[oldschool]

Cold fronts are not fronts at all, they are the back side of a low pressure system. The term comes from the cold air in front of the high pressure system filling in the low pressure depression. The atmosphere is made up of varying degrees of moisture levels from near 0 to 100%. The higher levels of moisture in the atmosphere defuse sunlight. Clouds for example are a form of moisture that condense into rain droplets and clouds can only move into low pressure depression within the atmosphere, they are pushed away from high pressure areas .High pressure therefor has very low levels of moisture, humidity,little sunlight diffusion.
Since bass live in water the water pressure on the bass is minutely affected by barometric pressure, however the airborne environment is greatly affected by pressure changes. A falling barometer indicates lower atmospheric pressure is present and higher levels of moisture is coming to fill in the depression. Light becomes defused, airborne insects are pushed down onto the water surface and the entire food chain becomes very active taking advantage of the reduced light and activity. Bass that live in shallow water, where light intensity is a major factor in the predator prey relationship, become active feeding on baitfish that are feeding on insects etc. Bass that live in nearby deeper will move up to take advantage of the activity created by the low pressure system moving in.
Then the high pressure system begins to push out the low pressure system and in between the 2 systems is cold air or the cold front. The atmosphere clears dramtically, very little sunlight diffusion and wind pushed by higher pressures clears out the airborne insects. The deeper water bass retreat back to their nearby deeper water and the shallow water bass move under cover and wait for the high pressure to pass, the cold clear air to leave and their ecosystem to normalize. The deeper water bass simply return to their already normal environment and are less affected by barometric pressure changes.
Target the active bass during the falling barometer and the deeper bass during the cold front rising barometer, then after things normalize target the bass that have moved under cover.
Tom

 

[Texas Bass Pro]

Okay...... :wack: :wack: :sad2: :tongue2: :dunno: and some more of this :wack:




The only part I understand is the last sentence. I can do that much. LOL

 

[KeithsCatch]

Good info Tom. Makes sense.

 

[oldschool]

Okay...... :wack: :wack: :sad2: :tongue2: :dunno: and some more of this :wack:




The only part I understand is the last sentence. I can do that much. LOL

That all anyone really needs to know. All the other stuff only tries to explain why those green fish do what they do.
Tom

 

[dave0331_69]

it does make sense, but let me see if i got it dropping barometer= active bass in the shallows when it rises look in deeper water? Dave

 

[Texas Bass Pro]

it does make sense, but let me see if i got it dropping barometer= active bass in the shallows when it rises look in deeper water? Dave

Yep, thats the part I got. LOL

And yes I do understand what your saying. Just trying to throw in some humor.

 

[oldschool]

it does make sense, but let me see if i got it dropping barometer= active bass in the shallows when it rises look in deeper water? Dave

Bass all over the lake tend to get active under the ideal conditions of a falling barometer, deep and shallow. Bass that live shallow tend to stay shallow and the rising barometer, bright sun light and colder windy air turns these bass off and they become neutral or negative in regards to feeding activity. You pound the shallow heavy cover and get a few strikes or go deeper and catch more active bass.
Tom

 

[dave0331_69]

I see said the blind man to his deaf son as he stuck his peg leg out the window and said it is raining pops! Dave

 

[KeithsCatch]

I can add that sometimes a neutral fish can be forced into biting with a reaction type lure presentation such as the rattle trap. I have had good days under so called bad weather conditions ie. blue bird skies, post frontal conditions when bass are not suppossed to be eating. I agree they normally don't yet sometimes a loud, flashy bait that comes knocking along right close to them will cause some of them to react to it and strike it, while other slower presentations would not even illicit a sniff.

Not that this is the "most productive" scenario but one none the less that will work.

 

[Ouachita]

A cold front can simply be said to be a transition zone where colder air replaces warmer air. Colder air is usually dry air.

At sea level air is 784 times less dense than water. Yet, a small change in air pressure can be felt by humans. If you were to be beamed up suddenly a couple of miles high you would suffer much the same as coming up from a depth of water too fast (the "bends"). I just wanted to point out how significant air pressure can be.

In water the effects of pressure change occur more dramatically because of the greater density of water. For every 33 feet swimming down one atmosphere is added to that at the surface. At 33 feet the pressure is two atmospheres. The weight of air adds to the weight of water, but mostly the weight of the water column is what creates such a dramatic pressure increase. That's what causes bass caught deep and reeled up too fast to swell and require "fizzing". Lesser depths likely causes some discomfort. At 66 feet down the pressure is 3 atmospheres. It isn't likely a bass rising suddenly from there would survive the experience.

There is some dispute as to how much atmospheric change it takes to affect water to affect fish in the water. The increase from high pressure or decrease from low pressure is believed to have some effect on fish, given no change in water depth. For now it's all subjective conjecture.

I've been fishing on clear days when low pressure was building, with no signs of clouds or changes in light. Suddenly the bass began to bite. That can be a clue some weather is moving in. You get home and see a warm front on the way. In my opinion that drop in pressure has some effect on the fish. On the other side, the bite can fall off suddenly at the moment pressure starts building again.

I simply look for bass in slightly deeper water when pressure is building. I don't find them swimming away, just a few feet deeper if they can do that without traveling. A large increase puts them even deeper, maybe from 5 feet one day to 12 feet the next at the peak of the high pressure level.

Jim

 

[oldschool]

I agree that shallow water bass may feel millibars pressure change even though it is so minute, we older folks can feel it in our joints although we are in the atmosphere directly and not surrounded by water. Bass have evolved in shallow water and have lateral line nerve endings that may detect more than vibrations. It would be a good experiment to place a deep aquarium in a pressure chamber and observe what going on with the bass without any other factors. You have obsevered bass behavior scuba diving in a lake which is actual conditions that proves the bass are affected by fronts and become less active in shallow water. Experience also proves that point. Like everything else it's a combination of factors. The point is bass in deeper water are affected less than shallow water bass.
Tom

 

[Ouachita]

And that, my friend, is probably why big bass retreat deeper to find more comfort when pressure rises. I've read of biologists thinking a bigger factor is light, diminishing during low air pressure, increasing in high air pressure. That would probably be major factor IF weather brings in clouds. We don't always see clouds immediately in front of any front. Wind is more likely to increase or decrease around frontal transition zones, and change direction enough to reverse the direction forage has been presented to fish in days previous. That surely requires bass to regroup and position to face forage coming from 180 degrees from what they were enjoying. If wind increases leading in a warm front it should indicate stormy weather. We all know how that stimulates the bite.

Jim

 

[fishincable]

Being a landscaper I follow the weather pretty close. You've given me a lot to think about and it all makes great sense. Thanks for the information. MIKE

 

[Oldfart9999]

I noticed the word "tends", I assume that it means all this is a definte maybe, or ironclad possibilty, or without fail normally.
Oldfart

 

[oldschool]

Nothing in nature can be considered absolute, including bass behavior.
Tom

 

[Pond Jumper]

Wow! Now thats information. I feel like I went to school today and actually learned something but still not sure what it was.