Following the Night Tides......Do You have What it Takes?

[DarkSkies]

Fishing a Barometric pressure drop......


I have related on here, over the years, that I have a good friend who is a fanatic about this....

1. Some believe this strategy will pay off,
2. some believe it is just unproven theory with too many variables to hold consistently..


I believe about half of each statement above, holds to be true....in my experience...

There are a lot of variables....for sure...
The most extreme part of the barometric pressure drop is usually during the worst part of the storm, making fishing unsafe, and dangerous....I don't want folks reading this to think it's ok to fish during those times...because generally, it's not...remember that no fish is worth your life...

However, Fin and others have pointed out, that right before the bad parts of a weather system starts to build, the fishing can be fantastic as the fish "put on the feedbag" before the storm....

If you are aware of this, as a possibility, and are seasoned enough to figure out where you may be best protected when fishing....this can prove to be an opportunity....or not...but please remember, there is no fish worth your life....every year some fishermen die because of foolishness thinking they could get in some good hours of fishing before a storm...please don't become a statistic.....your family needs you....

[jigfreak]

All good advice ds but as dogfish said to expect guys to put that level of time in is unreasonable. I already do that have been concentrating on fishing the moon tides hard for years. For the average joe fishermen most guys were raised in a generation that changes the TV channel every 5 seconds. To expect someone to spend 8 nights a month dedicated to fishing like we do is unrealistic. They won't do it. The average guy wants to go out on a Sunday, in bright sunlight, and bring home a cooler of fish. Not very likely from the surf. The night time or fishing dawn and dusk is the only time you will see those types and numbers. I do repect you for trying to help people tho.

[porgy75]

All good advice ds but as dogfish said to expect guys to put that level of time in is unreasonable. I already do that have been concentrating on fishing the moon tides hard for years. For the average joe fishermen most guys were raised in a generation that changes the TV channel every 5 seconds. To expect someone to spend 8 nights a month dedicated to fishing like we do is unrealistic. They won't do it.

That may be true jigfreak but this advice is all new to me. I am not as advanced as you guys are and apprecciate learning it. Thanks ds.

[ledhead36]

He claims this is his worst year in decades....
I would have to agree with him...those are my sentiments as well...

I wonder where this year stands for you..relative to your past years of success?

Not so great for me this year either dark. Some good weeks in march and april but may went downhill. There is also a lot of algae in the bay on the edges. Almost like a red tide but brown. I am envious of guys with kayaks because they can get out deeper.

[DarkSkies]

All good advice ds but as dogfish said to expect guys to put that level of time in is unreasonable. I already do that have been concentrating on fishing the moon tides hard for years. For the average joe fishermen most guys were raised in a generation that changes the TV channel every 5 seconds. To expect someone to spend 8 nights a month dedicated to fishing like we do is unrealistic. They won't do it. The average guy wants to go out on a Sunday, in bright sunlight, and bring home a cooler of fish. Not very likely from the surf. The night time or fishing dawn and dusk is the only time you will see those types and numbers. I do repect you for trying to help people tho.

That may be true jigfreak but this advice is all new to me. I am not as advanced as you guys are and apprecciate learning it. Thanks ds.

Jigfreak I appreciate your thoughts and agree.....
Some friends blasted me privately and said I am giving too much away here....my point is that to learn these things....you have to want to learn it...as you and others did...for example tonight is the new moon.....and with the heat, and lack of reported fish from the surf, there will be very few people out fishing tonight, as well as tomorrow night, or last night.....

It seems the more and more I do this, I see that people don't want to make an effort to find fish unless they read on the internet that someone caught one.....and there are those, who hate the internet, and will never report a fish for that reason.....I understand all these perspectives...and agree that it seems the hotter the temps get, the less people that will make the effort.....

Porgy, thanks for your feedback as well.

[DarkSkies]

Meanwhile, if you understand temperature differentials and bait migration, you can still find a fish or two....I mentioned this to a friend who recently fished all night, for one 13# bass.......


"The biggest sense of achievement is not when everyone else is catching fish in a blitz..it's when you catch one or two, on a night when it seems they are not around...."


It's a real sense of accomplishment to find one,
when others think there are none.....

[DarkSkies]

Not so great for me this year either dark. Some good weeks in march and april but may went downhill. There is also a lot of algae in the bay on the edges. Almost like a red tide but brown. I am envious of guys with kayaks because they can get out deeper.

