piking- getting the right place and time

[Angly]

Anyone who doesnt think that rising air pressure and its resulting weather conditions doesnt affect pike fishing simply hasnt done enough piking or hasnt a clue how to most effectively catch pike!

 

I think the bone of contention is whether or not it’s the pressure that affects fish, or just the weather conditions that accompany that pressure.

 

With any luck I'm out tomorrow, and I think weather is looking fairly good (steady high pressure bright and sunny) for Pike. Not sure about the Thames though, was high and clear last time I checked, but some rain overnight may well change that. Depending on water temps and colour I may just try for my first Barbel instead.

[Steve Burke]

Angly, we posted within seconds of each other so you may have missed what I wrote above.

 

Scottishflyfisher I quite appreciate the point you're making about learning something in adverse conditions. For instance last winter I teamed up with my old fishing partner, Peter Rogers, who's restricted to fishing just weekends and holidays. Having to go when Peter was able to certainly added an extra dimension. You can read what happened at what almost became a blog: http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/Grand-D...l=grand+day+out

 

These days, unless I'm babysitting my grand-daughter, I normally have the luxury of going fishing whenever I like. I tend to choose the water, the species and the methods according to the weather. I'm therefore usually fishing in what I've found from experience are good conditions for the fish I'm after.

 

I get an awful lot of fun in trying to work out why I catch or not. What's more, it means I definitely catch more fish. It was same too when I had the same lack of time as most others.

 

However sometimes I now take the attitude "there's always tomorrow". And I actually fish less often than I used to!

[old buzzer]

I intend to go piking on Wednesday the weather is forecast to be dry and cold after a frosty night, the only trouble that I can see is that it is going to be very bright and I am led to believe that pike prefer overcast conditions. I shall be starting out before 6 am as that is when the wife will be dropping me off so by the time the sun rises at 7.30 I should be froze to the bone but ready to fish.

As for air pressure it makes sense that fish react to it but as we are talking in differences in millibars surely the fish would experience greater changes by swimming at differing depths?

[poledark]

Just done a Google and came up with this........difference in pressure in water at these depths..1foot, 5 foot, and 10 feet.

 

Atmospheric pressure,

 

1ft 1.0295

 

5ft 1.1475

 

10ft 1.295.

 

 

Millibars

 

1ft 1043.1407

 

5ft 1162.7034

 

10ft 1312.1568.

 

 

PSI

 

1ft 15.1295

 

5ft 16.8636

 

10ft 19.0312.

 

I think I wiil also need to find the difference between a "high pressure" and a "low pressure"

 

and how it relates to depth of water.

 

bearing in mind that a fish moves up and down thro the depths apparenly effortlessly and somesimes so fast that it is unlikely that it has to make any adjustments over a range of say 10 feet.

 

Den

Edited December 8, 2008 by poledark

[Andy Macfarlane]

Interesting stuff den.I've always been of the opinion that rising pressure, even in the depths of Winter, can make the difference between pike feeding and not feeding.

[Dick Dastardly]

I think the bone of contention is whether or not it’s the pressure that affects fish, or just the weather conditions that accompany that pressure.

 

Not for me mate.Its definately the weather/light conditions that the high air pressure brings that either stimulates or suits the pike best to hunt in.I do though believe that pike can detect this changing or more acurately "iminent change" of the conditions.And all my observations lead me to believe that this is because they can detect the change in the air pressure.

 

I have never been able to find any concrete scientific documented evidence to prove this but base it purely on many thousands of hours fishing in all conditions on a variety of waters.

[The Flying Tench]

I think I wiil also need to find the difference between a "high pressure" and a "low pressure"

 

and how it relates to depth of water.

 

bearing in mind that a fish moves up and down thro the depths apparenly effortlessly and somesimes so fast that it is unlikely that it has to make any adjustments over a range of say 10 feet.

 

Den

 

I was asking the same question a couple of years ago, but Steve, Budgie and co convinced me that fish can actually sense the pressure difference. I seem to remember that the difference between a high and low pressure day was about 2 feet depth - but no doubt you will check that. An interesting fact I remember from that discussion was an experiment on trout in a tank and they swam a couple of feet higher in the water on a high pressure day.

[Dick Dastardly]

Trout in cages/farms also feed noticeably faster/harder on HP days than LP days.Once again dont know why just a simple observation.

[Neil G]

I think the bone of contention is whether or not it’s the pressure that affects fish, or just the weather conditions that accompany that pressure.

 

With any luck I'm out tomorrow, and I think weather is looking fairly good (steady high pressure bright and sunny) for Pike. Not sure about the Thames though, was high and clear last time I checked, but some rain overnight may well change that. Depending on water temps and colour I may just try for my first Barbel instead.

 

Good move, if we get a nice mild wet weekend after all this cold the barbel are going to be very hungry, if the river is up and you hook one hang on tight lol

 

As far as pike go and especially lure fishing a clear river is paramount to success and conditions that bring this about are usually periods of high pressure with little or no rain

[The Flying Tench]

Well thanks everyone for helpful comments. Just out of interest here is how my day went - but it isn't a great success story!

 

First I spent half an hour wobbling in a millpool in the Kennet that was a hotspot for me about 4 years ago (mainly in the summer) but hasn't been so good since. No luck.

 

Then I went and had a look at the Lambourn. Running very low and clear. I could see all the rubbish on the bottom, but no fish! The sun was out at the time, and I decided to leave it.

 

So I drove over to the Thames at Streatley, foolishly ignoring advice from MV44 that it was probably too coloured. What a contrast to the Lambourn! Loads of water going through, the colour of tea. As I'd made the trip, though, I thought I'd have a bash. On a reconnaissance a year ago I simply walked along the concrete bank fishing a deadbait sink and draw a foot from the bank, and had three jacks in half an hour. I'd read somewhere that fish will feed in brown water after about three days as they get sufficiently hungry by then, so I thought I was in with a chance. No luck, though, the pike hadn't read the same book.

 

So back to visit a family member and then got out the side-planer and fished the canal at Thatcham for an hour, just as dusk was falling. The water was vodka clear! Felt great. No action though till a respectable jack took the bait just as I was thinking it was too dark for a fish to see the bait. He got off, but at least I know his address.

 

I'm sure Budgie is right. I don't know the waters well enough to go charging round like this, and I need to do some more thorough research on feeding times in my local waters. The trouble is:

 

a) I don't live bait, and the local clubs don't allow it anyway

I have a slight tiredness condition which means I can only cope with a couple of hours of lure fishing or wobbling at a time

c) I am congenitally impatient (!) and get fed up sitting in front of a deadbait!

d) there are so many good waters round me with different types of fish I want to catch, that I am a hopeless fishing dilettante, switching from one kind of fishing to another

 

Well, that's just to explain why I don't always take the good advice people give! But it does go into the brain somewhere, and I think I might concentrate a little more on the canal between the dace, and grayling and roach fishing trips that are also planned for this winter!