6 Things You Didn’t Know About Currents

Whether we’re fighting current, drifting or casting into the current, anyone fishing freshwater, saltwater, offshore, inshore or river is at the mercy of moving water. Here are some interesting facts about currents to help you better fathom water’s flow.

6 Things You Didn’t Know About Currents

Currents in Science & Nature

• On the world’s oceans, prevailing winds are the main factor shaping surface currents. Below 300 feet deep, current is the result of differences in water temperature and salinity. Cold water moves towards the equator where it warms, rises and flows back to the poles.

• Ocean currents pull nitrogen and phosphates from deep water to fuel the growth of plankton, the basis of the aquatic food chain. Cold ocean currents encourage the growth of plankton and warm currents restrict it. That’s why fishing is so good closer to the north and south poles.

• The abbreviation AC/DC refers to alternating current and direct current. Thomas Edison developed direct current used in batteries. Nikola Tesla worked on alternating current, which is how power flows from a wall socket into a lamp. The 2019 Martin Scorsese film, The Current War, stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Edison and Nicholas Hoult as Tesla.

Currents in Culture

• Known for their mega-hit albums like High Voltage and Powerage, the Australian rock band AC/DC has sold over 200 million records. Formed in the early 1970s by brothers Malcom and Angus Young. The band’s name was their sister Margaret’s idea; she was inspired by a label on a sewing machine. At home in Australia, the name is pronounced “Acca-Dacca.”

• As you might guess, the 2014 movie, The Current, takes place on a river. To escape inner-city violence, a Chicago family buys a riverfront campground in Minnesota. Their son is dismayed until he meets a neighbor boy and they have adventures together.

• And then there’s Nora Robert’s 2020 novel, Under Currents, about a man who returns to his lakefront hometown to confront ghosts from his past. Roberts is a New York Times bestselling author with over 230 novels. Once you read the first page, there’s no escape from the flow of her powerful page-turners.

This article was first published in Kayak Angler Issue 46. Subscribe to Kayak Angler and get the magazine delivered to your front door. Download the Kayak Angler Magazine+ app to seamlessly glide between the digital archives, the latest articles and videos.

The plasma ball was invented by Nikola Tesla when he was experimenting with high-frequency electric currents in a glass vacuum tube. | Feature photo: iStock