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The Science of Fishing
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There
is a lot of science that goes into fishing. Tackle companies spend
millions of dollars annually to prove their product is better than
anything else on the market. Along with that, there are just as many
axioms on when the fish will or won't bite. "Never fish a West wind", "
Fish a rising barometer" and others are things you hear from time to
time.
While those rules hold some basis in truth, my question is how many
anglers actually care about them? Most of the fishermen I know squeeze
in a hour here or a morning there to get their angling fix. No self
respecting sportsman would say "I have three hours to spend on the
water, but the barometer is steady so I guess I'll go mow the lawn." It
just doesn't happen. "Why?" you ask.
Very few people in today's world have the luxury of setting their own
schedule. Between work, family, traffic and honey-dos, time is at a
premium and time to relax is even harder to come by. So when the
opportunity presents itself to get out and do what you enjoy it must be
seized; it may be weeks before you get another chance.
I have stood in the water fishing in the freezing cold, with a tropical
storm breathing down our throats, blazing heat and pouring rain just
because I had a couple of hours. I do draw the line at lightening
though. There is a big difference between taking a couple hours to
relax and risking your life to do it.
Personally, I hate to fish a West wind, but it has nothing to do with
the fish. Here in South Florida, when the wind is from the west in
August the temperature is always close to 100 degrees. I love to fish
late afternoon just before sunset because that is when I get off work
and need the time to myself. A rising barometer means that it is most
likely going to be windy from the East. A falling barometer in Florida
can be very bad especially between June and December. Fishing the
daylight hours during a full moon can be slow, but you don't know 'till
you try.
Ultimately, if I were able to pick the day and hour to go fishing, I
would probably pay closer attention to things like the barometer and
moon phase and........on second thought, no I wouldn't, I'd just go
fishing.
Jim Dourney is the owner of www.snookguy.com
and an avid saltwater fisherman. His family has lived in South Florida
for many generations which gives him a unique insight into not only
fishing the local waters, but to the surrounding area.
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