Need a little advice. I'm watching the weather and here is what it's showing. Rain with heavy thunderstorms on & off the next 3 days with temperatures staying about the same. And then it forecasts a cold front hitting Friday morning. Then starting Saturday, temps start moving back up to where they are right now (Weds.). Now let's say you can fish anytime now through Saturday. What would you target as you're 2 best days to fish and what do you look for when you're watching the weather? Temps(sudden changes)...rain...wind direction...barrometric press...or none of these...you just take your chances when you get up and actually see what kind of day it looks like?  

Since my fishing time is limited these days, I fish no matter what. If I arrive to bad thunderstorms I will wait till they pass, I hate lightning and it's not worth the risk. I simply adjust to the mood of the fish and allow current conditions to dictate wich type of presentation then either speed up, or slow down, or change baits and presentations, until I find one that gets me a few bites. Once I get a few bites I try to refine from there.

I have actually found that a cold front can get the fish biting if it's been hot for a period of time. Now, that's here in the North, the South may be a different story as it seems the fish are more affected by fronts there.

As far as wind, use it to your advantage. Fish wind blown shorelines or target areas where the wind is blowing current over or around something.

Anytime is a good time to fish

I don't want to sound like a broken record but bass located on deep water structure are less affected by frontal conditions so I would be sitting in the middle of it.    

I would stay in if I thought there was a chance the storms would become dangerous...lightning, high winds etc...and if it was going to be a downpour with heavy rain. Not because I think the fishing is bad in the rain, but because I just hate fishing in heavy rain.

It really is a matter of using the right tactics for the conditions. I have had some  good days in  bad weather. ( mostly by luck and not by any high quality or particularly skilled decision making on my part).

Usually, the day before a cold front hits is more productive than the day or two after.  Bass can be easy to catch during both conditions though.  Before the front hits, you should be able to get away with generating reaction strikes and covering a lot of water.  After the front, work on saturating sheltered targets, inside and out, until you figure out where most of the fish are.  If it is a mild front, little may change.  if it dumps a lot of rain, wind, or the temp drops significantly, then fish will be buried inside of dense cover or in deeper water, like Catt said.  More subtle presentations are usually required after a front hits

I have had great fishing just hours before the leading edge of a front that  hits or passes,  Sometimes they may feed days before or hours before.

I think temps plays an important issue on how much the fishing turns off.   There is a difference  on fronts that pass with an 80 water temp, and fronts that pass when temps are boderline frigid.

No matter were a bass is located in the water column, we all agree the lateral line detects pressure, thus the advice at night and other times to throw somethng that generates vibration so fish can locate the bait.    The pressure exerted upon the water by passing storms effects a fish.    Just how bad depends on where a fish resides.  Deep or shallow.

Shallow fish just sometimes bury up or set on bottom lethargically, where as fish in deep water sometimes adjust by moving up or down a few inches in the water column to adjust to the pressure the atomosphere has exerted against their swim bladder.  

Matt

What do you guys think...I've been watching this weather front coming through southern Wisc. that started Monday night with heavy storms. Now it's been constantly in the high 80's with heavy humidity and the rain has been on & off for the past 3 days. They are calling for periods of rain with temps in the 80's through tomorrow. Now on Friday the high is suppose to be in the mid 70's. Now is this really considered a cold front? Or since the rain has come & gone here start-

ing Monday night, does this not bother the bass at all? So now I'm thinking of fishing Thurs afternoon/night figuring to get the fishing in before the temp changes on Friday. I really think since the front has been here most of the week, the bass aren't really bothered by either the rain or a predicted temp change on Friday. What's your opinion?

Fish deeper structure during a cold front although, this is for later in the year. As hot as its been around the country I don't think the cold front they are talking about for a couple of days will change much of anything unless its enough to drop the surface temp 5 or 6 degrees.

I agree with justfishin what you are describing is not much of a front; you state it's been raining on and off for 3 or 4 days thus allowing the bass to adjust. As long as there isn't any drastic temperature drops over a short period of time or extreme high pressure over a short period of time I wouldn't worry too much.