Fish Like Foul Weather

Fish like feeding during less than pleasant weather. That has been proven time and time again. That doesn't mean there won't be great bites on sunny, calm days, but if you want to catch them with the best of them, fish in nasty weather.

Early in the week the northeast had a setup that was prime to explode. I was watching the weather closely a few days out, and when it came time it played out exactly they way I expected and hoped it would. It was one of the more memorable severe weather events in the northeast in recent years. As soon as I was confident it my forecast the day of, I went to fish the pre-storm bite. A strong, wet southwest wind pushed insect life into the creeks and south facing shorelines, and a darkening sky and dropping pressure had the fish worked up. I caught the biggest rockbass I've ever seen, a couple dozen perch, some bluegills, a smallmouth, and, interestingly, a bunch of largemouth.

Catching largemouth here isn't unusual, but catching five of them and only one smallmouth is pretty atypical.

As soon as the gust front of the approaching line of severe storms crested the horizon, I got into a good position to watch the show. Within 10 minutes the county was under a tornado warning. The storm was linear in nature and fast moving. I didn't have much time to work with.

Yesterday, the conditions favored stability, weather wise. It was cold, rainy, and breezy. Some species of fish will shut off under these conditions. Others will go hunting. Bullheads are one such fish, and they were hungry yesterday. I caught bluegills and bullheads on both bait and artificials in a steady, misty, uncomfortable rain.