Generally, rain favors the angler. In other words, fishing on a cloudy rainy day may be BETTER than a sunny, fairweather day.
First, it breaks up the surface of the water and makes it hard for the fish to see you. Also, if you're fishing with surface lures, like dry flies or poppers, the rain can make it hard for the fish to distinguish natural forage from artificial lures, so that works to your advantage, too.
Second, because it's overcast, there will be no direct sunlight shining down into the water. Many fish are photophobic -- they shy away from bright light because they don't want to be seen and end up as prey for something else. So, cloudy conditions may make fish less shy and more likely to go out and hunt. Obviously, this works to your advantage once again.
Finally, rain may wash prey items into the water and induce the fish into feeding. Increased flow from runoff may free up prey items of many kinds in the water, so it's a good time to fish with worms (or worm lures), terrestrial bugs (grasshoppers, beetles, ants), and even things like mice patterns.
Rain may make it somewhat harder to fish, especially if it's a severe rain or if you're not prepared for it. No one likes to get soaked unexpectedly. However, this works to your advantage, too, because it thins out the crowds. I love to fish in adverse conditions like rain and snow, because there are few people fishing.
And besides, the answer to the question "Should I go fishing?" is always YES.
First, it breaks up the surface of the water and makes it hard for the fish to see you. Also, if you're fishing with surface lures, like dry flies or poppers, the rain can make it hard for the fish to distinguish natural forage from artificial lures, so that works to your advantage, too.
Second, because it's overcast, there will be no direct sunlight shining down into the water. Many fish are photophobic -- they shy away from bright light because they don't want to be seen and end up as prey for something else. So, cloudy conditions may make fish less shy and more likely to go out and hunt. Obviously, this works to your advantage once again.
Finally, rain may wash prey items into the water and induce the fish into feeding. Increased flow from runoff may free up prey items of many kinds in the water, so it's a good time to fish with worms (or worm lures), terrestrial bugs (grasshoppers, beetles, ants), and even things like mice patterns.
Rain may make it somewhat harder to fish, especially if it's a severe rain or if you're not prepared for it. No one likes to get soaked unexpectedly. However, this works to your advantage, too, because it thins out the crowds. I love to fish in adverse conditions like rain and snow, because there are few people fishing.
And besides, the answer to the question "Should I go fishing?" is always YES.