Fishing on a rainy day....

dougcrann

...not a fisherman so please  excuse the ignorance.  Whence we go to town on 291 we go by a few spots where folks are fishing. Last week we were going to town.. was raining pretty hard. There was several folks "drowning worms". Ernie was asking me why folks were out on the pouring rain fishing. 

So what's the deal with fishing in the rain? Better chance of catching fish? Or were this folks just hiding from their wives?

GATraveller

The fish don't care if it's raining.......they'll still bite.

Eggaroo

Fishing is a disease/ obsession... just like Egging. If you don't do it, you wouldn't understand. Do you let a little rain keep you from cooking on your Egg? There you go...

RRP

back in my days our best bass fishing was when it was raining. I always thought the rain disturbs the surface tension which kept bass excited the same way insects disturbed the water tension. But hey, what do I know...maybe fishlessman will stop by and tell us! LOL

RRP

GATraveller said:

The fish don't care if it's raining.......they'll still bite.

agree! after all they are already wet! 

dougcrann

When I lived in Jersey my best friend was an avid fisherman. Joe spent most of his free time fishing. I went with him numerous times...just never got hooked...no pun intended. His favorite time to go fishing was rainy nights...I know he explained why numerous times but I don't remember why...

tarheelmatt

GoooDawgs

Rain increases the oxygen level at the surface of the lake/river.  Great topwater fishing in the rain... 

fishlessman

theres a few reasons, rain is usually during low pressure. fish like low pressure and hunker down deep during high pressure. no sun means birds of prey dont see them well, especially if the rain dimples the surface. rain cools the surface and adds oxygen, some species prefer that. just like you dont like staring into the sun, fish dont like it either and go deeper, they also chase bait travelling away from the sun if they can. no sun, some wind, rain means most sport fish are up top. had a great day on salmon sunday, winds from the south, light rain here and there, at noon a high pressure front came in with winds from the north and the catching shut completely down. my boat has a roof and is enclosed, rain doesnt bother me in the least. now at the camp rain shuts the satelite down, no tv

YukonRon

I have no clue, but I understand the obsession people have for fishing. I do know this, on bright sunny days, it is difficult to catch fish in the shallower depths. As soon as the clouds roll in or shade crosses your area, it gets a bit more active. I was told that was due to certain light sensitivity, being that fish have no eyelids. That might be total BS, but after a dozen cans of adult inspiration, I went with it.
They call it "fishing" and not "catching", for a reason. 

dougcrann

@fishlessman....Thank you for the explanation.

northGAcock

I think the fish are already wet.

1move

@dougcrann you got to be one with the fish. They are wet so you outta get wet to catch more...

On a serious note, most of us that fish in rain have gear to keep us from getting wet. It is much better fishing and fish react much better as someone else mentioned birds and other prey aren't after them and it cools the water temperature and brings them out of the deep waters. 

fishlessman

dougcrann said:

@fishlessman....Thank you for the explanation.

the biggest reason is we fish when we can though and 9 out of 10 weekends its not as bad as what the weather girl preached all week

poster

15-30 min pre- thunderstorm can have some extremely dramatic effects on a bite. If your hair (if you have) stands up on your head, its time to leave

clifkincaid

Low pressure fronts are better than high  pressure. 

bboulier

As explained in previous posts, there are many reasons for fishing in the rain. I have always found that fishing tends to be better when the rain is light.   When I was growing up, the explanation was that light rain mimicked insects falling into the water.   Fish rose to consume the insects.  Not sure this hypothesis is correct, but it is consistent with my experience.

egger ave

Because they can.

Toxarch

Fishlessman summed it up pretty well. Less sun, low pressure, more action on the surface, all leads them to start feeding. I love to go hunting and fishing in nice weather. But if you only hunt and fish on the nice days, then you are missing out on the best hunting and fishing days.

nolaegghead

Depends on what you're catching.  I mostly fish for speckled trout - they don't bite as much if it's windy or raining.  Red fish love to hunt in the shallows when it's sunny and calm - and you can see them. 

Fish aren't all the same, and fresh water vs salt, marsh vs deep sea, it's all different.

fishlessman

nolaegghead said:

Depends on what you're catching.  I mostly fish for speckled trout - they don't bite as much if it's windy or raining.  Red fish love to hunt in the shallows when it's sunny and calm - and you can see them. 

Fish aren't all the same, and fresh water vs salt, marsh vs deep sea, it's all different.

cant see the fish in skinney water when its windy and raining which poses a problem. no nervous water, no tails, cant see there shadows.tides play the biggest part up here, the last 3 hours incoming, then it dies for an hour, then 45 minutes the beginning of outgoing unless your way out offshore. i dont go offshore much anymore, i like to sight fish stripers inshore though either on foot or in a flat style boat. bonefish in the bahamas are my favorite but the price of those trips has gone out of hand, it amazes me when i see an eyeball 40 feet away and can not see the 8 pound fish attached to it sunny water for the salt, dont like tying myself to the boat when the wind picks up anymore