Fishing in the Wind

[clark9312]

How do you guys approach really windy days? I still struggle a lot when I'm fishing on those really windy days, everything from boat control to casting. Just wondering how you guys did it

[Darren.]

You want the wind to be your friend, meaning, cast with

it, not against it  I've been out in my kayak on crazy

windy days, one day the winds whipped up to 40 mph

while I was ON the water - fortunately very close to 

shore, but I stayed and fished for a spell before deciding

to call it what it was. Stupid. It also turned out to be

accompanied by a tornado watch...

 

That said, a heavy anchor (assuming waves aren't swamping

you). You can also use it to drift and fish.

 

I tend to stay home now on really windy days. Just isn't

worth the time and effort. Now if the wind is such that

certain of my fav spots are shielded, I'll go fish them.

 

[clark9312]

2 minutes ago, Darren. said:

You want the wind to be your friend, meaning, cast with

it, not against it  I've been out in my kayak on crazy

windy days, one day the winds whipped up to 40 mph

while I was ON the water - fortunately very close to 

shore, but I stayed and fished for a spell before deciding

to call it what it was. Stupid. It also turned out to be

accompanied by a tornado watch...

 

That said, a heavy anchor (assuming waves aren't swamping

you). You can also use it to drift and fish.

 

I tend to stay home now on really windy days. Just isn't

worth the time and effort. Now if the wind is such that

certain of my fav spots are shielded, I'll go fish them.

 

Tomorrow is suppose to be record high(77 degrees) but giving 25mph wind. I'm trying to get off work tomorrow so I can go

[Darren.]

Just now, clark9312 said:

Tomorrow is suppose to be record high(77 degrees) but giving 25mph wind. I'm trying to get off work tomorrow so I can go

 

Is 25mph predicted to "gusts up to" or steady?

 

Coves will be your friend on days like that.

[jr231]

Bust out that spinning gear.. 

[geo g]

Like what was said in a previous post, let the wind be your friend.  I start by checking the weather report and pick a place according to wind direction when it is above 20 mph.

i want the wind from my back.  This keeps me in stealth mode and off the trolling motor.  This is especially important in clear water.  This stealth will increase bites.

Then I pick out a drift bag to slow my forward drift.  A drift bag or sea anchor is key to not being over powered by a strong wind.  This has saved many a day in high wind situations.  

 I will also add weight to my plastics to keep the line from bowing out in a strong wind.  This keeps me in touch with what is going on at the terminal end in high winds.  This makes for a easy, productive day of fishing, and for me that is what its all about.  Fighting stiff winds is never what I'm after, Id rather stay home!

[J Francho]

I'll go with the wind if I'm fishing a jig, or drop shot, but one of my most productive spring presentations is to park parallel to a wind blown point, and cast suspending jerk baits directly into the wind.  That wind stacks warmer water up on the point, concentrating bait fish, as well as feeding bass.  It's a pain, but often times when it's the most difficult, it's worth it.

[clark9312]

I'm still going to go out tomorrow just trying to get a plan together. Biggest down side to aluminum is fishing in wind in my opinion 

[J._Bricker]

36 minutes ago, Darren. said:

You want the wind to be your friend, meaning, cast with

it, not against it  I've been out in my kayak on crazy

windy days, one day the winds whipped up to 40 mph

while I was ON the water - fortunately very close to 

shore, but I stayed and fished for a spell before deciding

to call it what it was. Stupid. It also turned out to be

accompanied by a tornado watch...

 

That said, a heavy anchor (assuming waves aren't swamping

you). You can also use it to drift and fish.

 

I tend to stay home now on really windy days. Just isn't

worth the time and effort. Now if the wind is such that

certain of my fav spots are shielded, I'll go fish them.

 

 

I've gotta agree with Darren, and you have to think of the wind as your friend by using it to your advantage whenever possible. Otherwise, you're throwing knuckleballs and as you know fishing in an aluminum boat under these conditions is gonna make it difficult. But the rewards can also be great. The fish in my avatar was caught a very windy day making long, wind aided casts. 

