What conditions make the bite hot, then cold?!
 

I'm sure there have been many threads on what conditions influence when the bite is hot and when its not. I have started to record this winters ice fishing bite trends to see what makes them bite, or sniff your hook and turn their nose and leave?! Some follow the moon phases, maybe water temperature, wind direction or barometric pressure. I am closely following the barometric pressure theory this winter to see if there is a trend. I think this one has the most influence. But thats just me!

Post your theories, beliefs, or your educated facts on this subject.

I'd like to hear everyones thoughts!!

The answer is e) all of the above

there are many factors beyond those including time of day, cloud cover etc

also it is heavily species dependent

I think it's global warming myself, these days. I used to blame it on the Russians then I realized they didn't have the technology to influence fish behaviour. There may be link with UFO sightings though. Just my speculations, nothing definitive.

Seriously though, just as you say there are many theories, speculations etc etc. I have used solunar tables going out at best times on best fishing days and nada. Then on a day that shows as poor fishing I have limited, go figure.
I would definitiely agree that water temperature has an effect as they become a lot less active when temepratures rise and O2 levels drop, but I have also had good fishing days with temperatures in the 80's.
All I know is that one day you get them and the next you don't, same time of day same conditions same flies, bait lures or whatever and totally different results.

I am a great believer in the solunar tables. I have found them to be very close to peak feeding activities and have added the flight of crows across frozen lakes to my indicated prime times. I have also found swings in barometric pressure bring a frenzy of feeding. the worse the swing the better the fishing but not always the best conditions to fish.when every body flees poor weather I run to fish! the march brown hatch on the big red 2010 started at the on set of a fairly dreadful tempest. half a dozen soaked anglers leaving as a friend and I arrived to the best 2hrs of fishing I have witnessed in that location . should be an interesting thread

Something being overlooked is looking into the life of the winter waterbody.
What the aquatic insect cycles are. The ' hatch', or different stages of the hatch, is still happening in the winter with certain bugs and freshwater invertibrates. Even the minnow fish have mating and schooling patterns that can effect the bite.

Sometimes while ice fishing the fish on the bottom are not biting. If you come up to a foot or two under the ice they may hit every time. Might indicate a 'hatch' stage occuring at certain depths. The different hatch stages might happen in hours or days. Smaller wireworms will catch more whitefish early in the winter, only because the freshwater shrimp (what the wireworm hook resembles) are smaller in late fall.

Is this an influence of the bite?, maybe.

I asked a guy from BC what wind direction he figured best for fishing and he said it is always best with an east wind. Go east and they say a west wind is best. So, the wind only blows on the surface, so is it really the wind that is influencing fish behaviour, if they re down 60-100ft below the surface.Possibly it's the barometric pressure.
They say the lateral line is a hypersensative organ that influences fish behaviour, but what does it sense? maybe barometric pressure, maybe temperature, maybe O2 concentration, vibrations from other fish and insects, maybe all of the above, maybe none of those.
And behaviour on a certain day is not species specific. I have fished on lakes with brown and rainbow trout and had endless strikes from the browns and not one rainbow came near me. On other days, it all turns around to lots of rainbows and no browns. So, different species obviously behave differently with the same conditions. Why? your guess is just as good as anyone's
I think it's best at my time of life not to analyse it too much, just get out there an expect the good days and the bad. And always remember we need the bad days, otherwise if it was great all the time it would take away what this is all about, the challenge of deceiving the fish.
My 2c worth.

well said gilbert!

usually I catch some, sometimes I dont. either way I learn something and I always have a good time

Just before a severe drop in barometric pressure is absolutely one of the hottest bites there is...after is one of the worst.

I had my best ever day salmon fishing in Labrador on the heels of a thunderstorm and rain pouring out of the heavens.The action was fast and furious. Fresh run fish kept coming up into the pool and I literally had to snatch the flies out of the water 10ft out on a couple of occasions as there were 3 or 4 salmon all following it in and and I didn't want to end up foul hooking one. Only time I have seen that happen.
But then the rain stopped, the sky cleared, out came the sun and the fun was over.
As we walked out we met a couple of guys going in to the same pool. One guy said, 'you fished in that rain, you must be nuts!". To which I replied 'yes, I'm nuts but I enjoyed every minute of it"

Men are from Mars .... Women are from Venus


And who really knows where fish are from.

Sunny day..... rainy day ..... cold.... warm .....

$15 lure... or a $1.58 beat up spoon .....

blue socks... brown shoes.... fishing hat or touque !!!!

There doesnt seem to be a pattern that someone can really
state is foolproof. about when where and why fish bite.

All I know is that the eventually get hungry and I hope my lure
is in front of them when they get the urge.

I'm glad that ist this way. It keeps me going out again and again.

Wouldnt be much fun if you got a fish every cast and each one
was bigger and bigger.......

I like to think that the fish at the bottom of the hole are like me at a party with appetizers. I may not be hungry and not eat any off the start, but the longer they sit there staring me in the face saying, "eeeeeeat me, you know you want to..." I will eventually give in and take a bite of a mini hot dog.

My hook = mini hot dog.

Ive seen this when salmon fishing as well, as the low pressure rolls in fish move up in the water column for awhile to regulate their pressure, as it clears and the pressure rises they are forced deeper. Seems to me it has more of an effect on fresh fish. Ive noticed it fishing other species as well, but not as dramatic as Ive experienced fishing Altlantics.