To be successful in life and fishing, you must pay attention to the details.
One of the details overlooked most often when fishing is the barometric pressure. Barometric pressure is how we measure atmospheric or air pressure.
The atmospheric pressure greatly influences a fish's mood, which is why there are days you can’t keep them off your hook and other days when you can’t buy a bite.
As you keep reading, you’ll understand why this is the case.
Now a fair warning, barometric pressure isn’t the only factor affecting fish; it’s just one of the many, so just because it is favorable for fishing doesn’t mean the other factors are good.
The Best Barometric Pressure for Fishing
The best barometric pressure for fishing is when it’s falling. This most often occurs right before a storm.
I’ve fished before storms, and I can vouch for fish biting better in these instances, but why?
It has to do with their swim bladder. Fish use their swim bladder to adjust their depth in the water column.
On days with high barometric pressure (clear sunny bluebird days), the fish feel this increased pressure and must work harder to maintain a specific depth.
When the pressure is falling or low, bony fish can freely move from one depth of water to the next with minimal effort.
How to Fish Low and High Barometric Pressure
Since we can’t control the barometric pressure, we must learn to adapt our approach to fishing to match the conditions.
You’ll become very frustrated if you fish the same way during high-pressure as you do during low-pressure situations.
Use the tips below to catch more fish during the varying conditions you encounter.
Low Barometric Pressure Fishing Tips
Low barometric pressure allows the fish to move more freely, which means they’ll be more likely to be shallow, searching for food.
In these conditions, fish are more aggressive, so you can use moving lures to trigger a bite.
You can also get away with using larger baits since the fish will be more inclined to gorge themselves in low atmospheric pressure.
During low pressure, you can fish:
● Shallow
● Fast
● With larger lures
High Barometric Pressure Fishing Tips
High air pressure drives the fish deeper and causes them to be lethargic.
When fishing in these conditions, fish much slower with finesse techniques to trigger a bite.
Downsizing your lure is another way to entice fish to bite, as the increased barometric pressure makes them feel full, so they’re less likely to want a big meal.
During high pressure, you should fish:
● Deep
● Slow
● With smaller lures
One More Cast
By understanding how barometric pressure affects fish, you will be better prepared to fish in low and high barometric pressure conditions.The best fishing conditions are typically on the days you don’t want to be on the water, while the most challenging fishing conditions are generally the gorgeous clear blue sky days.