 

Good luck tomorrow clark9312, JB 

[scaleface]

The wind usually brings a stronger shallow bite but if your boat cant handle it , head for protected banks . When I'm fishing from a john boat with a hand controlled motor  i cant handle wind   over about 15 MPH for any length of time . My Lowe can handle 20 MPH easily  but it gets pushed around a lot   because of the high sides . 

[A-Jay]

I can tell you how I structure fish as well as deal with the wind.  And we both know winter time bassing can be tough no matter where you live.  My 'winter time' efforts don't last very long as most everything is usually hard water by early December anyway. 

 

  Boat position in the wind can be a challenge any time of the year and I use the same basic approach most all the time.

 When it's blowing enough to affect my presentation, there's a few things I do routinely to put the odds in my favor.  First, I do not try to fight the wind.  It's a losing battle, especially when fishing mid depth to deep structure.   If I can position the boat in shallow(er) water and still reach the structure I want to fish, I prefer that as it’s always easier to hold up in shallower water.  Twin Talons work here in water less than 10 or 11 feet; otherwise I anchor. 

Regardless of anchor system used, I always position the bow INTO the wind. Boat will hold better and will stay heading the same way for the most part.  Also I ALWAYS position the boat so I can fish either straight down wind or straight into the wind.  NEVER want the wind blowing my line sideways – strike detection is really tough like that.  This often means I’m fishing off the stern, but if that’s what it takes – so be it.  

As for keeping my bearing with no point of reference in deep water applications – A great way to orient yourself here is with the use of “Marker buoys”.  I keep a couple on deck or close at hand in situations where I may need them.  After getting to or in the case of a new spot, dropping a way point, I deploy one or two in positions that allow me to know where the spot I want to fish is located. 

Important tip – Do Not drop them right on the spot you plan on casting.  Sounds like a no brainer but during the learning stages here I had a few hooked bass get all knotted up in the marker line and it makes a real mess.  Put the marker(s) some distance away – but in a manner that still allow you to understand where to cast.  This also assists in not totally giving up your spot to interested on lookers should there be any – and as soon as I drop a marker – there seems to be at least one or two.  Another tip is to color your markers black, I use black duck tape.  Be fore warned though, besides making them hard for others to see, they may elude your site for a while as well. 

btw - anchoring & marker use in a moving river and / or decent current is a whole different animal and if that's what your doing you definitely need to anchor off the bow every time no matter what and your marker buoy position gets a little tricky as they may drift a ways before the bottom weight touches down.

So there’s a few things to think about right there –

A-Jay

[scaleface]

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

 

btw - anchoring & marker use in a moving river and / or decent current is a whole different animal and if that's what your doing you definitely need to anchor off the bow every time no matter what and your marker buoy position gets a little tricky as they may drift a ways before the bottom weight touches down.

So there’s a few things to think about right there –

A-Jay

I never used buoys in a river . Use them at lest half the time in lakes . If the current is strong I think the buoys would completely unwind . Has that ever happened to you ?

[A-Jay]

13 minutes ago, scaleface said:

I never used buoys in a river . Use them at lest half the time in lakes . If the current is strong I think the buoys would completely unwind . Has that ever happened to you ?

 

I have not used them in a current, at least not one that would unwind them. 

The 'offset' weight inside the ends seems to prevent that. 

The bigger problem for me is if it's a little sloppy, besides loosing site of the little buggers,  the markers tend to move around sporadically.

"I swear it was Right Here!" and then, not so much  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..

A-Jay

[scaleface]

5 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

 

The bigger problem for me is if it's a little sloppy, besides loosing site of the little buggers,  the markers tend to move around a little.

 

My old Manns buoy's have a slot to keep the line secure.  A few times I would have the line in there and not know it . Toss the buoy and it unwinds some before catching then it slowly floats away .  I know something is not right when my bait keeps sinking and sinking ... 

[soflabasser]

Use the wind to your advantage, dont fight against it.

[Bluebasser86]

Wind is a fact of life here. One of my best days last year we had straight winds over 35 and gust over 50. Usually I do way better if I'm out in the wind. It's easy to duck into coves and stay out of it, but that's rarely where the fish are in my experience. 

