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For many years now I’ve noticed that catch rates are affected by the optical clarity of the water. Generally I have greater success if the water is optically clear than when it is murky or cloudy and full of suspended sediment. It is still possible to catch fish when the water is murky but it requires a change in tactics. More about that later. Turbidity … Continue reading HOW TURBIDITY AFFECTS FISH BEHAVIOUR
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Text: Mike Ladle Lead image: Henry Gilbey (http://www.henry-gilbey.com) In order to successfully target bass with lures and flies it is essential to gain a detailed understanding their feeding behaviour. The southern and western coasts of the British Isles are almost at the northern limit of distribution of bass although this is slowly changing due to global warming. Bass in this area are slow-growing and large specimens of … Continue reading BASS FEEDING BEHAVIOUR
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Lead image: Paul Smith For some time now I’ve been fascinated by the claim that fish feeding behaviour is largely influenced by changes in barometric pressure. The fascination started when I read Ronald Reinhold’s book “Predicting the Bite” (ISBN 978-0-578-04734-8) which discusses how to predict when fish will be feeding based largely on changes in barometric pressure. Reinhold is convinced that barometric pressure is responsible for fish … Continue reading THE BAROMETRIC PRESSURE MYTH
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Lead image: Grant Bittle (https://www.catchfishing.pro/) Recently I was contacted by a good friend and asked if I could help explain a feeding phenomenon he had observed. It was a spring tide in Dorset and millions of helpless seaweed fly maggots were being washed into the ocean with every crashing wave. Bass were clearly visible gorging themselves on the maggots and it appeared that they were … Continue reading FISH DIGESTION AND HOW IT DRIVES FEEDING BEHAVIOUR
Text: Mike Ladle Lead image: Ty Sawyer To many, if not most anglers, the anticipation, though not always the realisation, of catching large numbers of big fish is basic to their enjoyment of the sport. For the sea angler the possibility of catching large fish, perhaps even larger than any previously landed, is ever-present. This element of the unknown is psychologically important to us all. … Continue reading THE GROWTH PATTERNS OF FISH
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Images: Mark Hoffman and Alan Ang Several times recently I’ve ventured out onto the flats at dawn and encountered foggy conditions. On the first occasion it was a thick “pea souper” with low visibility and two of us only hooked one fish in the entire session. Interestingly the fish took as the fog was finally starting to lift but it was an isolated incident as … Continue reading UNDERSTANDING FOG AND HOW IT AFFECTS FISHING
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Lead image: New England Boating I recently read an excellent article by Tony Bishop on the rules that should be followed when releasing a fish. It is well worth a look:- http://www.bishfish.co.nz/articles/general/releaserules.htm This prompted me to do some research to find out what scientific studies had been conducted on Catch & Release practices and what else had been discovered. I managed to unearth an excellent publication by Stephen … Continue reading HOW TO PLAY AND RELEASE FISH SAFELY
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Featured image: Al Barnes. One of the most important skills to learn as an angler is peripheral awareness. That is, training yourself to spot things in your peripheral vision which alert you to the movement of actively feeding fish. This was brought home to me yesterday when I was on the flats with another experienced fisherman. During the course of the session I managed to … Continue reading IMPROVING YOUR ABILITY TO SPOT FISH
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There is no doubt that the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water has a major impact on fish behaviour and survival. What actually is dissolved oxygen though, where does it come from and what happens if there is insufficient available? The most comprehensive and easy to understand article that I’ve read on dissolved oxygen is from the Fundaments of Environmental Measurements website and can be accessed by clicking … Continue reading HOW DISSOLVED OXYGEN AFFECTS FISH BEHAVIOUR
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