My family likes walks. We walk almost every day – sometimes multiple times per day. The fresh air, exercise, time we get to spend chatting with each other, and the exciting things we see make every walk enjoyable and interesting. It’s our go-to way to get outside and get into nature. Two days ago, I wanted to walk in a nearby prairie at sunset because the light across the fall landscape is especially beautiful this time of year. Dried flowers dot the fields, dainty grass plumes sparkle in front of the lowering rays, and the family seems to feel the magic just as I do. But, this is not what this post is about. This post is about contrails and fishing. At the very western edge of the prairie one can find a clear lake with a sandy bottom. The kids love to explore the shores of the lake when we visit the prairie and we did just that two days ago. While the kids ran up and down the shore, made clouds out of cattail fluff, and searched for lures that others had unfortunately lost while fishing, my husband offered an interesting bit of information: “Too bad we are not fishing right now.” he said (this after he and my son had been shut out three days in a row – well, except for a few mudpuppies). “Why is that?” I questioned (thinking there may be more to this statement than the obvious fact that he’d like to fish all day – every day if he could). “You see those vapor trails [contrails] that the airplanes are leaving in the sky, and how they are slowly spreading out?” he asked. “Yes?” I questioned. “They indicate good fishing.” “How is that?” I asked, “And, where did you learn that?” “I must have read about in one of my fishing books, but I don’t remember where or which one.” he replied. To be fair, my husband has read a plethora of fishing books – books about fishing technique, fishing memoirs, fiction books about fishing, and he even studies lake and river maps. He continued: “It has something to do with pressure changes.” Today I explored this theory further using my favorite learning tool – the World Wide Web. This is what I found: A contrail is: a condensation trail left behind jet aircrafts where hot humid air from jet exhaust mixes with environmental air of low vapor pressure and low temperature. The result is a cloud similar to those that you see when you exhale and see your breath outside. Okay, so how does this affect fishing? I found a simple explanation in a bass fishing forum on BassResource.com. BassChaser57, a self-proclaimed “airline pilot by profession, BassChaser by passion,” stated: There are lots of variables i[n] bass fishing such as temperature, cloud cover, barometric pressure, wind speed and direction, moon phase, fishing pressure, rising/falling water, muddy water, etc. There is one variable that I have used over the years… it is simple and it works. Few of us can spend as much time on the water as we would like so I try to maximize my quality fishing possibilities. I do this by watching jet contrails (the white trails left in the sky by jets.) When I see the sky crisscrossed by contrails I go fishing and expect to find active bass. The explanation is simply that there is high level moisture meaning there is an approaching weather system. Many of us realize bass get active with an approaching storm or lowering barometric pressure, the contrails will tell us the same thing without having to be able to see the weather channel. The next time you see the contrails in the sky, try to go fishing and expect the Bass to be active and prove to yourself that contrails=active bass. Dan Johnson from In-Fisherman magazine defines barometric pressure more thoroughly… In a nutshell, barometric pressure—also called atmospheric or air pressure—is the weight of the air pressing down upon everything on the planet, including fish and anglers. Lest you think such a load is light as a feather, consider that a square-inch column of air rising from sea level to the top of our atmosphere weighs about 14.7 pounds. Even slight changes in barometric pressure can cause big changes in fish behavior. According to Spud Woodward, Assistant Director for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Coastal Resources Division, fish sense pressure changes through their air bladder. He goes on to explain: Fish that have small air bladders, such as kings, Spanish mackerel, wahoo and dolphin, aren’t as affected by barometric changes as those with large bladders, such as trout, redfish, tarpon, grouper and snapper… That’s because fish with small bladders have a body density that’s closer to that of the surrounding water. They don’t sense the pressure changes as dramatically, so their comfort levels aren’t drastically altered. However, many things they eat have air bladders, and that alone could have a big impact on where you might find them and how they’ll behave. For example, zooplankton and phytoplankton have air bladders and can be caught off-guard by pressure changes causing a feeding frenzy among minnows and other small fish, which in turn brings out larger fish to eat. Woodward continues: Fish with large bladders quickly sense when the air pressure is dropping, because there’s less pressure on their bladder. And when there’s less pressure squeezing their bladders, the bladders expand a bit. When their bladders expand, fish become uncomfortable. They relieve their discomfort by moving lower in the water column or by absorbing extra gas in their bladders. These stresses cause fish to forget about eating, and instead focus on finding a depth where they can find comfort. Finally, Woodward explains the pressure changes where contrails are most evident – the period just before a low-pressure system sets in. Just what I was looking for. Let’s say we’re experiencing a prolonged period of high pressure and the fishing has been good.