[bassguytom]

I put a minn Kota with spot lock on my aluminum  18 foot tracker. It has become the most important  piece of equipment in the boat and has accounted for more fish in the boat than my side scan, down scan or GPS. It was either power pole or spot lock. I opted for the spot lock because of the deeper lakes I fish. Point the bow into the wind where you want to fish and push the spot lock button and you are set. Before I had this I would blow off of spots very quickly and had to keep moving back on with the trolling motor. Now it keeps me on the spot all by itself. I have embraced the technology.

[WRB]

Wind can be good, bad and ugly depending on many factors. Size and depth of open water areas, sustained wind velocity and gusts, wind direction, air temperature, rain, sleet and snow, type of boat, etc, etc. Respect Mother Nature she can be a ***** at times!

Tom

 

[gim]

4 hours ago, A-Jay said:

This also assists in not totally giving up your spot to interested on lookers should there be any – and as soon as I drop a marker – there seems to be at least one or two. 

 

I've run into this problem a lot, especially walleye fishing.  People will anchor right next to the marker.  I've also had people pick them up right out of the water and keep them.  Not much I could do as it is public water.

 

 

 

17 minutes ago, Bassguytom said:

I put a minn Kota with spot lock on my aluminum  18 foot tracker.

 

Let's be realistic here.  Does spot lock really hold your boat in 4 footers when the wind is blowing at 25 mph like others have posted in this thread?  And secondly, is your spot lock on the new Minn Kota Ultrex?

[TheGreatOne]

Wind means to me if the water is off colored or any color than crystal clear, spinnerbait... and I try to fish the wind blown side of ponds or lakes... wind pushes baitfish and other stuff to these areas and a spinnerbait was made to fish in the wind... I think there are better bait choices at other times and conditions but I use the old adage Wind=Spinnerbait, and it's a good choice

[wdp]

I like the wind. Fishing tends to be better. As long as it's 20 mph or less, I try to go on windy days, and all I got is a 12 ft jon boat. I just drop anchor and get to fishing. 

[RoLo]

A windy day is Good and Bad.

It's good because fish tend to feed more in a wind-generated current.

It's good if you're casting downwind, but that presents the lure from the fish's rear (fish face into the current).

Wind degrades angler sensitivity but holding the rod-tip next to the water surface is a good counter-measure.

I don't fish directly in the brunt of the wind, nor do fish hold in the brunt of the wind (even trout prefer a back eddy).

I try to find a neutral current adjacent to the edge of current, such as beside a jut of land.

 

Roger

 

[BadContrakt]

9 hours ago, clark9312 said:

Biggest down side to aluminum

Definitely.

Fiberglass has it's drawbacks but... I believe it's better than aluminum overall. I hate having to constantly be on the motor, and even in a fiberglass boat you still run into days where the battery runs dead in two hours. I'd hate to be in an aluminum rig on those days.

[A-Jay]

On 2/23/2017 at 11:48 PM, BadContrakt said:

Definitely.

Fiberglass has it's drawbacks but... I believe it's better than aluminum overall. I hate having to constantly be on the motor, and even in a fiberglass boat you still run into days where the battery runs dead in two hours. I'd hate to be in an aluminum rig on those days.

 

You've got that right - it totally sucks.

Not.

 

A-Jay

[ww2farmer]

One of my favorite things to do on really windy days, especially if it's a north or south wind on the finger lakes, as they run north and south and when the wind blows from those directions it's like fishing in current, is to sit down, toss out the c-rig , drop shot, or a football jig behind the boat. I let the wind blow me down the weedline or over offshore stuff while just letting my presentation drag on the bottom, and make small corrections with my trolling motor to stay pointed in the direction I want to be going. I call this the "modified Erie drag" as I learned it from the master of dragging, my buddy Noel.....wnybassman here on bass resource. Lots of big fish, both green and brown have been caught doing this, and a good amount of money won during tournaments while everyone else stacks up in spots to get out of the wind.

 

More than once I have heard the comment at weigh-ins after those windy days "did you see that idiot in the aluminum boat out there trying to fish in the wind"