Fishing The Wind

[Robert Riley]

So I fished a small pond the other day, and I was attempting to pick out where to fish based off the wind (something I just learned about). 

I've attached a picture of the scenario I fished. The blue star is where I thought I'd catch fish, green is where I did... Opposite of what I thought. 

 

Anyone know why I didn't catch fish at the bottom of the pond? It's not like there was any cover in the calm area, it's a golf course pond. 

 

Lemme know if you want more info

 

EDIT: The calm spot was bc of a hill that blocked the wind, or so I suspect. The whole shore line is "raised" if that makes sense. 

[Bluebasser86]

Maybe the wind was stirring up too much mud and making it difficult for the bass to feed? Or that area you caught them at is just plain better cover than the other side. Was the side you were fishing on shaded perhaps? 

[Robert Riley]

It looks almost identical actually. It was nighttime, cloudy and the wind was about 10-15 mph. 

[gardnerjigman]

There was either better cover, better food source, or possibly a spring fed spot in that area. (does the pond ever go dry?)

[fishballer06]

I don't know how big this golf course pond is, but more than likely, it's not big enough that the wind would affect the baitfish at all.

[Robert Riley]

So if size of the water matters, where would you draw the line?

[J Francho]

I don't think you can generalize location based on wind alone.  Take into consideration other factors, such as cover, depth, structure, and effects of wind on water clarity.  Also, are there fish on the blue side on calm days?

[gulfcaptain]

Being it was night, the baitfish may have been on that side instead.  And bass in ponds atleast around me cruise when feeding at night especially when there isn't a whole lot of cover to be had.

[J Francho]

It's a pond....if all the bass are one side, what side would be on, if you were a baitfish, lol.  Ponds kind of break the rules.  What's a pond and whats a lake?  I'd call 150 acres the cutoff.

[gardnerjigman]

It's a pond....if all the bass are one side, what side would be on, if you were a baitfish, lol. Ponds kind of break the rules. What's a pond and whats a lake? I'd call 150 acres the cutoff.

Can you clarify on the cut off?

[J Francho]

The OP asked what is a "lake" and and what is a "pond."  There's no official metric.

[gardnerjigman]

The OP asked what is a "lake" and and what is a "pond." There's no official metric.

Thanks man. For whatever reason I got hung up on that one!

[J Francho]

That's ok, I think a post flew in there before I finished typing.

[WRB]

Pond brass cruise the shoreline perimeter day and night, that is where most of their food comes from.

Insects are blown into the pond on the upwind side and float down wind, the bluegill and baitfish feed on the insects, the bass on the baitfish. Your presentation in a pond during a windy event is casting into the wind so your lure lands very near store or on the bank and worked back into the water.

If the wind has been blowing for several hours, the bass may move down to the opposite end where it's better oxygenated and baitfish or crawdads are eating the dead insects washed up near the bank.

Keep in mind pond bass cruise the banks rarely stay put in one spot for long periods, unless spawning.

Tom

[Robert Riley]

Pond brass cruise the shoreline perimeter day and night, that is where most of their food comes from.

Insects are blown into the pond on the upwind side and float down wind, the bluegill and baitfish feed on the insects, the bass on the baitfish. Your presentation in a pond during a windy event is casting into the wind so your lure lands very near store or on the bank and worked back into the water.

If the wind has been blowing for several hours, the bass may move down to the opposite end where it's better oxygenated and baitfish or crawdads are eating the dead insects washed up near the bank.

Keep in mind pond bass cruise the banks rarely stay put in one spot for long periods, unless spawning.

Tom

I totally follow you, and that's what I did that night. And I didn't catch a thing.

[Paul Roberts]

I don't think you can generalize location based on wind alone. ...

X2

 

Wind has some real advantages, and some real disadvantages. But... they are in relation to real things: current, temperature, lighting, floating cover, prey availability or vulnerability, ... Sometimes these weigh in heavy. We cannot answer why you caught fish where you did based on wind direction alone. Wind may have had nothing to do with it.

 

Some thoughts:

 

-It's often easier to fish and detect takes in calm air.

