When a front comes in

[snowplow]

Hey guys, I keep hearing about fishing when a front comes in. I don't hear anyone in my real life call. Weather patterns fronts. What exactly does that mean?

 

I am assuming it's when a new weather pattern comes in. But more specifically, are you supposed to fish when the barometer drop suddenly? I'm assuming we consider the pattern being there when the barometer is high all of a sudden after?

 

What do I need to know about this?

[gimruis]

The time of year makes a big difference.  In the spring when the water is warming up, high pressure, warmth, and sunlight are increasing water temps and fish move shallow, making them easier to locate and catch (prespawn).  Cold fronts/low pressure in the spring turns the fish back off and sends them to deeper water.

 

In the heat of summer, the exact opposite often occurs.  High pressure with hot temps and bright sun can make fishing difficult but when a front/low pressure approaches, it creates an aggressive feeding window prior to arrival.  This is when a dropping barometer occurs.  This is when I usually have my best fishing of the entire season.

 

There is a fine line between being safe and being stupid though when it comes to incoming fronts.  Don't be out there in unsafe weather.

[ol'crickety]

@gimruis: A coming drop in temperature triggers feeding, but once the cold air is there, that heavy air clamps the fishies' mouths. 

 

A front is the leading edge of an air mass. An air mass is a body of air with uniform temperature. If the approaching air mass is cooler than your current air mass, the leading edge of that air mass is a cold front. If the coming air mass is warmer than your current air mass, its leading edge is a warm front. In short, the front of warm or cold air. 

[TnRiver46]

Gosh our weathermen never stop talking about them 😂. They mention cold fronts in July when the high temp is like 79 and everyone is sweating 

[Zcoker]

I never really pay no mind to the barometric pressure, just the approaching front. Down here in Florida, it's a big long nasty looking line of cool air pushing against hot air, causing pure havoc with the air pressure. Good to get out right before the thing hits because the fish can often go completely bonkers. So I just sorta time things, making the best of it before the front hits, which is what it's all about. Even if I get caught up in the actual front itself, it's not that bad because the fronts are thin and moving very fast. Any bad weather happens very quickly. That immediate change in the weather as the front hits, the sudden burst of colder air, the cloudy misty sky along with whirling wind, the rapid pressure fluctuations, all that ignites the bass into pure fire and they start burning up everything in site. Only last a little while but it sure is some nice action! 

 

 

[Dwight Hottle]

My observation regarding cold fronts in Florida the day of the front arriving is good as @Zcoker mentions. The next best day is the first day after the front arrives. The second day sucks big time. The 3rd day starts the recovery & the 4th day is partially ok before it returns to normal. But sometimes unusual external conditions such as pumping water or opening flood gates or water control gates can or change the conditions prompting an aggressive bite. My previous PB was caught the morning after they flushed the system by opening all the gates on the south end of Stick Marsh. That morning the temperature at the ramp was 38 degrees at daylight but we had a killer day in spite of the cold front. We had over twenty bass over 5lbs. Three over 6lbs & two 7lbers. Plus my buddy's PB an 8.5lber & my new PB at the time an 11-2. Best largemouth day in Florida for me. The previous day the first day of the front we only had two or three small bass plus a mud fish & a pickerel. 

[king fisher]

The weather where I bass fish is exactly the same every day from mid Nov. to Mid June.  Some days the bass bite anything anywhere, and other days I get skunked.  I wish I had cold fronts to blame for my bad days. 

[Mobasser]

Ive always liked pre frontal, cloudy conditions. If the front comes through, and it's bright and sunny the next day, fishing seems to be much harder.

[scaleface]

I dont mind fishing after a front , as long as its comfortable.

[WRB]

You all need to look up the definition of a weather cold front.

Tom

[Shadow1]

Talked to an Ohio State biologist one time about this.  I was fishing musky a lot back then.  Musky go crazy when fronts come thru.  Anyway, she got down to the small details of a "front".  She said the zooplankton quit multiplying and moving around when a cold front moves in.  This is what the baitfish and crayfish feed on, so the basses bait are dormant.  This takes away the bait for the bigger fish, and so on up the food chain.  When the front moves out (depending upon temp drop and barametric pressure), the zooplankton return to do their thing, and things get back to normal.    

[Zcoker]

These fronts not only affect the fishing in freshwater but also in saltwater, mainly with the wind shifts from east to west. When a front moves in (south Florida), we will eventually get a strong west wind, which flattens the surf, opening a door for some excellent topwater fishing! Not only can one cast a country mile but the lures can be worked back in very effectively. Taking advantage of what a front offers in ALL aspects is a good practice.  

