wind direction

[GoneFishingLTN]

How does certain wind directions affect bass? 

[Ski]

Affects water clarity, bait movement, current, oxygen levels, all things that will effect their pattern.

 

[BigAngus752]

2 hours ago, GoneFishingLTN said:

How does certain wind directions affect bass? 

Wind direction will position bait fish.  Wind-blown banks can be buffets for bass.  I caught my two biggest bass last year in 15+mph wind with my boat positioned in deeper water casting to a grassy bank with the wind blowing directly at it.  

 

Wind does not have a direct effect on the temperature of inanimate objects (like water) but water temps in a body of water are layered, so the temp of the surface can be significantly different than the temp of water just a couple feet below the surface.  This can happen due to rapid warming in bright sunlight after a week of cloudy days or due to a rainfall that is much colder or warmer than current water temps.  A strong wind can cause water of a different temperature to "pile up" in certain areas which can cause the bass to move to or away from the temp change.  

 

Wind can move water that is muddy due to runoff from rains or it can stir up silt from shallow areas causing some areas of the lake to be muddy and some to be clearer.  When the wind pushes muddy water it can create lines in the water where the clarity goes from very muddy to 
more clear.  Bass will use these lines as ambush points and fishing these lines is always a must-do when they occur.  

 

Wind can create current which will position fish to ambush bait.  Wind will obscure the surface of the water in clear water making it possible to get closer to the fish without spooking them.  I'm sure there's stuff I'm not thinking of and others will chime in.  Wind (or lack of wind) has a tremendous effect on fishing.  

[A-Jay]

2 hours ago, GoneFishingLTN said:

How does certain wind directions affect bass? 

In my quest for brown bass, wind direction IMO, is one of THE Most important environments factors effecting my fishing success.  

@BigAngus752 covered much of the reasons as to "why" above, quite Nicely Too I might add.

While I always want to be safe, but bottom line is, given a choice, 

I always want to be fishing in the wind.

Always.

https://youtu.be/s5YAlFDZ_C4?t=1040

Fish Hard

A-Jay

[gim]

Wind is a big factor for me too but perhaps its more important because my boat isn't that big.  I have a 17.5 foot aluminum mod-V bass boat and I'm simply unable to fish a larger lake with a stiff wind because 1) its borderline unsafe, and 2) boat control is an issue.

 

Luckily, when its windy out, there are other options because we are blessed with an abundance of lakes and rivers here as an alternative.

[DitchPanda]

Everything mentioned above pretty much covers it. So on that note ill give an example. Last night myself and a buddy fished a small pond and he smartly positioned himself to cast into the corner the wind had been piling into while I fished other areas. He caught 7....I caught 1.

[scaleface]

Many times I have seen the bite  shut down with a change in wind direction .Or sometimes pick up . Bass are baffling so just keep on keepin on .

[Deleted account]

1 hour ago, scaleface said:

Many times I have seen the bite  shut down with a change in wind direction .Or sometimes pick up . Bass are baffling so just keep on keepin on .

Change in wind direction comes with other weather changes, around here it's W to NW or so like groundhog day, I see something with South or East in it, I get excited. A partly cloudy day with changing conditions usually gets them going "fish the fronts" used to be a thing, haven't seen it mentioned much lately.

[huZZah]

1 hour ago, scaleface said:

Many times I have seen the bite  shut down with a change in wind direction .Or sometimes pick up .

Usually me bird nesting into the wind shuts down the bite as well.  ?

[MassYak85]

Once the wind gets over 15mph I don't enjoy the conditions, but can't deny the results. If I see 20mph gusting 30 around here, I make sure to go, somewhat reluctantly, because almost every time I have a good day even though it's an exhausting day between windburn, maneuvering around, and trying to make casts. 

[Team9nine]

"Wind" in general - all of the above.

 

"...certain wind directions" like N/S/E/W,if that's what you meant - it doesn't, other than dictating what lake I might fish based on what topographies and structures are affected, or how safely I can launch and move about. 

[RDB]

Like BassWhole said, wind direction can be an indicator of incoming, ongoing, or outgoing weather conditions (fronts, etc.) and movements are influenced by barometric pressure.  It’s up to the fisherman to decide if and how that might impact feeding/bass behavior.

[ErieCan]

Most of our storm fronts come from the south west. That SW wind leading up to the rain/storm the fish will be super active. Especially as the storm starts rolling in. Typically, after the storm, the weather system circle and pull a high pressure cold front. That will be a North-east wind. Usually the fishing is pretty lousy at that time. 

[Dwight Hottle]

9 hours ago, ErieCan said:

Most of our storm fronts come from the south west. That SW wind leading up to the rain/storm the fish will be super active. Especially as the storm starts rolling in. Typically, after the storm, the weather system circle and pull a high pressure cold front. That will be a North-east wind. Usually the fishing is pretty lousy at that time. 

 

Absolutely the truth based on my 11 years on Erie. Changing wind direction to NE as you are catching smallies kills the bite like someone hit a light swithch. Happens almost immediately. 

[J Francho]

23 minutes ago, Dwight Hottle said:

 

Absolutely the truth based on my 11 years on Erie. Changing wind direction to NE as you are catching smallies kills the bite like someone hit a light swithch. Happens almost immediately. 

Also the worst on the south shore of Lake Ontario.

[N Florida Mike]

Wind is a factor even in my small home lake. A strong south wind is the hardest for me to fish effectively , Because of the shape of the lake. 

A tried and true pattern is to fish the windy side of laydowns that have collected any kind of natural trash blown in by the wind. I’ll skkp a creature bait , senko, fluke , etc up in there and it nearly always produces. 
My best numbers day ever came while primarily fishing a  wind - blown bank with 20-30  knot  west winds. I anchored, fished for awhile , and when the bite slowed, I moved a cast or two away down the bank, re- anchored , and started catching fish again. And I caught most of the fish with a UV speed worm.

I prefer a little wind , that somewhat masks the bait to the fish, but not so much that it’s hard to control the boat. But I’m pretty sure I would do best ( for numbers anyway ) by fishing windblown banks on the windiest days... 

[Jig Man]

For me wind is my friend, except from the east.  I like for the wind to be from the same direction for 3 days.  In that time the food chain gets well established.  The wind moves the algae.  The zooplankton follow the algae.  The zooplankton eaters (bait fish) arrive.  The bait fish eaters move into the area.

 

Yesterday I hit a creek where 20 mph + winds had been slamming for several days.  In 3 hours I caught 22 and missed several others.  The bass were in 3 to 6 fow.

[Bankc]

The wind direction, in many areas, will indicate what kind of front is moving through.  For instance, where I live in Oklahoma, the warm fronts tend to come up from the Gulf of Mexico, and the cold fronts tend to come down from the Rocky Mountains.  Storms almost always move North East.  My grandfather, who lived in central Texas most of his life, always had a saying about the wind and fish.  "South and West, they bite the best.  North and East, they bite the least."  It works here because a North or Easterly wind usually meant a cold front and a South or Westerly wind usually meant a warm front.  Now, in other parts of the world, it could be the opposite, or the wind direction could be seasonal, and not really have an impact.  So it's not really the wind direction that can effect bite so much as it is presence of fronts, which can sometimes be deduced from wind direction.  Much like barometric pressure.