Depending on where in the world you live, a cold front for anglers can be a nonissue that happens once in a blue moon, or a major annoyance that occurs almost (if not) every week. So, what is it? Why does the word “cold front” send chills (pun intended) down the spine of an able-bodied angler, and what can you do about this?
What is a cold front?
Let’s get right to the heart of it then, what is all this about a cold front and why does it matter?
Cold fronts are very much related to the barometric pressure in the air and water, as these can change the activity of entire ecosystems. Normal barometric pressure is around 30 millibars or 760mm of mercury on a barometer.
Does this all sound a bit too science-y for you? Don’t worry, you do not have to remember all of the specific stuff. The only thing you need to know about all that is this: before a cold front occurs, the air pressure drops. After a cold front, the air pressure increases.
But what about the cold front itself?
Without getting too much into all the complicated science, the cold front is commonly defined by many as what happens when colder and denser air replace the warmer mass of air. All of the warm air goes upwards and stays above the cold air.
After a storm is when the cold front strikes: The sky stays clear with nary a cloud above, cold winds are prevalent, and finally, cold, and high-pressure air move in.
What this means for the fish
Okay, so we know that cold fronts bring a lot of cold air. So, how does this affect the fish?
Well, a lot of the fish currently in the water prefer having warm water to cold. If they do not swim away, they will instead prefer to hunker down, seek some warm shelter deeper in the waters, and wait for the cold front to pass. Life underwater seems to grind to a halt.
During cold water temperatures, a fish’s digestive enzymes slow down a lot, meaning that it will take some time before a fish can utilize its entire meal, making them inactive and unlikely to want to feed until a significant amount of time has passed.
This is why fish become very active just before a cold front begins: They are trying to feed as much as they can to ensure that they have a myriad of energy before the cold front hits, especially since they expect to not be eating for a while, as they camp out in underwater shelters. Activity lessens considerably as fish conserve most of their energy for the days to come.
It will take around at least 3 days before fish start coming out from their hiding spots again, hungrier than before. This will make fish much keener to bite as a result.
With all that in mind, this means that the best chance to catch fish is before the cold front, when fish activity is at its peak. But sometimes, it just cannot be helped, and you end up missing the perfect timeframe….
Adapting to the cold front
Do not worry, all hope is not lost yet. Fishing after a cold front is not an impossibility, it simply means that you need to adapt and strategize differently from what you are normally used to doing. Here are some tips that can help increase your chances.
- Fish slowly
As mentioned above, fish are not exactly swimming about after a cold front. They are trying to conserve as much energy as possible, which means minimizing as much movement as they can.
No bait, no matter how appetizing it may seem, will call for the attention of a fish trying to save energy if it requires them to utilize said energy simply for a chance (and not a guarantee) to catch whatever is floating up there. It is even less appealing if the bait is moving at very high speeds. It is not worth the risk for them to exert energy, fail, and starve to death later on.
That means you want to go slow. Like very slow. Make the bait seem like an easy target to the fish in hiding if you want a fighting chance. Even if it’s absolutely boring to do so as your line slowly moves about underwater, catching nothing, it is the only way you will actually be able to even end up with something.
Now more than ever do you need to utilize patience.
- Use live bait
What better way to attract a fish than with something that it can actually eat? Of course, this still means that it’s not going to chase your line all the way across the lake, but at the very least it makes your hook look much more appetizing now, which makes the fish more likely to bite when given the opportunity to.
Use live bait like worms and minnows to tip the fish off, and maybe they may be more inclined to chomp down on what they perceive to be a quick lunch.
- Vertical baits for fishing
Fish just stop exerting a lot of energy after a cold front, which means that their strike zone is now drastically reduced. What used to be 6 feet is now 6 inches.
Vertical baits are much better than horizontal ones as they spend a lot more time in the strike zone as it coaxes the fish to go in for the bite. The closer you can get your bait in, the better.
Another thing, their shape makes it so that they can be moved with better precision than with horizontal bait.
- Try going for isolated shelters
Covers are where fish like bass commonly like to hide, even when there isn’t a cold front. The type of water does not matter either; what matters is that there is a place for them to seek shelter in.
While all types of cover exist, the better ones are usually the ones that are more isolated. It is much easier to fish when there is a lot of space to go about that way, than if the cover is too big and surrounded with other things.
Wrapping Up
A cold front can certainly affect the routine of both the fish and the angler, but it does not mean that you should throw in the towel just yet. Should a cold front hit but you still feel itching for fishing, you can.
You simply need to be adaptable and have the ability to experiment with your methods. The fish are still there, after all.