Indiana Open Country

Everyone knows that the weather has a direct effect on the amount of fish that you are going to catch; in this post I am going to go a little deeper and show you how to use mother nature to make sure that you catch more fish.

There are many factors to consider when deciding when and where you should be fishing;

Solar and Lunar Influences (time of day)
Water Temperature
Barometric Pressure
Feeding Times
Weather

Let’s take a look at all these factors; Many of these work together.

Solar and Lunar Influences

(time of day): The sun and the moon’s phases have a drastic affect on all wildlife, fish and humans; we revolve our daily lives around them. From working to sleeping to eating, we are creatures of pattern, so are the fish that we are hunting.

Lunar influence seems to have more of a drastic affect on wildlife and fishing. When the moon is at its highest point and at its lowest point are considered “great” times to fish. That is when the moon is directly above your head and directly below your feet.

Also included as “good” times of the day to be fishing are dawn and dusk. (when the moon and sun are in the same sky) In short, every 90 degrees the moon moves brings us the best time to be fishing.

Water Temperature:

You need to have a basic understanding of water temperature when fishing to determine fish patterns. The temperature of the water has a huge effect on the fish internally. The warmer the water is, the higher the metabolism rate. Meaning, the higher the water temperature gets (to a certain temp) fish are eating more because they are burning more off.

When you are fishing, you need to be finding the temperature that will work best for the species that you are fishing for. This basic chart covers the main fishing in Indiana. It covers the “comfort zone” for each species of fish and the temperature at which they are most active.

Feeding Times:

Fish are going to feed best based on the lunar and solar patterns of your area. If you plan on being an educated fisherman/woman, I would strongly suggest that you get yourself a copy of your lunar table here at this link and keep it in your tackle box or backpack.

Fish are always going to bite best right around dusk and right around dawn.

Barometric Pressure:

This one is pretty new to me, but highly important to factor into your fishing. I had to do a little bit of research on this one to bring you the right information. First off, barometric pressure is the “weight” of the atmosphere in a specific area.

The higher the barometric pressure, the better the weather is going to be. Fish accordingly.

Simple Pressure strategy to follow:

High Pressure: Good clear skies and fish will find cover or go to deeper water (unless they are in their beds). Also, slow your fishing and try and find spots that have vegetation or cover.

Rising Pressure: Weather has dropped off slightly, fish will be a little more active but still hanging around the cover and deeper water.

Normal Pressure: The weather is average, fishing will pick up greatly and can be anywhere. Experiment with different fishing styles till you find what is working and stick with it.

Falling Pressure: The weather is turning worse. This is the best fishing, they are moving and eating. If you have found something that is working….stick with it and get another pole out.

Lower Pressure: Skies are getting cloudier. Fish will start heading into the shallow waters. This is a hit or miss, as some fish will become more active and some will slow down. Experiment.

Low: Skies have turned to rain and storms. Fishing can come to a halt. If you insist on staying out in the weather make sure that you fishing deeper than usual. This can be a good time to get the catfishing poles out.

Here is my suggestion to you.

Keep a journal of your fishing. Include the date, time, location, barometric pressure, moon phase, weather, bait used, depth the fish are biting, water temperature and how many fish you catch. As the weeks and years go by, you can use that as your personal almanac of fishing.

Here is a great tool to keep track of all the variable for your fishing journal.

Your fishing almanac can turn into you guide to where you need to go to guarantee that you catch fish every single time. You will have so many good fishing stories people will be begging to go with YOU everytime.

Hope you enjoyed the post. When you put these tips to action post a comment and let me know how they worked for you, maybe someone else can steal your tip and do a little bit better fishing the next time.

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