Hey everyone, just curious if anyone has thoughts on how the smoke will affect fishing. I live in northern nj and have been halted from fishing these past two days from the pollution. Temps are lower from reduced sunlight, will it have an effect on bass fishing? I was on a good bite last week, they were all post spawn feeding on the schools of fry

I'm not sure, but I did recently watch a scientific documentary about lakes and streams drying up around the world, and increasingly raging wildfires are playing a part by shrinking lakes due to ash sediment building up in them.

I would think it’s going to effect us more than the fish. 

The smoke will travel thru the air over parts of the united states of america.

But the fish probably won't notice.

Only thing it might do is affect the light level - so basically treat it like a partly-cloudy day.

should make it seem like a cloudy. Might be better fishing?

I doubt it'll have any effect on fish but will effect people with breathing disabilities.

 

It's also having an effect on the livelihood of those in Canada being evacuated from their homes.

Heck I'm way down here in VA and see the haze and smell the fires.

Prayers for those effected.

The walleyes in Northern Ontario would turn noticeably yellower for two or three years after wildfires around a lake.  Never thought it affected the fishing or the taste.

Hopefully means less boats this weekend ?

36 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

Only thing it might do is affect the light level - so basically treat it like a partly-cloudy day.

This is my take on it too.  It tends to block out some of the sunlight like thin clouds.

 

Course, if its that bad out there, you shouldn't be fishing anyways.  Unless of course you're wearing a high quality mask.  You might get some strange looks rocking an N95 while in the boat, but at least you won't be sucking in smoke the whole time.

Here is a look at one of the stretches of the river. https://www.wgal.com/article/pennsylvania-side-by-side-smoke-comparison/44127120

Officials are saying that if you're in one of the states impacted that you should not take part in outdoor activities.

It’s pretty bad here in the section of PA I live in. Hazardous warnings. I’m all hooked up from yesterday to roll to the lake this morning. Got up at 4:00am and wife asked me to put it off till Friday. I generally don’t let anyone interfere with my fishing and I do have a wife that never interferes or questions anything I do. So I honored her wishes this morning. I’ll go tomorrow. She right. I’ve been out in this smoke a lot the last few days and my voice has been getting raspy. It will clear up soon. 

They were biting in the smoke yesterday 

Here in Rochester we had the worst air quality on the planet. All that smoke plume has moved south and east. 

2 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Here in Rochester we had the worst air quality on the planet. All that smoke plume has moved south and east. 

I saw that last night on the news that you guys had some of the worse air in the world. It sure felt like that here yesterday. Stay safe, the fish are not going anywhere. 

We're a ton better today, but some more is coming. Sick of everything smelling like a camp fire, lol. 
 

thanks

I think it's gonna usher in the new ice age all the scientists said was imminent back when I was in school, creating more ice fishing opportunities.

I have asthma and my wife asked me not to go fishing yesterday evening. I explained to her that I had been out all day running around and had no lung issues at all but if I go anywhere near a gas stove I will. So if it's not at least as bad as a gas stove or a 1970's bar or airplane then I'm not going to worry about it. The fish were biting on the Oneida river yesterday. Maybe because I was the only one on the river.

i found it doesnt affect fishing, besides me.

 

i watched PurpleAir religiously, and  i wouldnt fish if it reached past a certain threshold.  100 IIRC.  it was brutal breathing that crap, but the fishing was normal.  didnt bother them one bit.  i saw 350-400 days and i just stayed home.

We have some of the worst air quality in the US on a regular basis so the smoke smells great to me. Reminds me of a glass of laphroaig 

2 hours ago, J Francho said:

Here in Rochester we had the worst air quality on the planet. All that smoke plume has moved south and east. 

Oddly enough, I live in Champlain NY and the air seems fine. I literally work at the border with Quebec where the fires are. My family is from the watertown area and they say it's horrible. Pretty crazy. Weather pattern pushes it right away from us. The closest fires are only a 10 minute drive from here.

2 hours ago, T-Billy said:

creating more ice fishing opportunities.

1 hour ago, Darth-Baiter said:

i found it doesnt affect fishing, besides me.

 

i watched PurpleAir religiously, and  i wouldnt fish if it reached past a certain threshold.  100 IIRC.  it was brutal breathing that crap, but the fishing was normal.  didnt bother them one bit.  i saw 350-400 days and i just stayed home.

PurpleAir has some fairly inflated numbers compared to AirNow, which is the EPA's gold standard.  That said, PurpleAir can give a better idea where the really localized poor air quality is.  When AirNow was reporting 260, PurpleAir was reporting numbers over 400, sometimes as high as 497, which I think people just start dropping like flies if they breathe that in.  Use both to get the full picture.

24 minutes ago, Jleebesaw said:

Oddly enough, I live in Champlain NY and the air seems fine. I literally work at the border with Quebec where the fires are. My family is from the watertown area and they say it's horrible. Pretty crazy. Weather pattern pushes it right away from us. The closest fires are only a 10 minute drive from here.

It was crazy, it sort of hooked right around your area and nailed us.  Starting to smell like campfire again.

There's ultra-fine dust here on horizonal outside surfaces. Anything I've touched has had it. Feels the like super fine baby powder that I wanted to wash off quickly.