How to read weather reports/forecasts?

[notoriousTASH]

Good evening Raiders,

So here I am, sitting in my toasty car after freezing my arse off because the Mrs claimed today was "great fishing weather" - this was yesterday when we had that beautifully hot day, I thought today would be much the same, oh how wrong I was. I was not keen to go out today, wanted to stay in and relax at home, but she really wanted to go and has been having a rough time lately and I don't go back on my word, so I gave in.

I was rained on. The wind made my face, nay, my entire body numb. I have a headache.

For me, good fishing weather is where I can get a tan at the same time and enjoy the sun. Her idea is the rain, wind and freezing cold.

So while sitting here in the car (grumpy as hell because she doesn't want to leave until after 9:30 and there's no point in me going home, only to have to come back and get her) I was wondering - what exactly is good fishing weather, in terms of the forecast, tides, swell, etc..? I'm still very new to fishing and I've been doing my best to research different things on the net, the problem is there's heavy use of jargon that I don't understand.

Here are some things I think I get the gist of, feel free to correct more and please do add anything and everything that would answer my question:

**Swell: I get that if rock fishing, a small swell is best as you don't want to get swept away, but how do I read that on a weather report? As in, is a small swell 0.5m? 1m? Also, does swell mean much if doing land based fishing, e.g. off a wharf or Pier?

**Tides: It seems that the general consensus is that fishing around the tide times is best as fish are more active. Is this true or a bunch of crap? Sometimes I feel like I get more action around the tides, other times there seems to be nothing!

One particular question I have is wind speed/direction. What range of knots is good/bad? I have no idea how fast 1 knot is as I've never used the measurement. Does direction make a difference?

This is all I can think of so far... Would appreciate any help on the topic. 

Thanks in advance Raiders and happy fishing! 

[Rob81]

For myself personally I can only fish certain times so I don't have the luxury of picking and choosing when I can go. So my only option is choosing where to go and I use that information to determine that. Mostly for comfort rather then knowing there is fish there. I prefer rock fishing so in certain swells height/direction/speed mixed with wind direction might not good for some areas but good for others. But also I'll take into considering the wind too. I'd prefer the wind to be against my back when casting as I can use it towards my advantage. But under 8-9 knots won't make a great deal of difference. Some conditions are crap or too dangerous for all rock locations so I may move inland. 

Basically south swell is the swell coming from the south, north it's coming from north and so forth. Same for wind. Best to keep eye on the timing of swell too. This is prolly a bit more important than the height. U can have a low swell but coming at 6 seconds and still get wet being 3 meters above the water. It's pretty much rough out there. 

Im no pro but that's just some of the basics I go by. 

In the conditions that you had experienced today I would have either:

-stay home

-go under a bridge to fish

-fish a location I can watch my rod in a car

[Rob81]

Also most wharfs in Sydney are inside, should also take into consideration the height of the low and high tides and the differences in height. This part I'm still kinda trying to work out myself for some of the systems

[Aardvarking]

A lot of your questions I still don't know enough about to confidently answer, but I know that fish definitely do bite more around the change of tides. That's for quite a few reasons. The first is that it is the calmest time in the water, meaning fish need to expel less energy fighting the current, and have more energy to feed. The second is that baitfish get pushed around a lot by tidal currents, so the change of tide is going to mean that baitfish which have been accumulated to one place by the ingoing/outgoing tide are going to start being pushed the other way in large quantities, leaving predators ready to strike when they do. I probably haven't explained that very well, but it is a real thing. Those are just 2 reasons for fishing change of tides, there could be many more. I do also feel from experience I catch a lot more in these times.

[Guest Guest123456789]

No such thing as bad weather - only bad clothing. Bad weather some species shut down, others fire up. A good camping/hiking store will sort you out.

[Rah]

I'm much like Rob, if I have a chance to go fishing I do regardless of tides. But I try to go at first light. It's not a lot of fun fishing with the wind in your face where you are trying to cast. 

Use a weather app like Willy weather. The wind tells you direction and if it's gentle, moderate, gusty and so forth and the tide times where you are planning to fish.  

 

It's all trial and error and figuring out how you like to fish. Different spots will fish better to different conditions. 

