Barometers

[Didley]

Who out there uses a barometer when planing a fishing trip. My particular interest is Mangrove Jack, but would be interested in the effects on any fish. Also does any one know of a decent barometer that could be used in a small open boat. To my thinking it's not that much use having a nice brass one, on the wall at home in Brisbane if I'm at Noosa.
Any observations would be appreciated. People seem to take more notice of barometric pressure in fresh water fishing? It's something I want explore a little more this season.

Cheers Dids

[Local_Guy]

i thought a rising barometer was always better.

personally if the weather is forecast to be a perfect day, who cares :P.

[Didley]

I think it was a silly question, if u know nothing about it your not going to reply, if you've done all the research, and worked it out your not going to tell every one on Ausfish are you! So I'm going to have a lot of info coming in here :-/

[2manylures]

I think it was a silly question, if u know nothing about it your not going to reply, if you've done all the research, and worked it out your not going to tell every one on Ausfish are you! So I'm going to have a lot of info coming in here :-/

:-X :-X :-X :-X :-X

;) ;) :o ;) ;)

[Local_Guy]

my first comment still stands... from what i've heard, a rising barometer is apparelty better.

[MeePee_99]

Rising better, but its never gonna stop me from going fishing

[TimiBoy]

You can pick one up on ebay to wear on your wrist. I don't know about quality or accuracy.

Cheers,

Tim

[Cheech]

Not a silly question at all. There are sure to be other ausfishers that are willing to share their info. Ask for their best spot x and that would be a different story.

They do say a rising barometer is better, and supposedly the fish can tell. I cannot see how this could be. Particularly with the extreme pressure that already exists in deep water. But it does seem to happen.

I think that line of thought has more to do with bad weather. Usually a high barometer is associated with a High, and as it starts to drop you are often then being affected by an approaching Low and the lines getting closer together with the sharper drops in pressure, so worse weather. So less fish are caught in a dropping barometer because you get out less.


I too would be interested in others comments.

[Noelm]

special "tools" to help with Fishing are always going to bring a measure of good and bad responses, BUT to my way of thinking, lets say you are going Fishing on your only day off, you drive/Boat to your secret spot, drag out your Barometer and find the pressure is low, sh!t you say, pack all your gear up and go home and mow the Lawn instead? don't think so!!! lots of things will give you an edge, but it is not the be all to end all, like why would you spend a couple of hundred Dollars in fuel to go to the Shelf (say) but not wet a line because the temp is not right, or the pressure is too low/high, you need to make the best of what you have got at the time, anything that helps is a bonus that's all, how many fish have been caught in cold dirty water? or close to shore, or far out to Sea in a low pressure system? same goes for Sounder readings, you go all the way to the Banks, sound around, no shows, do you just pack up and go home? only a fool would I reckon! use everything you have at your disposal, but don't let it rule your fishing life!

[Didley]

Thanks Noel, But I live Bris. north side, It takes a while to get to my fishing spots, my fishing time is limited with other commitments ( as with most of us ) Self-employed Wife, Kid, House, dog ect. ect. ect., If I see everything is in my favour I'll drop everything and have a nights fishing. If the tides not right, water temps down, Barometers down, then I'm better off saving the brownie points for when things are right!
If I can predict a productive night Jacking, that's when I want to go. Unfortunately the only way to get that right is time on the water, good and bad. I've fished the same spot when all the indicators are the same, one night I get nothing other night 8-10 good fish, there is something that turns them on and off. I have some of thoes answers but not enough yet, and when I do you'll say I'm a lucky fisherman, and I'll probably say very little.;D

[Noelm]

agree with you there, but I still stand by my response, just to add to it all, I find that a high pressure is best for impoundment Fishing, whether it is to do with bugs and stuff being around, or just the pressure the Fish feel, who knows, for Weather predicting, the Pressure is not as important and using it in conjuction with a good Weather map, you need to know where the centres are for any highs and lows that are affecting your area, a low or falling Barometer does not always bring bad Weather, or a certain wind direction.

