helpful in there...

BC

[johnnie crain outdoors]

Brendan, I have come to believe that nearly all bass feed from a reaction-I don't believe I can make a bass believe that a piece of plastic, wood or steel wire is a live minnow or bait/ How do you all feel about this? JC

[brendanc]

Hi Johnnie,

Been traveling a bit... sorry for the delayed response...

I believe that there are times when bass strike out of reaction and other times when they really do think they are getting a meal (and have been fooled)... Some lures do such a good job that the bass don't just take the lure into their mouth, they completely swallow the lure and begin to try and digest it.

They see what they believe is real food and then when they get it in their mouth taste and feel take over and if it passes that test, they try to swallow it.

I do a lot of sight fishing and have had the pleasure of watching more bass approach and inspect my offering than I could even try to count. It is really an eye opening experience each and every time. I always pay very close attention to how the bass is reacting (or not reacting) to what I do (or don't do). If you would like some more insight into bass feeding habits, I strongly recommend that you (and anyone else interested) read the book "Lunker by Bob Underwood". It truly offers something for every angler from novice to pro...

BC

[johnnie crain outdoors]

Of course you are correct. Especially soft plastics. I was basically referring to spinnerbaits and crankbaits. With soft baits, scented and the lively action, bass are definiately fooled by taste, action, smell and texture. You know I use that Snake lure a lot and I'm sure the bass think they have a snake or eel for dinner. Didn't mean to mislead anyone. Good posts. Johnnie