33.10 Barometer How High Is That?

[dtrs5kprs]

Whew!!! Got what I asked for. The deal for me fishing most everyday, is the higher the sky the tougher the fishing. Usually the higher the sky the higher the pressure. Good old low pressure cloudy slight ripply days that don't vary to much either in temperature are the ticket.

Most often the same old same old is the deal. The more consistant the weather the better I like it.

Good Luck

The key is to keep it simple for sure. Had a little fun looking into things though, reminded me of my college days. Not so much the nights.

Really thought the MN biologist covered it pretty well, at least in terms of the freshwater aspect and impact on the bite.

[bfishn]

Think the key was "in simple terms".

This is less so. Most interesting bit is in the "Results" where not only is pressure discussed, albeit briefly, but also the effect of wind. Of course this may not be definitive as it focuses on marine life, not freshwater systems.

http://www.cnrs.edu.lb/info/LSJ2005/No2/alnajjar.pdf

For those not interested in the entire work, an excerpt:

" A notable increase in the surface zooplankton biomass in the area of Yachting club

pool (21.73 mg m-3) compared with other sampling sites which might be attributed to the high

nutrient levels in this area due to human sources such as yachts washing and uncontrolled

discharge of some organic compounds. These differences in the distribution were in

agreement with the values of nutrients and chlorophyll a, primary production in the study area

(Al-Najjar et al., 2003). As for vertical distribution, the biomass values of this study were

generally less at 25m than at 50m water depth. Environmental factors may affect zooplankton

production in a given sea area directly and/or through that in other regions (Aoki et al., 1999).

Among environmental parameters, the air pressure may affect zooplankton biomass. The

lower air pressure leads to a higher zooplankton biomass (Tomosada & Odate, 1995). It is

probable that the disturbance of sea surface layer by low air pressure, which induces windy

conditions and decrease of air temperature cause vertical mixing and subsequent nutrient

enrichment (Manasrah et al., 2004).

Currents have also different respective effect on zooplankton abundance and

distributions of zooplankton from site to site. It is possible that the water is subject to a

positive effect when it shifts north - eastward. In such analysis, it would be needed to consider

the time lag between changes in zooplankton biomass and driving environmental variables.

These time lags probably differ among variables, and a number of combinations of input

variables with different time lags are assumed."

Have not been able to locate the piece by Tomosada and Odate that is referenced, but it turns up in multiple works by other researchers. It might in fact be the definitive answer, at least for marine systems. An example of its use as a reference:

http://pices.int/publications/scientific_reports/Report35/Sci_Rep_35_Japan_pp57_84.pdf

Excerpt :

"If winds are reduced by future warming of the ocean,

the primary production in the seas around Japan may

be reduced because of reduced vertical mixing in

winter. Warming could also reduce the nutrient

supply to the subarctic gyre and thus decrease

primary production in the Oyashio region. However,

variation in zooplankton biomass off Sanriku had a

positive correlation with sea surface temperature

(SST) and sunshine at Nemuro and a negative

correlation with sea level pressure at Nemuro in the

Oyashio (Fig. 20, Tomosada and Odate, 1995).

Thus, higher SST and stormier conditions would

improve productivity, although low zooplankton

biomass in the Oyashio, Kuroshio and transition

waters during the 1980s may have been caused by

mass predation by Japanese sardine (Taniguchi,

1999). In general, the impacts of climate and ocean

changes vary among areas and species, and the

impacts are poorly understood, but it is clear that

climate and ocean conditions are major influences in

the production of fishes in the seas around Japan."

The Tomosada piece appears to provide the accepted analysis of the effects of pressure, at least on zooplankton. Apparently it was published in 1995 in a Japanese journal. Have seen many citations of it, but no links or PDF's of the doc.

Wow...and to think that was actually more interesting than the CE I did yesterday.

I think you misunderstood my post. I never questioned that barometric changes might have an effect on plankton, I merely questioned the mechanism that lclass posted;

"Dropping or low barometer makes it easier for plankton and zooplankton to move higher in the water column... ... Rising or high pressure pushes the plankton to the bottom..."

Anyway, thanks for the links. It's more interesting than what I did at work today too.

[*T*]

Wow, next thing you know you'll be telling me moon phases, moon rise/set impacts fish activity, or even lenght of daylight, angle of the sun!

[Alex Heitman]

I have noticed, especially at TAble rock that when the sun is going down and they turn on the generators the fish go into a frenzy for about 20 or 30 mins and then it's done. The angle of the sun and the generation I think play a big role in that.

[Feathers and Fins]

Bill, I remember growing up around the Salton Sea the old guys Had a Giant Barometer on the wall. They would play pinochle until it started to fall and then it was like a fire alarm went off as the game stopped and they fished.

Persimmons had spoon this year and that means hard winter with snowfall and BINGO we got it.

I have a weather stick and its far more accurate than the weathermen on tv

In Florida if the Brazilian peppers are in bloom the snook will be biting (and a a bunch of young birds will be drunk, through that in for Justin he knows what I mean )

The old tail are I find more the best way to gauge weather and fishing patterns than any computer generated chart or book.

[bfishn]

Hmmmmm... if there's a hot bite every morning till 9:30, did the clock cause it?

[merc1997 Bo]

here is what i have observed over the years about the passage of fronts. i really do not pay too much attention to how high the pressure got, but pay attention to what i call the "squint" factor. the squint factor has to do with the amount of uv present. i have seen very severe fronts go through and the bass never quit biting. so obviously, the pressure changes had little to do with shutting down the bite. what i have observed though is that when the bite is shut down, you squint so bad you can hardly get your eyes open. bass have no eye lids, and i think high uv amounts make them bury up someplace. ever notice on some overcast days that you have the same problem with squinting, and with the overcast sky that really should not be a problem. the reason for this making one squint is because of the amount of uv present which is due to the amount of moisture left in the air. this is nothing that is written in stone, or has some scientific study behind it, but just what i have reasoned out from my own observations. so for me, those days when the light for the day makes me squint really bad, i fish the heaviest cover that i can find, fish deeper, or find colored water. ever wonder why that even on the darkest night that sometimes a clear red worm will get more bites than traditional dark colors?? i believe it is the amount of uv present. i think that there are many mysteries about fishing that will not ever be solved. about the best we can do is to observe, deduce, and try experimenting.

bo

[Old plug]

One of my best bass days ever was on wappappello. I went down there in spring like weather. It turned real cold and windy that nite and I went out the next morning anyway. It started snowing real hard. I was going to stop and i going to stop but I was not out there 15 minutes and i caught a 7 lb bass. With something like that I sure not going to stop. Do not know how much longer I fished but the snow was about three inches deep in th bottom of the boat and i caught another 7 lb bass. I fished a bit more and it just got to be too brutal. Was snowing so hard you could hardly see in front of you. At the end of the day they had 14 inches. Took me 7 hrs to get back to st louis.So what can I say. Now days I go out in the mornings and a couple of hours and again in the evening when the sun looks right. Light intensity is really more important fo me. There is one exception a steady rain in the spring gets me so excited I would to rise from the dead to get out there. Especially a warm one on a cold lake.

[troller]

The highest Barometric Pressure on Jan 17 2014 in Southeast Missouri recorded by the national weather service was 30.17 recorded at 4:52PM CDT

[troller]

That should be Southwest!