Dagum Wind #$%

[scaleface]

I use to love fishing windy days, when I had a bass boat and big trolling motor. I had to get rid of it because I couldnt afford to go fishing anymore. Between it and my truck , gasoline alone cost 70 to 100 dollars per trip. I dont have that kind of disposable income.

Now I fish from small crafts and have to pick days with little wind. The bass are really biting but for the past two weeks its been too windy to venture out . Was hoping to go tomorrow or Friday , nope 15 to 20 mph winds both days. Its killing me. Ill have to do some bank fishing , maybe catch a carp.%&%$

[MarkH024]

What if you anchored your boat using the wind to your back, or a drift sock? Or is the problem just moving around in general with your small craft boats?

[scaleface]

Well, my BassBaby would get swamped. My canoe would sail.

The 14 foot flat bottoms that the conservation dept supplies at a local lake do not handle well. Boat positioning is a struggle. I have a stern mount trolling motor reversed .I attach it too the gunwale ahead of the front seat on the jon boat. That way I can stand and fish and have more control than a stern mount. Still its a pain to use with any wind over 10 mph.

[Shewillbemine]

Maybe hire a nephew to work the trolling motor while you fish.

[WRB]

Safety first, if you have concerns heed your own warning.

If your aluminum boat doesn't have a rear rudder, like a small outboard motor, you need to make up a clamp on rudder to keep the stern straight.

Stay safe, stay dry.

Tom

[CoBass]

At least you only have the wind to contend with. The next two days here are supposed to be mid 30's for a high, snow, and windy. Good luck beating the banks, you might do better than you think.

[Bankbeater]

I know what you are saying about those 14' jon boats. Those things will catch a slight breeze and take off.

[BassmanDan]

I know what a hassle jon-boat fishing can be...I've been renting 12ft jons and fishing out of them for about 12 years now. I can suggest buying a good seat and getting the Cuda seat clamp that Cabela's sells...it's heavy duty and holds like a vise. Put the motor on the back of the boat. Then get an extended trolling motor handle and you can stand in the middle section to fish, and circle your body around as the wind moves the boat. The trick is to have the wind at your back, preferably coming straight at your back. I know they say throw into the wind and go with the current but they will bite both ways. You can't always position perfectly on spots, but it does take a lot of the hassle out of it. Hope this helps.

[WRB]

Anchoring works if you are fishing a lake, not a river, in the wind. With a low bow boat like a Jin boat you may want to use a bouy on the anchor line. I have used a large plastic bleach bottle ( 1 to 2 gallon) and tie* the bottle to the anchor rope ounce the rope is out at a 45 degree angle, then let out another 10' of anchor rope. This has 2 uses; keeps the anchor rope from pulling the bow down and you can release the anchor rope from the boat if necessary and go back and retrieve the it without lifting the anchor. A 15# navy type anchor works good. I keep mine In a plastic milk carton crate, hold everything you need.

I also use this anchor kit in my bas boat when night fishing in the wind at times, very handy.

Tom

* shoe lace tied to the bottle handle, you simply wrap the lace around the anchor rope a few times and tie a shoe knot, holds the bottle onto the anchor line and easy to remove. I like 3/4" rope, easy on the hands, about 75' long. Coil the rope into the crate and set the anchor on top.

[Bluebasser86]

Yep the wind has been a pain the the midwest the last week or so. I went out Wednesday and did really well despite the 25-35mph winds. I try to stick to smaller lakes and I pay attention to what direction the wind is supposed to be from and select a lake that is best set up for that style winds. With the south wind Wednesday I went to a 100 acre lake that isn't too long to the north and south and had lots of high banks and trees with some coves to hide in. It worked out well and I ended up putting 106 fish in the boat with a 5.68lb largemouth being the largest

[Quillback]

The winds have been blowing here in NW Arkansas also this month, I was fsihing yesterday and commented to my buddy that I'd never seen winds like this in October. We didn't so as good as Bluebasser, but we put 20 bass in the boat.

[scaleface]

I fished a small stream from bank yesterday. Caught about a dozen tiny smallmouths. The wind was brutal.

[LunkerLust]

On windy days I head to a lily pad lake for some pitchin'. The pads usually slow me down enough to get in the day.

If it's really windy, I'll head for the coves that happen to be fairly calm.

I mostly fish out of a canoe so it can be maddening.

[Ratherbfishing]

On windy days I head to a lily pad lake for some pitchin'. The pads usually slow me down enough to get in the day.

If it's really windy, I'll head for the coves that happen to be fairly calm.

I mostly fish out of a canoe so it can be maddening.

I got rid of my canoe because it was simply too maddening.

[james 14]

The wind this year has had me BEYOND ticked. It got to the point where all I could do was laugh...and then get ticked all over again. I had a run of 14 out of 15 trips with 13 in a row where the wind forecasted was 5-10mph and WITHOUT FAIL we would be facing steady 20+ and whitecaps. This is in either a 12 or 14' jon and it's darn near impossible to fish effectively in those conditions. Some days we can make it work but most days the technique called for a different approach...which we couldn't make work.

And I'm not exaggerating in the least bit here. I check the forecast religiously...I have to. The wind was NEVER forecasted to be higher than 10 but it ALWAYS hit 20 or more and would nearly blow us off the lake. It all started with our club classic this past March. You'd think after 5 straight days of gale force winds they'd adjust their forecast to show a little more than 5-10 for the next day. We ran our batteries dead everyday before weigh-in, I put a dent in the hull of my boat, broke two rods and nearly suffered internal organ damage. The last tournament I fished I have no idea how I didn't fall out of the boat.

I usually check weather.com but I started checking other sites and they've all failed me. I guess the only course of action at this point is to get a bigger boat. Good enough reason for me.

[0119]

Now that we are finally out of the high 90's its gotten very windy. The jon boat goes crazy, the kayak is flat out miserable to control. Ive started using a brush grabber and putting the yaks bow into the shoreline so I can cast parrellel to the shoreline cover. No so successful but less stressfull. Ive started to change pans and catfish during windy days. Hey James 14, hows Lake Manatee been lately?

[james 14]

Never fished Lake Manatee before. I have a club tourney this weekend on Lake Toho but I'll be running into Kissimmee because I know it MUCH better. I've been off the water the last two months with hunting season so I'm gonna be a little blind. I could catch 20lbs just as easily as I could catch 2lbs.

I'll need some Istokpoga tips from you. We have our club classic down there the first weekend of March. The wind KILLED us last year but we were there two weeks later. The wind had just started blowing that week so hopefully we'll beat it this year...and we'll catch more of the spawn.

[jignfule]

Just part of life. I fish from a small pond boat or a floored pontoon boat. Especially in the spring time and early summer the wind blows 90% of the time. I have to plan fishing trips accordingly and try to pick days of 10mph winds or less. Drives me crazy when flipp'n and Pitchin

[tnriverluver]

I hear ya on the wind. The wind started blowing here in West Tn around August 2011 and has never let up. I have never seen this living here for over 50 years. I have three boats so depending on conditions I can get at least one on the water and fight it. My Basshunter in my profile pic is limited to 10 mph or less unless I want waves crashing over the bow.