Reading the Barometer: Why the Pre-Front Bite Is the Most Explosive in Bass Fishing
Why falling air pressure sends fish into a feeding frenzy and how to capitalize before the dreaded bluebird sky hits. Ask any seasoned fisherman about their best days on the water, and nine times out of ten, they won't talk about a cloudless, gorgeous 75-degree chamber-of-commerce afternoon. They’ll describe a dark, overcast morning where the wind was picking up from the south, gray storm clouds were stacking up on the horizon, and every bass in the county seemed to be attacking everything that touched the water. That isn't luck or superstition. It is meteorology. The barometric pressure—the physical weight of the Earth's atmosphere pushing down on the surface of the water—is one of the most powerful feeding switches in freshwater ecosystems. When that pressure starts tumbling ahead of a storm front, you have a golden window to catch the biggest fish in the lake. The Mechanics of the Swim Bladder To understand why bass go crazy before a front, you have to understand how the...