Rain - does it affect fishing?

[StinkyH]

Growing up I heard mention here and there about the rain affecting the bite in lake fishing. Is this true or an old fable?

StinkyH (panfishing newbie)

[squirrel fisher]

Sometimes rain will turn fishing on and other times it will not make a difference. The best thing to do is go fishing whenever you can and forget the weather. Low pressure seems to be better fishing most of the time but not always. Some ot the best fishing I have ever had has been before tornado front come through in the southern states and on days with low clouds and fog.I have had the same thing happen here when it was very hot in june and light rain developed and bass started biting.

[StinkyH]

Originally posted by squirrel fisher:
The best thing to do is go fishing whenever you can and forget the weather.

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica">That works for me. :grin:

Thanks for the reply.

StinkyH

[greenbuttskunk]

absolutely. Barometric pressure and affect the bite. I have caught fish in a lake in the rain though, just depends on the circumstances.

[Wannabe]

Give me a warm summer day on the river with rain after a dry spell and my oh my the reaction bite can be awesome.
Or a warm rain in the spring can trigger em too.
&lt))&gt;&lt;

[Akuracy503]

For trout fishing the oregon lakes...rain days and cooler weather definitely turns the bite on!
my experience..

[Me&Dad]

For trout in lakes, I don't technically think that rain hurts, but a real drop in barometer seems to be bad (bad changes in weather seem to hurt trout in lakes.) What is really bad is a 10 degree drop in temperature from one day to the next.

For largemouth bass, I actually prefer overcast skies for TOPWATER fishing, at least. Especially if it's not a cold day.

[jokester]

Stinky,

Maybe it's just me, but from my experiences, the bite seems like it turns on during the rain! My buddies and I have sat there on our pontoons many a sunny day early and we caught a few fish, but later when it finally clouded up and started to rain, we started to NAIL them!! Not for sure, but I don't think it hurts the bite!

-jokester

[Akuracy503]

Maybe it has to do with the clear calm water spooking the fish factor?? when the weather/rain acts up it does seem to turn on the bite,(maybe providing cover for fish)
I can recall many times when trout in lakes bite exclusively when the rain drops are falling!

on clear days early morning is key then its slow once the sun is high noon.

[okee]

I have been on the lakes before during and after a storm or big rain. Just before the storm hits the bite is best at least for Largemouth, lights out.. During the rain can be good, but I think the temp of the rain verses the temp of water temp makes a big difference. Better in Spring or middle of the summer. Spring weather warming up the lake, late sumer cooling down the lake. After a good rain is really good to in late summer.

[Basscaster]

I'm sure that the pressure of the front effects the fish, as well as the rain changing surface water temp. These can trigger bass in different ways depending on time of year. Another important thing that rain will do is break up the water's surface. I've seen fish become far less spooky during a rainstorm, especially in shallow water. This can make them easier to catch. Also, rain can murk up the water in places and create mudlines, which I've seen fish use as ambush areas. I've seen fish flock to these mudlines at times, especially on lakes with little or no shorline cover like Shasta.