How The Weather Can Impact Your Fishing Forecast

Never underestimate the degree to which the weather and the fishing forecast are related. Once you learn more about how to adjust your fishing plans based on the weather, you’ll start tuning into your local news station (and checking your smartphone weather apps) a lot more often.

Knowing what’s coming your way in the form of severe weather, such as a storm, or what direction the wind is coming from during different parts of the day will help you make the best decisions on where to fish.

There are smartphone apps that can show you the weather forecast by the week, by the day, and even by the hour. Below are four weather apps that I’ve found incredibly useful when planning fishing trips:

• MyRadar
• WindAlert
• The Weather Channel
• Weather Underground

Of course, common sense tells you that if a storm is headed your way, it’s not the time to go out and fish. However, if you notice that storms or fronts are predicted to come through your area in a couple of days, chances are good that the barometric pressure will start to drop as the front approaches. When this happens, the fish respond with a change in feeding patterns — they often feed heavily right before the pressure drops.

Once the front passes and high pressure returns, fish may not feed much for at least 24 hours afterward, since they are still adjusting to the pressure change. Once high pressure settles over an area, it often means bluebird skies and calm waters. These conditions don’t mean that you can’t fish, but do mean that you may need to change your strategy by fishing deeper water where the fish are less affected.

On an average day, wind direction allows you to plan which points will be best to fish or which sides of bays or inlets are likely to be calmer than others. In addition, you can position your boat farther away from some of your favorite spots (making a more subtle approach to avoid scaring off any fish) and achieve more distance by casting down-wind.

Are there any other weather resources you like to use when assessing the upcoming fishing forecast? If so, share it on the Shefishes2 Facebook page or by commenting on this post.