Walk
Sweet Clover, Summer Memories, and a Wildflower Bouquet
As the kids and I took a walk down our road to the lake, the intoxicating smell of sweet clover, vanilla mixed with fresh-cut hay, permeated the air. Late June in Minnesota is when the summer wildflowers awaken and adorn the sides of the roads, prairies, and edges of our 10,000+ lakes. On this particular day, my daughter started collecting wildflowers on the side of the road as we walked toward the lake. “Mom, I’m going to make you the most beautiful wildflower bouquet today.” As my daughter waded through the tall grass and wildflowers, she gathered: Black-eyed Susans, Prairie Fleabane, Tufted Vetch, Virginia Waterleaf, Yellow and White Sweet Clover, Ox-eye Daisies, Queen Anne’s Lace, and Red Clover. Once we arrived at the lake, my son picked an exquisite American White Water Lily, also known as the Fragrant Water Lily, to add to the bouquet. Before long we had a beautiful wildflower bouquet of all different colors, textures, and scents waiting to adorn our kitchen table. My family has been picking wildflowers along the roadside on our walks for year. One thing that always comes to mind, when reminiscing of these ventures, is the smell of sweet clover. In fact, my children have learned to identify sweet clover when it emerges from the soil in the early spring. First, there is excitement at finding the plant itself, but then a serious race ensues to see who can pick and smell the first sweet clover leaves of the year. There is nothing like the smell of sweet clover, especially on a warm summer day like today. Years ago, as a teenager, I remember helping my boyfriend (who is now my husband) with his summer lawn mowing jobs. There was this particular spot in a yard that smelled especially sweet every time we would mow. Determined to identify the plant, I would stop and search high and low for the plant that smelled so sweet. Finally I found a plant that appeared to be a type of clover (three finely-toothed leaflets). After my job, I remember going home and telling my mother about this clover plant that had the most wonderful smell. She said “Oh, sweet clover! That was your great-grandpa’s favorite smell as well.” Little did my mother know, that my great-grandfather had actually written a journal entry about his memories of clover. What I remember was that mother laid me in the shade at the edge of the field and cocked the hay as my father raked it. The smell of the Red Clover drying and the humming of the bees comes back vividly now as I write of this happening. ~Roy Falk My mother’s aunt (who typed up my great-grandfather, Roy Falk’s, journals) noted how incredible my great-grandfather’s memory must have been to remember incidents that happened before he could even sit up on his own. I was also surprised, but I know it’s not unheard of. In fact, I remember one incident that happened when I was a baby in a walker. I was at a family friend’s house, and as I was wheeling around, the dog who lived at that house accidentally pushed me down the stairs in my walker. I was amazingly unharmed, but the memory of tumbling down those stairs and being terrified is still sharp in my mind. The sweet smell of the Red Clover and the buzzing of the bees must have had quite an impact on Great-Grandpa for him to recall this memory so well. After reading Great-Grandpa’s journal entry, I was interested to see if there was a purpose of the clover being in the hay field. According the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR), clover was brought over to the United States from Europe in the 1600’s. It was used as a forage crop (to feed livestock) and as a cover crop (where it is used to keep weeds down and enrich the soil). Clover plants have very long tap roots that extend several feet below the top soil. This tap root brings nutrients such as nitrogen up to the top soil, nourishing nearby shallow-rooted plants. I wish I could have been sitting next to the field with Great-Grandpa, listening to the bees and smelling the hay and clover as it dried in the fields. As I’m writing this, my husband and children are imploring me to accompany them on our daily walk. I think I’m ready to go out and smell the sweet clover again after sharing this story. I urge you to make your way outside and embark on a journey to look for some summer wildflowers. You may just come home with a beautiful bouquet, and if you’re lucky, you’ll catch the scent of vanilla and fresh-cut hay drifting the air.