[Outsider1]

Here is an interesting link (article starts about half way down the page);

http://blog.kokodafishing.com.au/

I have been thinking about getting one of the mentioned Kokoda Weather Stations, BCF have them on special this month I think!?.

Cheers

Dave

[the gecko]

I took barometer readings for every trip last year dids. I could find no correlation between fish and pressure for jacks.

I tried the '1020, fish a plenty' rule, and found it not worth anything in the esturies. The thing I did notice, was that fish tend to come on the bite with a sudden drop in pressure 1 hour right before a stormfront. Unfortunately, that means getting wet in the boat, and maybe not the right type of fish biting anyway. Bream, cod and cattys will fire up, and so will jacks. Its still no guarantee of fish.

Tides and wind direction made no difference either. Ive caught jacks on run in and run out tide.

The thing that I notice that did help were location and bait. Some spots continue to fire, especially if they are in a back eddy where the baitfish will hold. Downriver after rain, and upriver with no recent rain rule still works. I wasted so much time castnetting for livies last year, only to get no hits for 2 hrs until I changed to mullet strips.

You can get a portable barometer off ebay, or you can get a weather sense addon for most sounders. I know my Hummingbird has that option.

If the fish arent biting, you just have to be more open to changing spots quicker. Its too easy to get stuck in a rut fishing the same spot, just because its been good to you in the past.

All that being said, theres no substitute for time on the water, and you cant predict a good session from your loungeroom.

cheers
Andrew

[Didley]

[

Thanks Andrew
The thing that gets me is, I've been in spot X, things are average, then the jacks will bite there heads off, smashing the bait every time it hits the water, then an hour later, they go off as quick as the came on. Its not tide although I think it has an effect, but there is something that flicks the switch.
I think what U say about livies is true, sometimes, and that is tied in with it . When they are in the zone, livies are the go, when not, it's fresh fillets. (I wouldn't even bother with livies in winter for instance) But lets keep this to our selves.::)

[the gecko]

I think the thing that 'flicks the switch' is that we are anchored up, and a school comes past. Ive watched it on the sounder.

I think the fish flow with the current cos their lazy. They might be territorial, and stop for a while in a good ambush spot, but they still move. Theres some great spots in snags under sunken trees that are only gonna fire at high tide. Where do these fish go when its low tide and the cover is exposed? They move to another spot, and when a bait school is rounded up, they move with it.

They still have to eat, no matter what the weather is doing. If only locating them was that easy.

Andrew

[black_sheep]

My response is similar to Gecko.

I have had a Suunto watch for about 8yrs that tracks barometer. It also keeps readings for 5 days so I can build a hostory of what has happened. I have also kept a diary for every fishing trip over the lasy 15yrs.

From looking at my diary reports, it is very hard to build any sort of pattern with barometer readings. I think what is often more important is dramatic changes in barometer. I have fished with the barometer as low as 996 and as high as 1030 and neither have had any real pattern, although I'd rather fish a higher barometer as the weather seems to be a bit more stable.

In saying this, there have been several occassions when the light switch has been 'turned on' and I've checked my watch to find that the barometer has either risen dramatically or dropped significantly - again as gecko said, more associated with Freshwater fishing.

Good topic though Didley and I think what gecko said about tides and the way fish use them to move from one feeding spot to the next makes a lot of sense. Have you started looking at tidal movement/hieghts/flow etc. This may be another avenue to try and narrow down that 'magical hour' when they go off. I too have spent countless hours trying to work it out and like you am still theorising:'( .

When you find out - don't forget to post a report:-X ;) .



I still check barometer readings throughout the day everytime I'm on the water as I do think it has some impact on fishing but other factors are just as if not more important - tides, moon, wind, water condition etc.

We have fished in what I would consider PERFECT conditions and caught jack sh*t nad vice versa, terrible conditions and cleaned up - go figure.