Good luck and have fun!! 

Cheers

Tara

[rickmarlin62]

general consensus on peak feeding times are an hour either side of high or low tide..just on dark or first light in morn..if yu can combine the two together is great..ie.high tide right on dark is usually the best..don't fish rocks on open ocean if swell over 1 mtr unless experienced or with someone with knowledge..ps not all rock fishing spots are the same..i have spots I can fish safely in 2/2.5 mtrs swell that face north  but others are wiped out by 1mtr..check willy weather or seabreeze for wind and swell graphs and bom syney radar will show you rain....im 55 and have spent countless hours with rain dripping of my nose and freezing my tits off but I still loved it cause good fishing doesn't nesecarily mean good weather  just my thoughts tash hope it helps...rick

[Rob81]

Haha looking at the last few comments the most important thing is that you got to wet a line. Even though you got wet yourself

 

you know what Rah, I tend to fish the first light too. That's mainly cause the wife and kids are still sleeping and I return home not long after they get up to start the weekend rush

[blaxland]

Put a rock in your back yard and check it regularly if its wet its raining if its dry its not raining if it cast a shadow its sunny if you can see it its a good day to fish

[Koalaboi]

Hi,

I learned to read the maps by looking at them every day and watching what the weather does. The forecasts are now incredibly accurate unlike 50 years ago before satellites and computers entered the science.

If you look at this page:

http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDN60901/IDN60901.95770.shtml

It tells you a lot of the information that you asked about knots and kph as measuires of windspeed.

For tides, their impact in fishing is vitally important. Moving water brings food and rising water opens up areas to fish that were inaccessible during low tide. Falling tides concentrate fish in the deeper channels.

Swell is an issue where you are exposed to waves: ocean rocks and beaches. The wash proveds cover for fish and also washes food around. Reading the wash will help you decide the most likely spot to fish.

Wind direction is important especially when it comes to the fisherman's comfort levels: casting into a strong wind is hard work. Standing around exposed to strong, cold winds is hard work too. Depending on direction and strength, you can find spots that are eminently fishable in one wind but not another. Experimenting and keeping track of things is the way to go.

As you try different spots in different conditions: tide, swell, wind, moon, sun/dark, you will aggregate the knowledge which will see you knowing where to go and what to fish for in a range of conditions.

Working all that out is the fun of fishing and is what makes a good fisherman/woman.

Enjoy the challenge!

KB

 

[Rah]

19 hours ago, Rob81 said:

Haha looking at the last few comments the most important thing is that you got to wet a line. Even though you got wet yourself

 

you know what Rah, I tend to fish the first light too. That's mainly cause the wife and kids are still sleeping and I return home not long after they get up to start the weekend rush

That's exactly it Rob. Usually home by 9.30am

[nutsaboutfishing]

On 05/11/2017 at 8:41 AM, Rah said:

I'm much like Rob, if I have a chance to go fishing I do regardless of tides. But I try to go at first light. It's not a lot of fun fishing with the wind in your face where you are trying to cast. 

Use a weather app like Willy weather. The wind tells you direction and if it's gentle, moderate, gusty and so forth and the tide times where you are planning to fish.  

 

It's all trial and error and figuring out how you like to fish. Different spots will fish better to different conditions. 

Good luck and have fun!! 

Cheers

Tara

+1 for Willy weather. You can convert the wind speed to show km/h but even better it classes the wind speed as well eg. calm, light, gale , cyclone etc. It's also got swell height and tides.

cheers

 

Richard

[Mike Sydney]

Reviving this years old thread given the atrocious weather at the moment. 
 

Being a bit of a moron, I still want to head out for a fish…I don’t mind getting wet but it’s the lightning that gives me the spooks.

I use the live lightning tracker ( https://map.blitzortung.org/#1/52/8 ) to keep an eye on where the strikes are at, but for some more seasoned / weathered fishos, some questions….

 

- is under a bridge pretty much happy days to fish with lightning about?

- if you can see lightning but can’t hear thunder, are you far enough away?

- is there a safe km/mile radius from nearby lightning where you feel confident ?

OF COURSE - common sense is stay home. If I want to disregard that in the safest way possible (land based) how do other hardy souls manage lightning ?