Reading Barometric Pressure

i understand that falling or low barometric pressure and or a drastic quick change is what people generally look for when determining good fishing situations. my question what constitues a low barometer reading? I was looking on underground weather and the 10-day forecast has the barometer pressure between 29.5 and 30.5 for the entire ten days with only small variations. Are those small varations enough to trigger the change we looking for? being new to this i guess i was thinking the change in numbers would be much more noticable like “yesterday the reading was 120 but today its at 50 and boy is the bite hot!”. Just trying to understand another trick i can use in my arsenal. thanks for any help understanding how to read barometric pressure.

Yes, that is a big drop. Don’t take much. An interesting article on this from the weather channel. Many opinions abound so google the topic and look for the common truths in each article and you’ll soon be on your way to developing a theory yourself.

http://www.weather.com/sports-recreation/fishing/news/fishing-barometer-20120328

Great info JD. I too have been wondering about this. A low preasure system moved in and the fish wont give me the time of day.

So according to the article on weather.com, I should fish days with sustained high pressure? I am heading to Devils Lake on dec 28, it looks like pressure is going to be 30.6 inches. I would say that is high. Should this be a good bite? It is going to be colder than it has been as well? Any advice or opinions are appreciated. Thanks guys!

Well, the bite on DL is almost always ‘getable’ if you move around and work hard for em. But I just looked at the chart and Friday shows a steep climb in pressure. In theory, Saturday may be a little slower while Sunday looks great. By Sunday, the pressure will have been steady for a day or more.

But I watched James do an episode on Mille Lacs where he fished Walleye shallow, in a new high pressure situation with high sun and little snow and he was slamming the wallies.

Just when you got it all figured out, the fish defy convention. Like Joel says, fish when you can fish. You never really know what other variables may override pressure movements. Moon phase, temps, time of the year, elements unique to that body of water, availability of food sources, bug hatches, cloud cover, high sun, etc. Perhaps even the fortune in the cookie from eating Chinese food last night will impact your luck today.

Well said pressure is a big factor, but so many other things go into it as well. I look for consistency as well. IF a front moves through and you have 4 days of high pressure that is steady with sun and clear skies the fish still have to eat. They can pout a few days but eventually have to put the feed bag on. I also make sure I make the most of my peak bite periods on days when I know the weather is not going to cooperate. Get out there that extra half hour early and stay a half hour later. – QB

overall I believe that the best time to fish is when they are hungry and on the feed.now if only they could come out with either an app or a graph that will show when that happens.seems to me fish are a lot like women you can never predict how they’re going to feel or what they want but boy you will know it after.

I agree fellas. I am probably over analyzing this. It has just never seemed to follow a good pattern for me. Same thing with deer hunting. Too many factors to try to hit them all: moon phases, rut, food sources, bedding areas, etc.
I just know there are times when it seems magical and it would be nice to try to narrow down those windows. Thanks guys.

I can say my experience before a storm of any kind, or during a storm, has been great ice fishing for me. THAT, is the only constant I can say I believe in and I do believe it is directly related to pressure. And maybe diminishing light. And maybe dipping temps. etc. lol

so wait, high pressure is good for fishing not low? according to that article, (which i actually remember reading a while ago but had forgotten all of the information), high pressure is good for the bite and low means they move deeper and bite less…

I know that this information is all conjecture and, in some ways, a part of fishing lore, but i dont mind buying into a theory if it helps me believe ill catch more fish. Sometimes just having confidence in having found a pattern can motivate you and you will fish with more intensity and have a better catch.

I believe the theory goes, a few days of consistent high pressure leads to a more predictable and favorable bite as long as the pressure stays high (or consistent). Otherwise, when it drops, is dropping or is about to drop, the bite may be crazy hot. Once low, it may be poor. I think low pressure usually does not stay low for long. Always wants to yo-yo back up. This topic is why I always bring brats on the ice as I’m always guaranteed a ‘good bite’ even if the fish don’t cooperate.

haha. thanks JD!

I can pretty much always catch small Perch through the ice, regardless of weather. Too bad they are not the species I am trying to catch.

Here is my buddy’s theory.

“29.4 to 30.2 and steady or slowly rising or falling and bubba is happy. A quick like 12 hours time frame rise or fall of more than .3 in either direction and your screwed. Outside of 29.4 to 30.2 and I struggle to find biters. I also think the sun is a game changer.”

I’m targeting 12/31 for that pressure drop as well. Will be interesting as it will be 18 hours or so after high pressure for 4 days around 6pm that day. Just have to get off the ice safely before people start shotgunning Hotball

I would like to see more on this.

More information from Bubba

“I have more time now to elaborate. I still have a great deal to learn but I have taken enough notes over the last 5 seasons or so to have a formula about bp that at least satisfies my simple hillbilly mind enough to feel confident. Lol. Like down sizing baits on high bp days and fish at the very bottom or top third of the water column. You have to find that safe gap in the water were the active fish have escaped the headache effect of the pressure and are actually feeding. It is my belief that low bp drives fish much much higher in the water column than you would expect them to be like the top 4 feet ish. Just some more of my hillbilly bullshit theories for what their worth lmao”

Joel VandeKrol wrote:

I would like to see more on this.

[Light bulb] You know what might be a great idea? If IDO were to cobble together a collective journal area of this site where registered users could upload their fishing data such as pressure, lake, time of day, wind, etc. and some nice reporting widgets that would graph and plot results, I could see this being a rather unique and powerful way to quantify the impact of environmental conditions to the catch rate. My best fishing buddy and I are all about these types of scientific explorations and would participate.

Just so happens this is also in my professional wheelhouse to design such a Web application. I would volunteer my time if others would do the same in areas they are gifted in. I suspect a closed group (or open) of 20+ users could really get some quantifiable data to back up some of these theories.

What say the rest of you? @jamesholst

I like your thinking Mr. Winston. I would gladly add data! With summers off, I could add a lot!!