The Wind is Your Friend

[TOXIC]

Went out yesterday even though the forecast called for 20mph gusts out of the north.  Water temps were 55-60.  Fish have been on the beds somewhat.  Good chance for me to give the new Ghost trolling motor a good field test.  And to run my boat for the first time this year.  Fueled up with non ethanol on my way to the lake and actually misjudged how much was already in my port tank (26 gal capacity) and belched some very expensive fuel on the concrete.  Always a puzzle to figure out on this lake, shallow, deep, blades, Ned’s, etc.  Normally this time of year we would be vertical jigging blades in 30+ft of water.  At the current temps, the fish were scattered and setting up to spawn.  We caught males up shallow and females a little deeper.  Best baits were Ned’s with a 4 inch Senko, 3.5 Shad Shape Worm and a 3in Scope Shad. The Ghost performed well and was invaluable when we needed to hold in place for a net fish and to keep constant on facing into the wind.  We found them in pockets as well, they seemed to be bunched up in the pockets when there was deeper water nearby. Easy 60 fish day.  I’m now off to Florida for some beach time.  No fishing though.  

[Swamp Girl]

Beautiful boat, water, bass, and photos.

[volzfan59]

I agree with @Swamp Girl, looks like you had a great day! Also, that is a beautiful Ranger.

[GreenPig]

Excellent 

[JackstrawIII]

On 3/23/2025 at 8:11 PM, TOXIC said:

Easy 60 fish day.

Woah, that's epic. Nicely done. 

 

And this is a good challenge to me. I hate fishing in the wind and don't normally go out if it's over 10-15 mph. Maybe I've been missing out on some good days. 

[TOXIC]

Thanks for the compliments on the boat.  It’s a sad story I have tried to make better.  I bought the boat in 2014 when I moved back home to Virginia from Florida.  I took my old guide boat with me to Florida since I had a rental house on the St Johns with a dock and boat lift and ended up selling it there to a tournament buddy before I headed back home.  It’s a 2005 Z21 powered by a 2005 Yamaha HPDI 2 stroke.  Original to the boat.  I have been meticulous about care but alas, the fact I have stored it outside is catching up to it.  Even double covered, the black/gold color scheme generates a lot of heat in the summer sun.  I put a portable fan under the cover in summer but after all these years, the clear coat has developed “stars” and cracks  that are all cosmetic but drive me bonkers.  I have been told it’s age related more than exposure and that other boats of that age that have been stored inside have also developed the same condition.  Back to the sad story, when I got back from Florida, I thought I was going to hold off on boat shopping for a while.  Not having a boat was driving me nutz. I went and looked at a few but they all didn’t pass inspection from my well versed boat expert friend.  My tournament partner called me up and told me about a boat he saw on Craigslist.  Normally, I would have dismissed any Craigslist boat but agreed to go look at it.  Called the owner and arranged a time.  He lived on a large property and the boat was sitting alongside a huge machine shed under a tattered and torn cover, full of leaves, sticks and mold.  I just about walked away but my buddy stopped me and said we need to look at its “bones” not the cosmetics.  We uncovered the boat and while the owner and I discussed price, my buddy was in the compartments and inspecting from stem to stern.  After a short private pow-wow with my buddy we agreed on a fair offer price considering the condition.  The owner flat out refused it and we left.  About 3 weeks later, the boat popped up on Craigslist again with a lower price but still higher than my offer.  I called the owner and said my offer still stood and after a little back and forth, we met in the middle.  I told him my offer was contingent on a water test to make sure everything worked.  We set up a date and met him at a launch on the Potomac river.  He had put some fresh fuel in it and it fired off first crank after having sat for over 2 years.  While we were out putting the boat through its paces I noticed the owner was very sad looking, almost to the point of tears.  That’s when I got the rest of the story.  The boat was originally a touring FLW pro’s that his brother bought in 2006. His brother retired and bought a place on the Potomac, and this was going to be his forever boat.  He enjoyed the boat for a number of years but the summer 3 years earlier he decided to buy a kayak as well and on one of his outings, he turtled the yak, got wrapped up in vegitation and tragically drowned.  He had 2 boats, the bass boat and a center console.  His sister got the center console and his brother got the bass boat in his estate.  His brother owned a huge landscaping business and was also a blue water guide in the outer banks, so the bassboat sat because he was sentimentally attached to it.  We had a heart to heart talk and I promised to take care of it to the best of my ability.  It ended up a labor of love getting it back into shape.  The worst was the mold that I fought for years.  The “Black Pearl” as my friends call her, has been all over the country and has served me well.   

