It's been suggested the best fishing comes when a number of factors work together. Many of the techniques that work for fishing also increase your take while hunting. Fishing My-Cast offers the following tools that can be used individually or together, depending on what works best for your situation:
Fish and Game Activity Forecast Chart
Projects fish and game activity levels every three hours for the next seven days. Use this feature to plan your trips for the times when it is most likely to be successful. Rankings of poor, good and best are generated based on the moon, sun, and barometer readings. The best activity occurs when the combined gravitational pull of the sun and moon is changing while at the same time, barometric pressure is falling. On the other hand, don't expect a big catch when the barometer is rising or steady high. This chart also shows the current and future moon phases. Some suggest full moons and new moons are peak times for fish and game activity.
Barometric Pressure Chart
Allows you to track one factor in the Fish and Game Activity Chart, the air pressure. Fish are sensitive to air pressure changes. Experts say feeding increases as air pressure drops. Barometers measure air pressure. Barometric pressure is plotted for the last two days and the next two days so you can spot trends. The barometric trend is also available for the previous hour under Forecast-Currents.
Sun and Moon Rise/Set Times
Peak fish activity often occurs during the half hour period surrounding sunrise, sunset, moonrise and moonset. These times are available under Forecast-Almanac.
Tide Chart
Provides local relative tides. Actual tides may vary slightly based on local features. Experts say the best fishing is generally found during a rising or falling tide thanks to water movements which, in turn, moves bait around causing active feeding. Periods of high or low tide can add or remove water from habitat areas changing the places where fish might be found.
Lightning
When thunder is heard, it's time to get off the water as soon as possible. Take shelter in a substantial building or fully enclosed vehicle. Thunderstorms don't have to be directly overhead for lightning to strike so be sure to wait 30 minutes after the last clap of thunder before venturing back outside. Also, be advised that you are in no danger helping a lightning strike victim. The charge is no longer present after the strike. Lightning strikes are plotted in Fishing My-Cast to show where lightning has occurred. They do not predict where it will occur.
StormWatch
Lets you keep an eye on approaching severe weather by monitoring alerts issued by the National Weather Service. Alerts come in the form of advisories, watches and warnings. Warnings mean dangerous weather is either occurring or is imminent. Watches mean dangerous weather is possible, but not necessarily occurring, at the present time. Advisories are issued for conditions that can cause problems, but are generally not dangerous if proper caution is taken.
Radar
Light rain can increase feeding activity since it washes insects and bait into the water. Heavy rain muddies the water and that makes it tough for fish to find bait while clogging their gills. It also increases currents making it difficult for fish to hold a comfortable position especially in rivers. Heavy rains bring the danger of rushing water to streams, rivers and valleys. Dangerous boating conditions may develop due to rapid rises in water levels after intense rainfall. Rainfall rates are shown on radar by various colors. Green echoes indicate light rain followed by yellow and orange for heavier rain. Red and purple mean intense rainfall and possible hail.
Clouds
Some believe cloudy days improve fishing since fish are more likely to cruise for food on darker days compared to bright days when they tend to hide - staying close to structures. Watch satellite loops on Fishing My-Cast to determine if clouds will spread into the area.
Winds
Winds push surface food to the shore, so expect to find more fish near downwind shores on windy days. Winds also play a big role for deer hunters. Windy weather tends to suppress deer activity since it interferes with their senses of smell, sight and scent. Deer also seek refuge from strong, cold winds to conserve energy by keeping warm. Look for deer on a downwind side of windbreaks like hills or stands of conifers on cold, windy days. You can also check out the current winds for your location under Forecast-Currents. Winds reports from surrounding areas are displayed in Weather Map.
For more information and weather-related advice for you next fishing adventure,
visit Take Me Fishing at www.takemefishing.org.
