Effects of Rain on fishing?

[fishy1987]

im not sure about this my understanding is all the freshwater coming down over the last few days will wash out the fish in the harbour?!is this the case with all fish?and is this why the fish dont venture in close because they are sea water fish and will stay out in deeper water to avoid the change in the water because of the rain! Any info on the effects of rain and effects on angling would be great i.e how long a dry spell would be needed before normal levels of s/w are back and when a run of fish may return!

may aswell ask the guys who know it would be good to understand and would explain countless blanks when i started fishing!
cheers
fergal

[Determined Dan]

hi fergal. i too have noticed a differance with the fishing with the rain lately. i know of a few spots around this coast and if it has rained the small rivers swel up and fill the bay with brown fresh water. if it looks discolured at all i wont fish it. the sea fish wont put up with to much fresh water and head out for clean salt water. some fish will put up with some fresh
water eg flounder mullet seatrout. so if it looks like there is alot of fresh water getting in the bay i would pick another mark . hope this is some help. tight lines.

[gerryl]

ye might have noticed the tides are extremely high lately...which usually means the fish will move into rich feeding areas they normally would only have limited access to...

[fishy1987]

thank you lads for answering i assumed that was the reason but its just good to check appreciate it.now will this f..king rain please stop im going mad not being able to fish my usual marks in cork!
tightlines
fergal

[Creep]

Seemingly my understanding of it is fresh water makes the saltwater fish lathargic/full feeling (like after a Christmas dinner) hence way they seek out more fresher sea water, (which for us Beachcasters means we have to cast further or choose deeper marks, however (and Im not a fresh water angler) seemingly freshwater fish LOVE it and become more active after a shower Mind you I have caught mackerel in the rain and always found they moved to mid-deeper water were as in the sun without any rain for days they appear near the top, flounder move a litter further out of the channels but more or less stay near thier channels (just further out) just wondering if its to do with the amount of water running out (stronger currents means more energy the fish have to use to stay in place) or just that the food source has moved further out due to the stronger currents hmmm wonder to think about next time I go out!

And fully agree with ya fishy1987 regarding the rain!!!

[roger de dodger]

alot of sea fish will venture way up river (cod,bass,flounder whiting) but at what point the rain puts them off is one for a marine biologist lots of rain makes for hard fishing even for fresh water fish ,most bass and cod hotspots i know have streams,rivers or big tidal lagoons fed by small rivers full of crabs,shrimps ,small fry and marine worms ,the harbour in arklow can be alive with flats during strong flows of fresh water with codling and whiting as well ,fish follow food sources and i dont think they mind a fair dose of fresh mixed in ,i do however think water temp has alot more to do with it i,m sure their could be a big drop in temp in the fresh water produced from alot of rivers bass would aviod such areas ,cod might actually favour them ??

[yngkmd]

found this, might be of interest

http://www.fishing-blog.co.uk/sea-fishi ... arine-fish

[Creep]

Funny ya mention marine biologist, a few of my friends are, and i will deffo throw this question at them next time we're in the pub!! We all have the common love of the sea, and it makes for very interesting conversations!! I know each one will have a different theroy as to why (hmmm, cat amoung the pigeons comes to mind )

[fishy1987]

excellent lads gr8 information there valuable knowledge gained