As many of you have said, go fishing whenever you can. If the barometer, tides whatever is good, that's a bonus, if you catch fish - that's gold!!;D

[Didley]

Thanks Black Sheep, that's a great reply, not what I wanted to hear, but very interesting. It looks like I'm barking up the wrong tree, but I'll get a barometer and have a look at it all. The quick changers in pressure, seem to be a recurring theme, as Gecko said, that's impossible to predict from my lounge room in Bris.

[the gecko]

You can actually predict the pressure drops from home....

If Ive got a trip planned in summer, and theres storms about, they generally move in a line of 'fronts' from the SE, or sometimes W. You can watch the BOM radar, and then watch the BOM Observations, and theres generally a drop of 2-3 hp in pressure at the Seaway, and it happens 30-60 mins before the storm. AFter a while, you get a feel for it.

So what you want is an approaching storm front, yes it will be electrical most likely, and then you hide under a bridge after you catch fish. The storms do pass quickly, avge 15 mins, so it doesnt put me off fishing.

Still the best nights are the calm, balmy summer nights, when theres no storm. I catch most jacks on these nights, so Im not in a hurry to fish in a storm if I get a choice.

If we could work out what turns jacks on, I reckon it would be no fun. Who knows what makes them bite thier heads off one night and not another?

I just fish whenever I can. Stuff the predictions.

Andrew

[Didley]

yes Andrew, most people say just before a storm is a hot bite time, that what makes me want to look more at this barometric pressure thing. The fun is in the chase;D. It's that time of year we can't catch em, we might as well talk about it.

Cheers mate, Dids

[black_sheep]

Didley - prime example of quick changes in Barometer. Fished Monduran last year and didn't catch much in 3 days. On the last mornings session, the baro was 997. Within the next 15-20mins, we hooked about 6 good barra and landed 4. Light switch was full power. I (as usual) checked my watch and within the 10 mins preceeding this, the baro went from 997 to 1014! They pretty much went off the chew after that and the baro dropped back to 1002 as quickly as it rose - go figure. Either coincidence or quick changes in baro CAN make a lot of difference.

Why it increased and dropped so quickly, I don't know. There was no change in conditions, no storm passing by........ just glad it happened :)

At the end of the day, it certainly doesn't hurt keeping track of the barometer and is another piece of fishing arsenal but certainly not the bees all.

[Didley]

Thanks Black Sheep, I bought a portable electronic barometer on ebay last night, so I'll start keeping an eye on it, It may take a while, but I'll try and let U know when I find any thing Interesting.
It seems to be more of an indicator in the fresh water, although I can't see why that would make a difference????
Regards Dids

[Didley]

Maybe it's just fresh water fishos are more into the hokus pokus stuff (science) than the salt boys. (who have I upset there)

[Deadstick]

the Gecko is right the Humminbird sounder range has an option to add a barometric sensor to them. they will display a 12 hour history bar graph. the beauty of this is that you can see if any changes in the barometer coincided with a change in the bite. the other alternative i have been using myself lately is on seabreeze. i have started keeping a diary in excel spreadsheet formats which i copy & paste copies of the wind,tide & barometric graphs onto these sheets. generally you need to copy them as soon as possible after your trip to make sure you get the right times on the graph as they constantly update them. if you get stuck you can go on & get the whole previous day but after this i havent seen any archive info on there. i also have experienced an increased bite just before storms in the warmer summer afternoons on jacks but would have to say that on a slowly falling barometer the bite generally seems tougher. An old cod fisherman once told me 1020 & below don't go. i do beleive the barometer has more affect on freshwater than salt & would take a good tide over a good barometer most days, but as gecko said nothing beats time on the water. fish when ever you can but record & learn from the conditions.

[2manylures]

yes Andrew, most people say just before a storm is a hot bite time, that what makes me want to look more at this barometric pressure thing. The fun is in the chase;D. It's that time of year we can't catch em, we might as well talk about it.

