What affects fish biting/not biting (Weather)

Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2007 10:10 pm

Hello all, I am just wondering if anybody has any advice on weather conditions and how it affects fish. For example, is it better just after a storm or a few days after??? or is it better just after big seas or a few days after. I have just got back from beach fishing here in spain(My home) and I did not even get a bight. We have just had heavy seas, and just before the bad weather I was catching and getting lots of bites. Any help would be great.

Cheers

Crelman

aka the mulletman

worried

Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 8:15 am

It is well known that many fish will come close in shore, especially at night, after there has been a storm. This is because the waves crashing onto the beaches disturb many small creatures that live near the beaches and the fish seem to be aware of that fact and come in to hunt them. This is particularly true of beaches which have rock pools and reefs near to shore. Do not cast more than about 40 to 50 metres in this situation or you will be casting past the fish. However, there are other fish, particularly flat fish which do not like these conditions and stay well out to sea because they are not strong swimmers. For these fish it is better to wait for very calm conditions and cast out 100 metres or more. Having said all this, if you are fishing in an area where the sea bed is almost featureless, it does not matter what the conditions are, you will not catch anything because there is nothing there to attract the fish. This is why, it pays to spend some time trying various locations in you area until you begin to find the so called "hot spots" which fish like to frequent. E.g. if you want to find some teenagers at night, there is no point in looking for them in the business centre of the city because they are never going to be there but near the bars and clubs, you will always find lots of them because these are the hot spots for teenagers LOL!

Guest

I didnt think there was any fish to catch inshore in Spain, apart from mullet from harbours and jettys etc etc

Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 8:42 am

Oh come on Rocket, there are always fish to be caught in shore virtually anywhwere in the world, why should Spain be any different? Actualluy a mate of mine did some shore fishing on the north coast a couple of years back and did very well - bass, rays, bream. Don't know exeactly where he went though.

Guest

eccles wrote:

Oh come on Rocket, there are always fish to be caught in shore virtually anywhwere in the world, why should Spain be any different? Actualluy a mate of mine did some shore fishing on the north coast a couple of years back and did very well - bass, rays, bream. Don't know exeactly where he went though.

Point taken, but thats the 1st ever time Ive heard of anyone catching much from the shore in spain.

Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 8:56 am

There are fewer fish off the shore in Portugal than in the UK. Catches are limited to bream, garfish, a local fish called a salema and , in the harbours, mullet. Occasional bass if you're lucky.

Bream are the best fish to target as they are na good size and great on the bbq.

No mackerel or flatties. The plus side is far fewer crabs.

Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 3:04 pm

Thanks eccles...Good advice, and it must still stand for Spain. I Have done ok ish I suppose here, I have caught good breem and the odd bass, there are some sting rays here but tend to be too deep for casting from the shore. I totaly agree that sourcing the area is vital, so so important here, as it can be very featureless over here. I know that fishing here is crap compared to the UK but thats why I need all the help I can get !!!!!! We did not even get a bight last night and It was just after a storm??? Its so wierd over here, but I was in a different spot from before due to the excess weed in the "Hot spot". If I get bored I can always pop down to the harbour (In my shorts!!!!) and have fun catching BIG mullet on light line!!!! Any more advice on targeting fish would be great.

Chris

Mulletman

Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 6:59 pm

Have just been having a look at Spanish coastal charts and now understand your difficulties. You do not have gently sloping sea beds around the Balearic Islands as we have in a lot of in UK. For example in front of the island where I live, one has to go more than 8 kilometres out to sea before the sea bed depth exceeds 20 metres. It is only on the north coast of Spain that similar conditions are found which explains why my friend caught fish there but you have difficulty around the Balearic's because the sea bed is 100's of metres deep only a short distance from the beach. I think you may have to re-locate if you want to improve your fishing prospects my friend - how about the Santander area? That looks good to me and there are river systems nearby which is often good for fishing.

Member Joined: Aug 21, 2007 Posts: 6 Location: Isle of Man

I caught crabs in Spain once!!!! laughing

Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2007 6:52 am

Know what you mean mate, Dr told me it's the old toilet seats them dagos use.