 

-On a small pond there are probably bass that use all sides of it, although I do have ponds that have the majority of fish on one area or side only, bc that's where the prime habitat (food, security, winter quarters, spawn substrate, ...) is.

 

-I also have ponds that have areas that require certain techniques that I prefer not to fish, or am not equipped for that day. Lures aren't food. I mean, one lure, tackle, and technique may not work all the way around a given pond -even a small one. I often see two approaches to all that potential: Fish your tackle/strengths and pass up the water that doesn’t fit. Or, bring the tackle shop with you and cover it all.

[einscodek]

Theres theory and real world.. real world sometimes involves so many factors a general theory cannot hope to accurately model..

Yer talkin a pond where likely if you can rip a 40+ yard cast youd prob be able to cover most of it

Fishing places like that I would simply cover all of it and let the fish tell me where they like to be

rather than where theyre supposed to be

Who knows there may have been an underwater depression there where you caught that fish where the pond bass like to ambush from

[Robert Riley]

You're talking to a guy that studies physics at one of the best universities in the world haha. I'm all about the theory of it.

The main reason I asked this was bc wind was one of the few variables I could know before I got out there. There is little to no cover, and the depth changes are unknown.

[Paul Roberts]

Nothing wrong with a theory. Unless it's wrong! But then come the proofs. The natural world is a complicated place. Trying to distill it to single factors or dichotomies is (besides what we humans automatically do) a recipe for disappointment. Things are almost always more complicated the deeper you look. Make your theories AFTER you've fished. Works out much better that way. Until the next time you fish!

[Sam]

We all realize that the "rules of bass fishing" can be destroyed in a New York minute.

 

Magazine articles; TV shows; guides; friends; the Forum can all state how the bass are supposed to act under different conditions.

 

What we don't understand is why the bass don't do what is expected under different conditions.

 

Personally, I would have thrown low into the wind and had the bait float or reeled to me with the wind in my face.  This is supposed to move our bait with the baitfish and push the baitfish into the bank being hit by the wind.

 

Sometimes this works; sometimes this does not work. And I have no idea why.

 

So please read the above posts and remember: those little green monsters have one goal in life - to drive you crazy.

[WRB]

I totally follow you, and that's what I did that night. And I didn't catch a thing.

Thought you caught 1in the calm end, green star? And expected the down wind end, blue star.

Tom

[WRB]

We all realize that the "rules of bass fishing" can be destroyed in a New York minute.

 

Magazine articles; TV shows; guides; friends; the Forum can all state how the bass are supposed to act under different conditions.

 

What we don't understand is why the bass don't do what is expected under different conditions.

 

Personally, I would have thrown low into the wind and had the bait float or reeled to me with the wind in my face.  This is supposed to move our bait with the baitfish and push the baitfish into the bank being hit by the wind.

 

Sometimes this works; sometimes this does not work. And I have no idea why.

 

So please read the above posts and remember: those little green monsters have one goal in life - to drive you crazy.

It's been my experience a lake of 2,000+ acres the bass tend to be more active feeding on the windward or down wind areas, ponds just the opposite, especially at night. All you can do is start where you think the odds are in your favor and adjust from what is actually going.

Tom

[Robert Riley]

Nothing wrong with a theory. Unless it's wrong! But then come the proofs. The natural world is a complicated place. Trying to distill it to single factors or dichotomies is (besides what we humans automatically do) a recipe for disappointment. Things are almost always more complicated the deeper you look. Make your theories AFTER you've fished. Works out much better that way. Until the next time you fish!

Nah man, hypothesize, experiment and then make those theories. 

 

Thought you caught 1in the calm end, green star? And expected the down wind end, blue star.

Tom

Yeah, I didn't catch one where I expected, the not calm area.

[WRB]

Thought you caught 1in the calm end, green star? And expected the down wind end, blue star.

Tom

Upwind or windward vs downwind or leeward. You expected the bass to be on the leeward end of the pond, but caught 1 bass on the windward or point of origin calm end. Lots of folks mix up leeward with the calm water, it's the opposite.

Tom

[Paul Roberts]

Nah man, hypothesize, experiment and then make those theories. 

Yeah, gotta start somewhere.

 

Now, was the wind from the east??