 

[Tucson]

Great insight here, glad snowplow asked.

[Glenn]

Why yes, I have a video about that!

 

 

 

[Pat Brown]

I like cold fronts in the summer and I like warm fronts in the winter.  During the spring and fall I tend to prefer stability but honestly you fish the conditions either way.

[TnRiver46]

On 3/19/2024 at 3:40 PM, WRB said:

You all need to look up the definition of a weather cold front.

Tom

 

Between bass fishing and normal life, I hear more about cold fronts than possibly any other aspect of the universe. No further research is required 

[TOXIC]

All part of the vernacular.  Cold front, warm front, pre front, post front.  To me and my research, how each affects the barometer is my key.  Of course it’s just one of another dozen reasons I can blame on not catching.  🤣😂

[gimruis]

3 hours ago, Pat Brown said:

I like cold fronts in the summer and I like warm fronts in the winter.  During the spring and fall I tend to prefer stability but honestly you fish the conditions either way.

 

This is pretty much how I do it, and what I would prefer too.  Not always an option but preferred.

 

Rapid weather changes in the summer time are usually my top producer.  They quite often initiate an aggressive feeding response before arrival.

[A-Jay]

IME, I've had both good & not so good days up this way.

Both before & immediately after a front passes through can be banner or bust.

I like before a lot but after has proven to be OK for me too.

Especially early season.

And while the timing is important, location might trump it. 

This was an 'after' deal.

https://youtu.be/o9xew3tWuuU?feature=shared&t=323

A-Jay

[wdp]

I much prefer fishing just before the front moves in or during the front moving in, provided it’s not storming & unsafe. 
 

Case in point as this just happened to me this past weekend as I fished in South Georgia with a couple of buddies. A front moved through on Friday and Saturday. On Saturday, the bite was great. I caught 12 with my biggest 4 weighing: 8.15, 7.00, 6.50, 4.11. My other fish were decent too in the 3 lb range. The biggest ones I caught were all on a topwater frog. One of my buddies also caught 12 with his biggest being 6.11. 
 

Sunday was post front bluebird skies. Windy but not a cloud around, sunny but cooler temps. I caught 4 with biggest being 3 lbs. Had to fish really slow with a jig or worm around heavy cover bouncing my bait around on every tree limb in the brush piles. Only had 6 bites all day. 

[geo g]

In Florida, our bass are very effected by fronts.  Florida strain are not like smallmouth and northern strain.  Over the last 50 years I have noticed that hours before a substantial front the feed bag is usually on.  Whether it’s a cold front or a rain producer like a summer storm.  It will take several days after the front  for the fishing to return to a normal level.  
The exception to this will be wind driven current points like funnel points between grass islands, culvert pipes with strong current from the rains, and creek channels with current.  Then I look for slack areas close to the current.  Bass position in the slack water looking for baitfish to wash bye.  This has saved many a slow day after a front.  Florida strain are effected more than their northern cousins!

[geo g]

On 3/18/2024 at 6:45 PM, Dwight Hottle said:

My observation regarding cold fronts in Florida the day of the front arriving is good as @Zcoker mentions. The next best day is the first day after the front arrives. The second day sucks big time. The 3rd day starts the recovery & the 4th day is partially ok before it returns to normal. But sometimes unusual external conditions such as pumping water or opening flood gates or water control gates can or change the conditions prompting an aggressive bite. My previous PB was caught the morning after they flushed the system by opening all the gates on the south end of Stick Marsh. That morning the temperature at the ramp was 38 degrees at daylight but we had a killer day in spite of the cold front. We had over twenty bass over 5lbs. Three over 6lbs & two 7lbers. Plus my buddy's PB an 8.5lber & my new PB at the time an 11-2. Best largemouth day in Florida for me. The previous day the first day of the front we only had two or three small bass plus a mud fish & a pickerel. 

Dwight I remember the pic of that Stick Marsh fish you caught.

[Zcoker]

Time those fronts! Recent front fishing example (south Florida). One of several giants caught during  a cold front. Even though the air temps went into the 50's, the actual water temp was 73 degrees (and dropping) when I launched. Takes time for the water to cool down. Next morning the water temp was 69 degrees and the bigger fish went completely lock-jaw. Seemed like the big girls reacted more to the gradual temp drop than anything else.