Ever notice that when there's FIRE

[BassDawg]

in the surf, there is NO bite. yet,,,,,,,
right on CUE within about 5 mins of the
little lights going out; WHAM fishes awwwn??

two questions:

what is it that causes these photoplankton to carry on like that?

why doesn't our prey feed while the show is happening?

my thoughts are that they are chasing the little buggers around, or
this is the S-B moving them with their movements, or it's just too much
of an annoyance that they lay low until it's over???

any ideas or the science on it would be most appreciated.
Danny, ya got yer ears on? anyone else have sum thoughts?

[SirWinston]

Was out last night, lots of lights in the water, but didn't look like the usual fire; big photoluminescent spots that were pretty coherent. Sometimes they lit up sections of the surf like spotlights underwater.
Bloody impressive. Anyone have any idea what they were? My best guess was squid, but....

[Frankiesurf]

I was out on Sunday in the early AM. I got one fish in the first 10 minutes then nothing at all. I heard no slerping and saw no action at all. Then I noticed a school of anchovies whizzing past and all lit up. I then realized these fish weren't biting with all this fire. I threw everything i had. Even the smallest profile tins. While it was glowing I got nothing. After the glow died I got a few until they moved on with the tide.

I spent an hour doing nothing. I understand it is a living creature or billions of them causing this. Is there anything to throw out there for the bass though?

[5 String Bass]

Sometimes the 2 go hand and hand. Fish on and fire water.. It is really cool to see. last fall, I saw just Sh*tl0ads of that phytoplankton fire stuff in the water and crazy-a$$ large blues schooling and feeding at night. It was amazing because you can make out the fish racing up and down the jetti I was on and fighting at the end of my line, etc. on a dark night. Very cool indeed!

[cheferson]

Originally Posted by SirWinston

Was out last night, lots of lights in the water, but didn't look like the usual fire; big photoluminescent spots that were pretty coherent. Sometimes they lit up sections of the surf like spotlights underwater.
Bloody impressive. Anyone have any idea what they were? My best guess was squid, but....

Big jelly fish

[Flaptail]

Fire in the water is not a deterent to fish hitting your plug. It's your plug selection, the way you rig it and how you fish it and if you are wading and very active in the water moving about and such your turn yourself into a lighthouse underwater.

This last set of tides had a lot of fire in the water where I fish. Simply tieing direct from braid to leader and leader to plug and employing a small (one of my home made) needle fished r-e-a-l-l-y slowly was the ticket, as usual.

The fire in the water is not the problem, it's how you fish it.

[BassDawg]

thanks, Flap.............

but i was throwing riggies, letting them sink,
then yer standard retrieve. other times at the same udl
eeels, chunks, chx scratch bombers ~~same/same.

this spot lights up,,,,,,,,,,,,when the little lights go out.
come to think of it, last year there were a couple of times
that chunking worked during the light show..........not often though.

still no marine scientists out there?? spose i'll have to look it up!

[Crafty Angler]

I always figured that fire in the water made a plug look the size of a Louisville slugger coming thru the water and consequently spooked the fish like a full moon - just makes any flaw in presentation - even the smallest - way too obvious for them.

Never have tried Flap's direct tie to overcome that - I'm gonna put it to the test the next time around. Then again, tying direct isn't on the top of the list in some of the areas I usually fish around here.

Old dog (being me) resistant to trying new tricks I guess

[PaulS]

I usually take off my teaser also.

[eastendlu]

Plenty of fire last night but that did not stop the fish from slamming my plugs.Nice sized bass out there keep on pluggin.

[FishermanTim]

Originally Posted by BassDawg

............. still no marine scientists out there?? .....

No, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night

I have seen nights when the fire was thick, and the fish were slashing the bait swimming amongst the jellies, looking like torpedos with the light trails they left behind.

[The Iceman 6]

I've never ever done well in the "fire" and I mainly fish eels. One spot in particular always produces something for me, there was fire in the water last weekend and nada, zip. nothing. Not a big fan of it.

[Frankiesurf]

Originally Posted by Flaptail

Fire in the water is not a deterent to fish hitting your plug. It's your plug selection, the way you rig it and how you fish it and if you are wading and very active in the water moving about and such your turn yourself into a lighthouse underwater.

This last set of tides had a lot of fire in the water where I fish. Simply tieing direct from braid to leader and leader to plug and employing a small (one of my home made) needle fished r-e-a-l-l-y slowly was the ticket, as usual.

The fire in the water is not the problem, it's how you fish it.

I threw everything I had. Fished them all as slow as possible. Maybe it is the amount of fire in the water. Crafty was right, everything looked like a Louisville Slugger. My swivel made a bit of a glow but EVERYTHING was glowing. My line, leader and plug. I was using 30lb Sufix and I could even see that.

[Flaptail]

Originally Posted by Frankiesurf

I threw everything I had. Fished them all as slow as possible. Maybe it is the amount of fire in the water. Crafty was right, everything looked like a Louisville Slugger. My swivel made a bit of a glow but EVERYTHING was glowing. My line, leader and plug. I was using 30lb Sufix and I could even see that.

My needles all float.