Thanks for the perspective, ledhead.....
Have noticed that as well..the algae seems to be setting up earlier this year. We have had a block of weather uninterupted by major storms.....
Although some folks hate those storms, I feel that regular bad weather can help to keep life in the bay longer and with more variety.

For example....
1. It took an exceptionally long time for the Raritan Bay and NY Bight to heat up this year....the guys who were crowing about the fantastic bass action should check their logs for the past 5 years VS the bay temps then and compared to this year. I logged lower average temps this year....bringing optimal conditions for the bass to stay in numbers as long as they did......

2. There are other discussions that are now blaming the bunker boats for bass not being here...but what folks should focus on is that for the past 2 years some of our bays and oceans were filled with bunker schools, with relatively less bass being under them as compared to 5 years ago....

3. I often tell folks the bite is temperature driven.
By that I mean that every year I document reduced catches in my own log, as water temps change, and bass seek better water north or south, depending on stage of migration we are at.....

4. The one caveat to this, is that "bait trumps all"....
there have been times when bass shouldn't be in an area because of the too high or too low temps...yet they are there.....bait is the one factor I have seen that frequently overrides other factors...........relative to whether you have a shot at catching fish or not....

[DarkSkies]

"The biggest sense of achievement is not when everyone else is catching fish in a blitz..it's when you catch one or two, on a night when it seems they are not around...."


It's a real sense of accomplishment to find one,
when others think there are none.....

The other part of the Equation here, is the Failure part....
There will be times when you are out there....and no matter what you can't find a fish....Even more depressing than hooking that one fish and losing it....is the work you put in.....a full night of fishing, 3-7 hours, and you just can't buy a hit, anywhere.....

To me, that is the most depressing....but if you really love fishing, it's not a total loss....
1. It can be an opportunity to look at what you did during the night....and ask why the fish were not there..
2. It can be another opportunity to look at bait patterns, and ask yourself if there are likely to be fish in another area where there is more bait around.
3. It can be another opportunity to look at your log and see what temperatures the fish have been most active at....what patterns are you seeing?

[DarkSkies]

**Remember.....if there are tons of bait in an inlet or back bay area, and the water temps are consistently holding in the high 70's....there is a lesser likelihood of you catching bass until those temperatures moderate downwards a bit....

If there is an algae bloom in the back bays, fire in the water,or other adverse conditions....these all will affect the bite, and where the fish will be sitting and moving through....these are all factors to think about, on nights when you can't find activity....

[DarkSkies]

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[DarkSkies]

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[DarkSkies]

About ready to move forward with some more posts in this thread.....
I've decided to break it down into 5 main areas.....

2. The Sights, the Smells, the Sounds...of the lifestyle....(you know I'll be focusing a lot, on the Smells.... )

....

Now for the fun stuff.......please be warned that if you have a sensitive stomach, now is the time to turn back...do not go any further....

[DarkSkies]

The Good Smells.....let's get that out of the way first......before I get into the bad ones....

1. The smell of bunker in the bay or ocean at night......the slight scent of cucumbers, or heavy fish smell, that tell you they are there......if you have been doing this for a while...you don't need to see them flipping.......you can Hear them.....or Smell them....

2. The Smell of Freshly caught fish....baking in oll, garlic, butter, and spices, wrapped in foil, in the grill.....

3. The Smell of the Night.....the jetties, inlets, bulkheads, ocean beaches, trails with honeysuckle, the cactus pears, the smell of rocks and dirt on the cliffs overlooking some ocean vistas, the smells of the night.....that only linger for a second or two, before they blend in with the dozens of other smells, and become indistinguishable,,,,,

4. The Scent of Salt Air...it has a definite scent....a Freshness.....the breeze that breathes life into you, as you are tired, and don't want to push on any further....it is the Breath that refreshes.....and wakes you up...when you are getting drowsy and all of a sudden you are brought back into reality as a nice fish hits your line, makes it's first run... or smashes your plug...and almost jolts your arm out of its socket.....

5. The Smell of the Sea.........
There is no smell like that of the sea....ask any Sailor, Merchant Mariner......Capt who is on the water a lot.....or Fisherman who spends many nights a year out there.......some of us may take it for granted....but the smell, the scent....has a subliminal attraction for a lot of us.....and there are many who could not bear to live too far away from it....for too long...

