Ok, as long as I have been fishing I haven’t been able to understand why some days you fish and get steady bites and catch lots of fish and other days you get few or no bites and catch nothing or one or two fish. What causes fish to bite good one day and then not bite the next. I’ve seen this at all stages of the tides so that isnt a factor here. Looking for serious answers please, no nonsense.
Figure that out and you’re a rich man!!
Moon. Tide. Bait fish. Temps. Wind. Water clarity. Holding one’s mouth right. And most importantly voodoo.
Interesting topic, would like to hear what the board has to say on this. I do not understand it completely myself.
Its simple really, fish are like woman. You’ll never understand them. Just enjoy dangling your bait in front of them.
1971 NEWPORT DAYSAILER 21’
1970 MAKO CC 22’
quote:
Originally posted by BREEZE1Just enjoy dangling your bait in front of them.
Now that’s funny! (And true.)
13ft Whaler with 25hp Johnson
If you’re lucky enough to be fishing, you’re lucky enough.
I agree with Tree. All of those things AND barometric pressure. It has been my experience that when a high pressure system comes in, the bite would shut down for a couple of days. The same the first day after a low was in place. I found a good article about barometer as it pertains to fish and their feeding patterns.
Jack Taylor
quote:This is what I'm looking for, keep it coming...
Originally posted by Jack TaylorI agree with Tree. All of those things AND barometric pressure. It has been my experience that when a high pressure system comes in, the bite would shut down for a couple of days. The same the first day after a low was in place. I found a good article about barometer as it pertains to fish and their feeding patterns.
Jack Taylor
Kebda - I bought a good book a few years ago for bathroom reading called “The Fisherman’s Ocean” - How marine science can help you find and catch more fish - by David A. Ross, it is fairly informative about these kind of things. I would recommend picking it up!
‘90 Maverick 18.5’ Master Angler/'03 Evinrude 150
'14 Hydra Sports 3400/ 2 350 Yammys
Thanks, for the book rec., what do others have to say about this…
The SCDNR put out these educational publications written by Dr. Charles Wenner. This one is on Red Drum AKA Redfish, AKA Spottail Bass. I read, re-read and studied this one and the ones on Speckled Trout, Flounder and Sheepshead years ago. Learning and studying the life cycle, habits and habitats of the fish you are trying to catch will go along way in helping you to find and catch more fish. It did for me.
http://www.saltwaterfishing.sc.gov/pdf/reddrum.pdf
Jack Taylor
I have found that there is a direct corelation to the fish not being where I am at any given time. Interesting and frustrating phenomenon to say the least.
“Apathy is the Glove into Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”.
quote:
Originally posted by DFreedomI have found that there is a direct corelation to the fish not being where I am at any given time. Interesting and frustrating phenomenon to say the least.
“Apathy is the Glove into Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”.
See your holding your mouth wrong which is scaring the fish off. Try holding it in the opposite direction and you’ll start seeing results.
quote:
Originally posted by Jack TaylorThe SCDNR put out these educational publications written by Dr. Charles Wenner. This one is on Red Drum AKA Redfish, AKA Spottail Bass. I read, re-read and studied this one and the ones on Speckled Trout, Flounder and Sheepshead years ago. Learning and studying the life cycle, habits and habitats of the fish you are trying to catch will go along way in helping you to find and catch more fish. It did for me.
http://www.saltwaterfishing.sc.gov/pdf/reddrum.pdf
Jack Taylor
Good read- recommended!
On a more non-seriousness note you can try this if the fish don’t bite.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6vNvoIeXlI
quote:
Originally posted by highcotton59On a more non-seriousness note you can try this if the fish don’t bite.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6vNvoIeXlI
True!
There is definitely something to be said about there being a hot bite going on for a certain species during short periods.
At the lodge I’m at in Alaska, we fish 5-10 boats everyday and will call out on the radio when we get a keeper King Salmon in the boat, detailing what depth it was at, what bait it was on and general location. There have been many times I’ve noticed that a mess of our boats fishing in different areas, up to a few miles apart, will call in Kings every few minutes within a 10 to 30 minute window. Sometimes, its even as quick as 5 fish in 5 boats in 5 minutes in different areas. My guess is that it’s something about the tide stage and what the current is doing at the particular time, how the bait is responding to the current, time of day, etc and when all of those stars align, the fish feed everywhere. In one area, I’ve been trying to pattern the “hot bites” to the tides and they seem to occur within an hour before or after the low slack tide but do not occur with regularity. In another area, they tend to occur at an hour or three before the slack when the high tide is mid morning and can last up to an hour. Calling out on the radio also helps us to figure out if the fish are holding deeper or shallower, what they’re eating, what they’re not eating, average size of the fish, etc in order to dial in the most productive fishing tactics for the day.
I’ve notice the same trends in the Keys fishing with the Scouts as we’ll have 3-7 boats fishing everyday. This leads me to think it’s not just a King Salmon thing.
I will say that it’s a lot easier to notice when you’ve got a fleet of boats calling out their catches over the radio. A solo angler would have a reel tough time trying to figure out when a hot bite is happening but I think we can all figure out when there’s NOT a hot bite going on!
In a broader sense though, I believe that, as others above have stated, certain conditions have to be right for fish to want to feed an decide to eat a piece of plastic or get picky and wait for a certain bait of choice. These conditions can range from things we might notice from our immediate extrernal senses(ie- tide, sunlight, air temp, water clarity, etc) to subtle things we may NOT notice or realize (ie- water salinity, water temps throughout the whole water column, baitfish activity, etc).
There are a bunch of people who take the time to record every detail about every catch they make in order to detect trends in productive times, techniques, areas, etc. This is a great way to figure out those trends and over the course of a few years, you may be able to start to detect what makes a productive fishing day and what doesn’t. I’m not that organized or detail oriented so I don’t take the time to write all that stuff down. I decide how and where I’m going to fish today based on what has and hasn’t worked over the past 3-5 days, taking into account GENERAL trends (ie- backcountry sharking in the lower keys is most productive on the outgoing tide, halibut and grouper seem to like moving water over slack water, all night full moon weakens the morning offshore bite, etc.)
The best thing you can do is to just go out and try it!
Very good and accurate observations Chris. I agree completely.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats
“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose
There are two rules that I have found out. The fish always bite the day before, and after, you are there. And, the local Ace Hardware always closes at the same time every day, which is exactly 5 minutes before you get there.
… The Cross of Christ is the anvil upon which the hammer of evil wore itself out.