First, I want to say thanks to everyone who wished me well during my recovery. Right now I’m at about 85 percent. I should be totally ready to compete come Thursday morning. Actually, it shouldn’t cause me any problems during practice on Monday.
For those of you who don’t know, I had a blood clot removed that developed after I banged it into the boat on the Sabine River while I was working on my prop. I’ve fished there twice. The first time I wrecked my boat. The second time I wrecked my knee and calf. I like the place. I don’t know why it doesn’t like me.
OK, here goes this week’s column…
Neil Phillips from the Eastman Chemical Company posted a question about barometric pressure in the comments section under last week’s column. Yes, I log it in my weather information. That seems to be the most logical place.
Barometric pressure is important. It’s also complicated. We all [Elite Series pros] pay attention to it. Some of us are very detail oriented about it. You might be surprised to learn that several of the Elite guys actually have portable gauges in their boats. They watch what’s happening all the time they’re fishing and adjust their presentations accordingly.
Other guys — I’m in this group — view barometric pressure from a more general perspective. What I mean by that is that we want to know what’s happening with it, especially any changes, but we don’t necessarily follow those changes minute by minute. I do not have a gauge. I get most of my information from Weather Underground.
I’ll give you my views on what barometric pressure does to the fish but with the warning that what I say is general. There are a million exceptions.
The best bite will usually come with a falling or low and steady barometer. That’s normally when a front is approaching. The fish seem to be the most active. Under these conditions I normally throw reaction type lures and don’t worry much if my casts aren’t right on target. These are the easy fish. They’ll chase a bait.
A much tougher bite usually happens when the barometer is rising or is high and steady. The fish move with this, too, but not always in predictable ways. Sometimes they’ll pull back into the cover farther but at other times they’ll move out into deep water and suspend.
Visualize fish on a flat in 4 to 6 feet of water. They might move back under a log or laydown against the shore. They’re just as likely, however, to move out over the first break in 10 to 12 feet of water and then suspend.
If I have a choice, I fish the ones back in the cover. They’re easier to catch than those that are suspended. Either way, I almost always downsize my baits and fish with more of a finesse presentation. Precision placement of your lure matters. Take your time. Do it right.
That’s what I think. Keep in mind, though, what I said earlier. These are general rules. They don’t always hold true. Barometric pressure matters, we just don’t know exactly why all the time.
Mike Iaconelli’s column appears weekly on Bassmaster.com. You can also find him on Facebook and Twitter or visit his website, mikeiaconelli.com.