[robmedina]

4. The Scent of Salt Air...it has a definite scent....a Freshness.....the breeze that breathes life into you, as you are tired, and don't want to push on any further....it is the Breath that refreshes.....and wakes you up...when you are getting drowsy and all of a sudden you are brought back into reality as a nice fish hits your line, makes it's first run... or smashes your plug...and almost jolts your arm out of its socket.....

5. The Smell of the Sea.........
There is no smell like that of the sea....ask any Sailor, Merchant Mariner......Capt who is on the water a lot.....or Fisherman who spends many nights a year out there.......some of us may take it for granted....but the smell, the scent....has a subliminal attraction for a lot of us.....and there are many who could not bear to live too far away from it....for too long...

You got that right. It has ruined me from freshwater lakes and rivers. On vacation we went down to Jim Thorpe and I watched the white water rafting company launch and went down to the bank after they left. The Lehigh river was terribly smelly. I figured up that far in the mountains the water would be more pure, but nope. Made me miss the ocean all that much more!

[rockhopper]

Lets talk about the smells amen. Hope you have a section on rotten bunker and how you left it unfrozen on the back porch and how your girlfriend told you never to do that again! Because I did that!

[DarkSkies]

^^ Rockhopper, been there done that, no shame in admitting.....
I once had maggots hatched in a hole in the back of my Suburban because some chum spilled back in a door panel when I was driving around and the chum bucket toppled over.




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The Smell of Sweat...........and the Stench of Old Sweat...



Sweat, depending on it's age, can symbolize many things...
hard work....
physical workout...
sex.....
pure determination to get a job done......

When we see it at the point of creation, it can be sexy, fresh, new......
like when you're at the gym, and the hottie 2 machines away is doing a workout...covered with sweat, and you're trying not to drool.....(I know Pebbles reads these posts..... ..).there could be another whole section on how to "not" notice beautiful women on the street when you are walking hand in hand with your sweetheart....good thing to remember if y9u want to stay in the relationship you're in....

But fresh sweat can be sexy...
We see it in the gym...
Hot babes with glistening bodies.....
We see it on TV....
We see it on the beach......and TV commercials......

That's because.....
It's fresh....glistening,,,,and hasn't had the time to develop into something that has a smell,,,,just yet.....

[DarkSkies]

So while fresh sweat can be healthy....sexy...fun.........

We now come to the stench....of old sweat......
You know what I'm talking about....the stench that smells like a bag of onions that you left in your truck for a week....
The stench of old sweat....or overnight sweat, 2 day old sweat....enough to make you gag.....

When the bite is good, and you are out fishin for 2 days at a time.....bathing can become a secondary priority.....
And the stench of stale sweat....can surround you like a cloud of putrid death....

[dogfish]

When the bite is good, and you are out fishin for 2 days at a time.....bathing can become a secondary priority.....
And the stench of stale sweat....can surround you like a cloud of putrid death....

Bathing can be secondary? Gee I'm waiting to see how you will top that. If I ever come down that way to fish with ya I'm bringing a clothespin.

[robmedina]

Sweat, depending on it's age, can symbolize many things...
hard work....
physical workout...
sex.....
pure determination to get a job done......

When we see it at the point of creation, it can be sexy, fresh, new......
like when you're at the gym, and the hottie 2 machines away is doing a workout...covered with sweat, and you're trying not to drool.....(I know Pebbles reads these posts..... ..).there could be another whole section on how to "not" notice beautiful women on the street when you are walking hand in hand with your sweetheart....good thing to remember if y9u want to stay in the relationship you're in....

But fresh sweat can be sexy...
We see it in the gym...
We see it on TV....
We see it on the beach......and TV commercials......

That's because.....
It's fresh....glistening,,,,and hasn't had the time to develop into something that has a smell,,,,just yet.....

You got issues Bro!

[nitestrikes]

We now come to the stench....of old sweat......
You know what I'm talking about....the stench that smells like a bag of onions that you left in your truck for a week....
The stench of old sweat....or overnight sweat, 2 day old sweat....enough to make you gag.....

When the bite is good, and you are out fishin for 2 days at a time.....bathing can become a secondary priority.....
And the stench of stale sweat....can surround you like a cloud of putrid death....

Go to montauk on the last day of a 3 day bite. hitting the bathrooms you have to walk pretty close to the next person walking in or out of the entrance. Have smelled some really rank fishermen out there. The smells can get pretty bad.