Ziert
10-22-2008, 12:23 PM
Rate of Fall – Friction vs. Fiction
Do any of us need this ? Here it is anyway.
At one time or another dock or bait shop talk gets around to the rate of fall for various baits; some slower - some faster, and the effect on catching fish. Some feel the slower the rate of fall the better. Some feel just the opposite. All this “falling” made me take the plunge into water viscosity at various water temps and the percentage of change in the rate of fall per degree of water temperature. Ounce for ounce, or even fractions of ounces, the difference is very small. If you were to do the math you would find the change of rate of fall between 70 degree water and 50 degree water is about 2%. That means almost any specific lure drops 2% slower at 50 degrees than it does at 70 degrees; inconsequential in the immediate, and with no practical governance as to whether a fish will bite or not bite.
As water cools, it not only gets slightly thicker, but fish slow down as well. The process is again not a factor as you look at it day to day. Over time however, the effect is one where fish have to adjust their lifestyles to their metabolism to survive. This tells us if we are occasional fishermen who might go out once in August, and then again in early November, the difference in fish mobility, how they chase baits, how they bite, might be slightly noticeable. If we were to go out every week however, except for other conditions, we may not notice the change at all.
The resistance, or friction of a specific bait, as it passes through water vertically, makes it fall slower or faster. More friction – slower, less friction – faster. Bait profile, length, balance, and surface structure come to the fore. Bigger baits of the same weight as smaller ones, and/or baits with irregular surfaces will fall slower. An example of heavier structured Buck-Tails makes a bait fall slower. However, torpedo shapes, with unequal weight distribution, regardless of their surface alone, or size alone, will fall faster than dynamic or globular, tumbling, fluttering shapes.
All of this tells us, regardless of the time of year, if we want a slower falling bait, to start with a slower falling bait. As time progresses, we will see the prime time for the rate of fall that we’ve chosen in the number of fish caught. We can use that as a benchmark, or point of entry to the changes we can make. Where we want to consider slower and faster falling baits simply keep the friction factor and not dock talk fiction in mind.
Do any of us need this ? Here it is anyway.
At one time or another dock or bait shop talk gets around to the rate of fall for various baits; some slower - some faster, and the effect on catching fish. Some feel the slower the rate of fall the better. Some feel just the opposite. All this “falling” made me take the plunge into water viscosity at various water temps and the percentage of change in the rate of fall per degree of water temperature. Ounce for ounce, or even fractions of ounces, the difference is very small. If you were to do the math you would find the change of rate of fall between 70 degree water and 50 degree water is about 2%. That means almost any specific lure drops 2% slower at 50 degrees than it does at 70 degrees; inconsequential in the immediate, and with no practical governance as to whether a fish will bite or not bite.
As water cools, it not only gets slightly thicker, but fish slow down as well. The process is again not a factor as you look at it day to day. Over time however, the effect is one where fish have to adjust their lifestyles to their metabolism to survive. This tells us if we are occasional fishermen who might go out once in August, and then again in early November, the difference in fish mobility, how they chase baits, how they bite, might be slightly noticeable. If we were to go out every week however, except for other conditions, we may not notice the change at all.
The resistance, or friction of a specific bait, as it passes through water vertically, makes it fall slower or faster. More friction – slower, less friction – faster. Bait profile, length, balance, and surface structure come to the fore. Bigger baits of the same weight as smaller ones, and/or baits with irregular surfaces will fall slower. An example of heavier structured Buck-Tails makes a bait fall slower. However, torpedo shapes, with unequal weight distribution, regardless of their surface alone, or size alone, will fall faster than dynamic or globular, tumbling, fluttering shapes.
All of this tells us, regardless of the time of year, if we want a slower falling bait, to start with a slower falling bait. As time progresses, we will see the prime time for the rate of fall that we’ve chosen in the number of fish caught. We can use that as a benchmark, or point of entry to the changes we can make. Where we want to consider slower and faster falling baits simply keep the friction factor and not dock talk fiction in mind.