I see fish in your future!
Forget calling one of those late night psychics next time you are wondering about your next fishing trip. What you may need to do is seek out a bovine guru for the answers you need.
So what is this magical power of the pasture, or is it simply a wive’s tale?
On A Fishing Trip Long, Long Ago
Years ago, a buddy of mine where driving up to North Carolina for a fly fishing trip.
On the way, we passed one of many different cow pastures, as one tends to do in that area of the South. When we passed one of them, my buddy said, “The cows are up.”
That was the first time I had ever heard anything like that so I had to ask what it meant.
He said, “Whenever the cows in a pasture are standing, that means you are going to have a good day fishing!”
No way, really? Cows on their feet, fishing can’t be beat?
It didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me at that time, so I didn’t really pay attention to it. Our fishing trip that day was nothing short of epic. We caught a ton of fish, with some real monsters in the mix.
Every trip since that one, I started paying attention to the cows in the pasture on the way. Almost without fail, if the cows were standing, it was a great day. If the cows were lying down, it wasn’t. I was stumped.
I needed answers as to how these lumbering giants were so accurately predicting how good the fishing was.
The Barometric Crystal Ball
What the cows are tapping into isn’t some cosmic power that makes fish do their bidding, but they do have a crystal ball of sorts.
Falling pressure can have an effect on the digestion of cows. As the barometer drops, they get upset tummies, and have to lie down. They don’t want to go out to pasture, so they take a load off.
Well, that’s the theory anyway. Any while I can’t rattle off a bunch of science to back it up, I have plenty of anecdotal accounts to lend a little support.
Falling Barometric Pressure And The Effects On Fishing
Cows seem to respond to falling barometric pressure by laying down. When the barometer is falling, they tend not to want to head out to pasture and graze.
Fish respond to a falling barometer as well. Just like cows, they don’t like to be active in these times of falling pressure.
Now, of course, this doesn’t mean you will not catch anything just because cows are laying down. You could theoretically catch fish in a hurricane.
All this does is give you better chances of catching fish, and by watching the cows, you can have an easy and fun reference for getting a general idea of what the barometer is doing.
Later this week, we will do an in depth analysis of barometric pressure and how it affects fishing. Stay tuned for that, and see ya on the water…