Fishing Temperature Breaks to Increase Your Catch "Simply put, temperature breaks are where cold water butts up against warm water." By Joe Penn On any given summer day, hundreds of private boaters set out from ports up and down the coast, in search of tuna, marlin, yellowtail, sharks and other exciting offshore fish. Some boats find the fish and score big time. Many others see little action, or even come home blanked.And if you kept track, you would probably find that the same group of "highliners" get into the fish time and time again. What do these guys know that the others don't?Is some secret lure? Or some inside dope from the sport boat fleet? That all plays a part. On a day-in and day-out basis, however, much of their success comes from knowing where the temperature breaks are and understanding how to fish them. Understanding the Breaks Simply put, temperature breaks are where cold water butts up against warm water. When these occur offshore, they form literal "walls" that trap and hold baitfish. This, in turn attracts all types of predatory gamefish ranging from marlin and tuna to albacore, yellowtail, and sharks. According to private boat expert and AFTCO representative Greg Stotesbury, both the baitfish and the gamefish gang up along these breaks for the same two reasons - comfort and food."The baitfish like the comfort of the warmer water, yet along this wall or break they have easy access to colder waters which are rich in plankton," Stotesbury said."That's why the colder waters tend to be green or off-color, because they are full of plankton which baitfish like to feed on." At the same time, migratory gamefish naturally seek out this same combination - comfortable water temperatures and plenty to eat.They tend to find these two things along offshore temperature breaks, which why they are key to fishing success. "During the summer season, I make most of my decisions about where to go and what to fish for based on temperature breaks," said Stotesbury. "When I'm out on the grounds, I fish more by my temperature gauge than my meter. When I find a temperature break with a good hard edge, I think of it as the '405 Freeway of fish'." A break works like an invisible wall, because fish want to stay in a comfortable water temperature.When the fish hit it, they'll turn left or right and swim and feed up and down along the edge- usually (but not always) on the warm side. What constitutes a good, fish-attracting temperature break?You want to look for a hard edge, where the water shifts a degree or more quickly - over a couple of hundred yards.The bigger and more sudden the break, the better."If I'm running and I see a break of one degree, I'll usually put the jigs in and troll around to check it out," said Stotesbury."If I hit a break of a couple of degrees, that's a parking spot." Expert angler Jim Hendricks agrees."You're looking for an area with a strong temperature shift - a couple of degrees over a quarter mile or so," Hendricks said. Hendricks reminds us that these breaks not only attract tuna, marlin and other offshore species, but closer to the beach they can hold thresher and mako sharks. Finding the Breaks To fish the breaks, first you have to locate them. Experts agree that it all starts with doing your homework before a trip. Never before has so much information been available to the offshore angler, with up-to-date internet reports, satellite images, fax reports, phone-in fishing hotlines, and of course, the old fashioned angler's grapevine. And just like anything else, those who put in the effort usually reap the rewards. Stotesbury starts by carefully scanning and analyzing color satellite images of sea surface temperatures three days before an offshore trip. It's important to note what time of day each individual satellite image is recorded, and view and compare the same satellite image each day. This will help you get the most accurate comparison of surface temperatures from one day to the next."By doing this, I can see where the best breaks are and predict their movement before I go fishing," Stotesbury said. While long, straight breaks are okay, they are not his favorite. Spin-offs or pockets of warm water that may appear on the charts as a whirlpool or eddy are especially effective at concentrating gamefish. Hendricks agrees with the importance of doing your homework before a trip, and recommends another popular Southern California internet site for offshore fishing info at www.charkbait.com. From here you can check daily updates from other anglers or link to NOAA sea surface temperature images. It's important to note that it is not coincidental that strong temperature breaks often occur around the popular offshore banks and high spots.It's one of the primary reasons these spots attract their share of fish - and fishermen.High spots frequently cause cold, plankton-rich waters from the deep to well up to the surface, where they clash with warmer surface temperatures."This is especially prevalent where you have offshore banks with a strong southern edge," Stotesbury said."Since the (sub-surface) currents generally run from the south to the north, this is a natural spot for cold water to be pushed up from the deep, where it can form a good, hard edge where it meets the warmer water." Fishing the Breaks Finding the breaks is only the first part of the equation. Once you put yourself in the right neighborhood, you still have to find the fish and get them to eat. A good first step is to meter the area around the edge of the break with a good color sounder."A break by itself without bait or life doesn't mean much. You've got to meter around and locate the bait schools," said Hendricks."Too many private boaters go out there and bore a hole on top of the bank (trolling a tight pattern over the high spot), and that's not the thing to do. "You don't fish the spot, you fish the life," Hendricks offered as another bit of sage advice. This also includes keeping your eyes open for the various signs that there is life in the area. These include birds, jumping or feeding marlin, "nervous" water, a "slick" of fish oil on the surface, kelps with bait under them, and more. This life may be well off the high spot, and can be more related to the water temperature and current breaks than bottom contour. If you find concentrations of bait holding along the break, there's a good chance you'll find fish. Once you find the bait and fish, you've got to work the area. Trolling and metering back and forth across the break (from warm water to cold and vice versa) can help you pinpoint the edge and what direction it is running. Once you know this, you can pinpoint your efforts along the warm-water side of the edge, whether you're trolling, dropping live baits down to meter marks or deep yo-yoing the iron. In addition to targeting offshore pelagics, Hendricks seeks out temperature breaks when targeting local thresher sharks. "A lot of times you'll get a really strong color break, from dirty green water to clear green or blue water. Or you'll notice a visible 'scum line' on the surface," said Hendricks. "Usually the bait will stack up on one side of the break or another. That's why it's important to meter around to find out where the bait is holding and at what depth. When you've done this, you can set your downriggers at the right depth and start working up and down the break line," he added. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Millis ini terselengara berkat dukungan PT. KreatifNet - The WebDesign Company http://www.kreatif.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website mancing-l at http://www.MancingL.com --> Fishing information, online chat, forum discusion, clasifiedads, etc MancingL Archive at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] ** Save Bandwidth... potong berita yang tidak perlu **