Cheers mate, Dids

This is the time of year you should be trying to find out what you are doing wrong.

Fish have to eat to survive just as we do. We don't eat steak & baked beans everyday & fish {most species} vary there diet also.

I'd be more inclined to learn about a targetted species "comfort zone" water temp/depth springs to mind, as this will be more advantageous than barometric pressure.

Find the bait/food & you'll find the fish.....pretty simple!;D

[TonyM]

Hi Didley - shot you a PM with a little "Hocus Pocus" in it ;D

2manylures - carefull, sounds to me like you are talking about collating and reviewing data, what an utter waste of time eh? :-X;D

Cheers
Tony

[davez104]

You are too funny Tony. I was going to chime in on your other thread, but now I'm just gonna sit back and watch this unfold :)

Dave.

[TonyM]

You are too funny Tony. I was going to chime in on your other thread, but now I'm just gonna sit back and watch this unfold :)

Dave.

haha thanks Dave - sometimes I just can't help myself! ::)

Seriously though - the whole idea of a forum is that we can share opinions and how boring would it be if we all agreed all of the time?

Nahh I've had my say now, so time to shut up and listen for me :-X (although I reserve the right to change my mind) ;D

p.s. G'arn have your say! More the merrier I say

Cheers
Tony

[Didley]

This is the time of year you should be trying to find out what you are doing wrong.

Fish have to eat to survive just as we do. We don't eat steak & baked beans everyday & fish {most species} vary there diet also.

I'd be more inclined to learn about a targetted species "comfort zone" water temp/depth springs to mind, as this will be more advantageous than barometric pressure.

Find the bait/food & you'll find the fish.....pretty simple!;D

2ML, are U suggesting if we started using a different bait or stuck a fish tank heater in the river we'd be reeling in the jacks all year round.
I do know a spot that has an outlet of hotter water from, lets say an industrial establishment, that does produce when other areas are to cold. Failing that it's a little impractical to create a m/j comfort zone in my jack spots, the power bill would up set the missus.;D Maybe the baked beans is worth a try though.

[2manylures]

2ML, are U suggesting if we started using a different bait or stuck a fish tank heater in the river we'd be reeling in the jacks all year round.
I do know a spot that has an outlet of hotter water from, lets say an industrial establishment, that does produce when other areas are to cold. Failing that it's a little impractical to create a m/j comfort zone in my jack spots, the power bill would up set the missus.;D Maybe the baked beans is worth a try though.

Just giving you something practical to think about Mr. Didley ;D

[black_sheep]

Didley, I will be very interested to see if you do crack a pattern. It's like any type of fishing though mate - if they all of a sudden come on the bite and you notice the barometer has risen to 1022, how do you know for sure that it's the barometer and not another factor. All too hard and confusing but for some reason, I like you still torture myself with a diary - good luck mate.

[Dug]

I know 2 guys who died due to a falling barometer.

A very rapid drop in pressure seems to bring fish on to the bite it happened on this day anyway. 3 men on a 40ft steel converted trawler fishing boat. Fish on the reef they were fishing just went mad, every bait brought a fish into the boat. They had never seen fishing like it.

Meanwhile a huge storm front was coming through the weather went from perfect to a 50kt gale within half an hour.


They stayed out about 1 hour to long they went down about 20km away from a sheltered anchorage.

2 of them died, one drowned trying to get off the sinking boat into the tender. the other was taken by sharks during the night, the third was found 2 days later very near death.

Regardless of the fishing and the conditions always leave time to get home safe with a margin for error.

No fishing trip is worth a life.

[Didley]

I know 2 guys who died due to a falling barometer.
.


I thought, 4 sure U were going to say, they both had barometers fall on their heads.

[jim_bream]

ROFLMAO Didley,
I was thinking the same thing: pissed off pilot throws barometre outta the window...
still laughing...

[reidy]

Will use a baro to attempt to predict snow conditions here in Tassie.Down this way snow equals a good days trouting.
Cheers
Reidy