Weather Trends Effect Fishing

There are several things in nature that have a direct effect on the movement and activity level of fish in any body of water. One of the biggest things is the weather. Not just the weather on any one day, but the weather over several days in a row. You have heard people say things like it is supposed to start warming up next week or it is going to turn off cold for a few days and then start to warm up some. All of these weather changes are what is known as weather trends.

This is information that a lot of experienced anglers will use to set up fishing patterns for early season trips. And for good reason because weather trends dictate what the fish should be doing, where they should be located at, and the activity or feeding level they should be at. So you can see that to plan your early season trips around the most stable weather patterns is a very smart move. On most lakes right now the surface temps are around the 50 degree range. This is up a few degrees from a couple weeks earlier. This small temp increase was enough to get the bluegills to hit around shore line cover in 4 to 6 feet of water in brush piles last week. Then as the water gets on up in the 53 to 55 degree range the crappie will become more active. All of this is directly because of a stable warming weather trend that has been going on recently. But also even if it stays warm for several days and the fishing gets real good.

A over night cold front followed by days of dropping temps will kill the action all together. One day in the 70's followed by a couple of days in the 40' then back into the 50;s the next day is not a weather trend. A weather trend is a steadily rising or falling of the air temp over several days in a row. If you watch the weather report and it calls for the next few days to be in the 50's and the next day close to 60 and then at the end of the week in the 70,s now that is a warming weather trend. Try to plan your fishing trips at the peak warming period of these weather cycles. Just as a person likes to get out in the warmest parts of the day right now so does the fish. That is one reason that one of the best fishing patterns you can use right now is to fish in the warmest part of the day and try to target the banks that the sunlight hits first and stays on the longest. This banks will warm quicker and stay warmer longer than a shady band will.

This couple of degree warmer water may not seem like a big deal but it is. The warmer banks will start to bloom with vegetation quicker and draw the bait fish in and also produce more oxygen into the water. And where the bait fish go the predator fish like the bass, crappie and bluegill will follow. Search out these banks and fish them with small baits on light line. For bass try a small dark colored jig or tube bait fished slowly in and around cover. For crappie a small minnow or jig worked in 8 to 10 feet of water close to wood cover is a good bet. The bluegill are best now fished for in the warmest part of the day with worms around wood or rock cover.

Watch your weather reports for a warming trend and plan your next fishing trip a sure fire cure for fishing fever