I was amazed by the number of salmon moving in Foxford last weekend, I mentioned it to a water-keeper from further upstream and they have been seeing good numbers as well. Its hard to know are these fish a late run or were they just hanging out further downstream. I had one other thought which I hope is not correct, could they be escapees? I did contact IFI and asked them to check it out. I imagine that if we hear nothing then they are happy enough that the fish are wild.
With the high pressure over Ireland the weather has been amazing. We spent last Sunday on the river Suck with some old friends from Ballinasloe. Both P.J and I blanked but some of the lads we were fishing with had nice fish, one of over 15lbs and another 17+ . It was a a glorious day just to be out doors and doing something. Water levels there are low for the time of year and we were fishing in an area that would normally be flooded, part of the suck river callows. Callows are seasonally flooded wetlands found on low-level river flood plains. I’m no expert on birds or wildlife but having done a reasonable amount of shooting in my younger years I have always had an interest in ducks and other waterfowl. While we fished, Wigeon, Teal and Mallard regularly passed overhead while Geese, Swans and Snipe could be heard all round. I would love to visit this area a little later in the winter and can only imagine an early morning observing the wildlife would be beautiful, one for later in the year and I will bring a camera not a gun. I also want to go back and fish the Suck again, it’s a river where one has a great chance of hooking a pike of a lifetime.
Hidden factors
Speaking about High pressure has got me thinking about something that I regularly mull over, “The hidden factor” or factors, as the case may be. We have all had the occasion where we go fishing on what appears to be a perfect day and for some reason we blank, The hidden factor. Yes, something we can’t see and even if we could see it or are at lease are aware of it, we cannot control it. I said that this is something I regularly mull over and it is. Its not something I have fully figured out though. Have you considered it?
Scenario one: You’re fishing from a drifting boat on a lake and have been for several hours without a single rise. Conditions are good, a nice breeze, some flies hatching but the fish are not rising. Suddenly, their on. A splash here, a splash there, you get a rise, perhaps hook a trout, the other guy moves a few fish and as suddenly as it started it stops. Figure that out! I have witnessed this scenario many times, something turned those fish on. Not the obvious stuff but something invisible, The Hidden Factor.
For those of us who do not fish for trout from drifting boats. Scenario two: You may have been on the river bank repeatedly casting over rising salmon. These salmon look fresh run, you have caught salmon in the same spot a few days before using a bait you know works. Conditions look good, You know what you are doing but these fish just will not take. A Hidden factor!
Perhaps up to now you have not even considered this, perhaps I overthink things. I don’t think I do because on a couple of occasions I have figured out what was happening and why the fish did or did not take.
Barometric pressure
Scenario one, where the trout suddenly switch on and off. I have done a little bit of observing and note keeping and while I cant put this down to Barometric pressure one hundred percent, it certainly looks as if it is a factor. Depending on the weather, barometric pressure can change throughout the day.We as humans often notice dramatic pressure changes and some of us even experience headaches or lethargy. Animals and fish are far more sensitive to theses pressure changes and even a slight change can alter behavior. From an angling perspective it is probably better when we get a change from low to high pressure. The picture above is a screen shot from an app I have on my phone. Its very easy nowadays to regularly check barometric pressure, make a few notes and you might be surprised what a difference it actually makes.
Temperature
At this point we all have an idea that water temperature influences fish behaviour. Very low temperature they become lethargic and extremely high temperature we see abnormal activity and sometimes mortality. In between these we have good and bad fishing. Have you considered the relationship between water temperature / air temperature and fish takes!
It is something that I first observed many years ago while guiding. It was a summer evening and I had a group of anglers on the river. Like the scenario I described earlier, salmon were rising constantly in a good pool. We were covering them well with a variety of methods but without success. The day had been warm as had the previous days. This evening in particular was cool, temperatures took a dip and it was noticeable. It was even more apparent when one put their hand in the water, it felt warm. It wasn’t dangerously warm but it was warmer than the air temperature. I put two and two together and came up with a figure. I’m still not one hundred percent sure but I have kept an eye on this “Hidden factor” over the years and would be happy enough to say that when the water temperature is higher than the air temperature, I’d go home.
In reality there are most likely many more Hidden factors that I/we have to discover and learn about. For now, if you had not considered the two I just told you about, your welcome to my world of Overthinking,
