Rain, rain go away, come again some other day. I think we all thought of that old rhyme in the past few weeks. The last report given was along the tune of things this time of year do not change much as the conditions are relatively constant. Well the past month has been an exception with more rain than normal; a lot more. This certainly did not help our inshore bite in the bay area. There are still fish to be caught, but you may have to do a little hunting before you find them.
Several things happen when we get as much rain as we have been getting. One of the things that happens is the salinity of the water changes and this will move some of our fish to other areas that maintain a higher salt level. The change seems to affect some species more than others. I live on the water and clean fish at my cleaning table on a regular basis and normally have 3 to 4 dozen catfish waiting for a handout, since the heavy rains started I have not seen them while discarding scraps.
Another thing that a lot of rain will do is stain the water. This is caused by the tannic acid that comes from the runoff. As the runoff flows through the mangroves and other vegetation it will bring with it the tannins from the tree. It does no harm to the water but does give it that ice tea looking color. You will see this more around the rivers and creeks than on the beach areas due to the mangrove and oak tree donation.
When the water gets stained from this natural condition it makes for a slower bite because the fish simply can’t see the bait as well. Imagine eating your sunday dinner at a well lit table and then compare that to trying to eat the same plate of food in the dark. It can still be done, but the time and efforts to do so will certainly be different.
These are just a couple things to think about when fish in less than perfect conditions. Hope this helps. Until next time, good luck and be safe on the water. Remember: Don’t let your kid be the one that got away, take them fishing.
For charter information you can reach me at 601-2900, CaptainRic@msn.com, or visit ReelSimpleFishing.com