[Swamp Girl]

Thanks for the story, @TOXIC. One time my Dad and I found an abandoned fishing lodge in northwestern Ontario. Pinned to the walls were photos of fish caught in that lake. The lodge's guestbook was left behind, in a stack of old fishing magazines.

 

That felt wrong to us for reading the entries, it was clear to us how much that lake and lodge meant to so many. So, we sat and I read all the entries to my dad and then we cleaned that coffee table, put the fishing magazines on a shelf, and centered that guestbook on the table, hoping someone else would find it, read it, and remember those people and their moments.

 

2 hours ago, JackstrawIII said:

I hate fishing in the wind and don't normally go out if it's over 10-15 mph. Maybe I've been missing out on some good days. 

 

The two best hours of my fishing life were in a howling wind. In one hour, I caught five muskies and lost a sixth. In another hour, I hooked lake trout on every cast. I can no longer fish wind because I'm alone in a lightweight canoe, but boy, oh, boy, if I owned a 2005 Z21 powered by a 2005 Yamaha HPDI 2 stroke, I'd be launching in gales!

[TOXIC]

We fish lake St Clair and wind is a way of life.  Wind does a few things that are very beneficial.  It bunches fish up, it fires them up to feed, it makes their locations more predictable.  And finally as kind of an obscure benefit, as was the case Saturday, it encouraged us to fish areas we normally don’t go to.  They were very productive.  

[Bluebasser86]

After spending the week on Fork in my kayak where the wind blew 20-40 mph almost every day, the wind is not my friend 😂

[Fishingmickey]

7 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

After spending the week on Fork in my kayak where the wind blew 20-40 mph almost every day, the wind is not my friend 😂

So true Blue! The dangerous combination of wind, waves and stumps on Lake Fork is flat scary.

FM

[volzfan59]

Thanks for the story Toxic, I know it had to be heartbreaking for the brother to sell the boat. Thanks for the additional photos, the colors of the black pearl look even better close up.

[GreenPig]

Toxic, I will actually schedule to fish the windy days when possible. Spotlock on my jons changed my windy day fishing from cussing to catching. Any day you catch 60 is a great day.

[Swamp Girl]

1 hour ago, Bluebasser86 said:

After spending the week on Fork in my kayak where the wind blew 20-40 mph almost every day, the wind is not my friend 😂

 

Yeah, the wind looks at paddlers and says, "Give me your lunch money, kid."

 

However, Officer Clayton, you are empowered to cuff and book the wind. Good luck with that.

[Bluebasser86]

7 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

Yeah, the wind looks at paddlers and says, "Give me your lunch money, kid."

 

However, Officer Clayton, you are empowered to cuff and book the wind. Good luck with that.

That wind broke my locking latch on my pedal drive and the prop on my pedal drive while I was fighting the wind, pretty sure it got the best of me.

[GaryH]

2 hours ago, Fishingmickey said:

So true Blue! The dangerous combination of wind, waves and stumps on Lake Fork is flat scary.

FM

@Fishingmickey You are 100% correct. Fork can be very dangerous. Those stumps are no joke. 

 

 

 

 

[Bankbeater]

There have been a lot of times when I've just raised the outboard and let the wind push me across the coontail that is matted or just under the surface.

[Darth-Baiter]

wind is subjective.   10mph.  nice.  

 

40mph..not so nice.   

[BrianMDTX]

I mean this in all sincerity. Anyone who claims the wind is their friend does NOT fish in an inflatable boat! 😂

[Bucks Bass and Bourbon]

I have a love-hate relationship with wind. I have always hated being outside in the wind no matter what I’m doing, and constant gusty conditions in my face while fishing immediately irritates me even more. On the other hand there’s no denying how the wind can do all the things mentioned above and can make for a great day of fishing. Love it hate it.  

[Columbia Craw]

Some wind can be your friend.  Some other wind can kill you.  Nice fish TOXIC!