Wind ! How often....... ???

[Fish Chris]

does it kill your trips ? Either to where you get out there and have a lousy, short day, "or" you just know that you might as well go back to bed ?

Well, today is another one of those for me :-( :-( :-(

I had originally wanted to go back to the ocean today, but I already knew yesterday that that was going to be a blowout. However, my online weather showed the wind at one of my trophy bass lakes, to only be 5 mph for today ? Hmmmm. So I get up (at 4 am), check it again, and it still says 5 mph. I get all the gear ready, eat breakfast, pack the lunch...... and then I hear the weather on the TV behind me... "breezy" they say.... which usually means hurricane force winds :-( So I go back to the online weather "which still says 5 mph for today".... But WAIT ! The current conditions are 18 mph, with 22 mph gusts ! Urggggg ! Oh yea' ! 5 mph today my arse !

BTW, I know some of you might *** our giant bass, and multi-species fishing here in Nor Cal..... but just so you don't think its all peaches and cream, did you guys know that I live right smack in trhe middle of whats known as the "Carquinez wind tunnel" ? Any little weather change sucks wind right through the mouth of the San Francisco Bay, and right down through the Carquinez straights, and into Suisun (my home). I guess the only good thing is, my home itself is often the windiest place..... but then if I drive 30 minutes or more, away from here, its often really nice. Spent many days on flat calm water, only to come home to a hurricane.

All of this means, that I can never just look out the window, and know what the wind will do at my lake of choice. And just try relying on internet weather :-(

Anyway, I just hate wind with a passion :-(

Fish

[roadwarrior]

Well Chris,

My main water is a river and as Rosanna Dana Dana says, "If it's not one thing, it's another."

The Tennessee River is a commercial river controlled by TVA. Water release defines current and is unpredictable on weekends (when I am able to fish). The best smallmouth fishing is during the winter and we all know how that can go. Then when you think everything is just about perfect, there's your enemy, the wind. The absolute worst wind blows upstream and makes boat control nearly impossible.

I'm with you, I just hate wind. Thank goodness for cold beer!

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

Funny, I was in the same boat yesterday. RW called and asked why I wasn't on the water so I got to explaining.

Everyone knows I always preach that "The wind is your friend" ever since buying drift anchors. Well yesterday,2-4am,the wind was blowing a good 18-20 even though TWC said it as currently at 5.

That's confirmed on both coasts now...conspiracy??

Anyway, normally 15 mph is perfect for drifting with the anchors but yesterday the wind was coming from all sides and of course, the fish were bunched up in certain spots.

I'd get there, get hooked up and be a football field away when I was done with that fish! No regular anchor on board and I was beating my battery to death.

Came off the water early. Ended up on the bay later in the afternoon for some schoolie blues. Bay seems to be hurting this yr.

Chris-we're living on parallel universes, opposite coasts. Now,...If you can catch a 1000 lb Bluefin and I can get an 18 lb largemouth,...I'm gonna be nervous.

:-/

(que the twilight zone theme song)

[RandySBreth]

I learned to cast a fly rod for bass in Kansas. Just imagine

I hate when they don't update the weather like that.

Like RW said, I hate wind the worst when it blows upstream, then about when you think you got the boat right the wind stops, then when you try to reposition without the wind, it blows hard again. Aaauuurrrrggg!

"Let's double anchor."

"In this current?"

"Oh yeah. Let's go home."

[Keithscatch]

Ok everyone let's say this together...The wind is your friend...The wind is your friend...The wind is your friend..

Like heck it is...if wind is my friend then I would hate to see who my enemy is ;D ;D  Deep down inside I always have resented whoever says this. They always seem to say this in gale force winds too. I hate wind. (Over 12mph just to clarify I like some wind just not allot)

[Fish Chris]

and since we are here, I'll even take it one step farther.... A little breeze is okay if 109 degrees, but nothing drives me crazier than even a slight 1 to 3 mph breeze, in the Spring when I'm trying to sight fish ! Waters clear... big fish are up.... waters like glass..... until right when I pull up to my spot.... then, here comes this slight little breeze, and along with it, an instant ripple which drops my visibility by 95% :-( Oh yea..... and some say sight fishing is a giveaway ! Where do those people live that the wind never blows ??? Urggg.....

Oh.... so I move around to other spots... throw a swimbait for a bit... Look back across the lake, and, "Cool ! It's flat again" ! Pull up the t-motor.. run back over there.... ease up to my spot.... and here comes the breeze again ! I'm telling you guys, it's stalking me !

Deep sighhhhhh......

Fish

[Guest avid]

theres wind and then theres WIND

Here in SE Florida it's pretty breezy.  Typical fishing conditions on my home lake will have wind at 10-15 mph.  Often that goes up to 20 with gusts adding 5mph to 10mph to the equation.    I find that wind often turns the bite on, especially in the summer.  But it can make fishing so difficult that it's not always a good thing.

[j-bass]

All of us guys who live on or near the coast have to put up with this, it blows...........no pun intended.  Here, there never really is such a thing as a calm day, I just have to deal with it.  The most frustrating part is that I fish in a little jon boat......man when that wind is kicking up, it can be a nightmare.....constantly being blown into shore, orver prime spots, or away from them.  The bottoms of these resacas are flat mud.......soft, soft mud (smells like a$$, too) so the anchor only does so much good.  Oh well, se la vie.

-J

[Shad_Master]

It seems the wind never stops blowing here in NE.  You just try to adapt to it if you can -- white caps on the lake are usually a sign that it ain't gonna work.

[Hookem]

The difference for me in wind and WIND is a change in tactics and locations. My best days are wind at 20-25, working the shallows on the windward side of the lake. Wind has never ended a trip. It just altered it a bit.

Give me wind or WIND, from any direction, any time over the opposite. 8-)

[Raul]

Wind only scares me away when it 's strong enough to lift the white caps. High waves and my tub don 't mix well.

[CJ]

The many realms of fishing have caused me to curse the wind and to pray for wind!I live on big water.I gotta boat that can handle it but that doesn't make it easy to fish.The wind has caused me to not be able to fish some loaded spots but it has also pushed me into other bays where I had found some loaded spots.I don't sight fish due to my lakes lack of clarity.Sometimes the wind helps sell a crankbait or spinnerbait.Sometimes it makes it impossible to feel a jig bite.I guess it can go either way for me!

[Siebert Outdoors]

I have a real hard time catching fish in still calm water especially on clear days and this time of year.  I prefer about 10 mph.  15 is good then when you get 20 it starts getting to me.  25 well I start to get mad.  30 nope no thanks.  My boats not big enough to handle those real big waves.

[Guest ouachitabassangler]

Until wind advisories are put out I try to fish wind every chance I get. I have 3 sets of islands to choose from depending on wind direction. Each island group has a funnel chute. If I can get out there safely, I anchor in a pocket on the downwind end of a chute and fish from there until time to go home. Wind is concentrated down those chutes, driving mountains of plankton through, followed by shad, followed by bass. Or more accurately I think the bass come from downwind to the chutes to hit shad coming to them.

Another good place to look for is a ridge between islands that might normally barely break the surface, but in wind waves spill over. Those trap lots of forage to attract bass. Long points are good targets too, with wind crossing them. Bass hold at the foot of submerged points watching for forage passing over them. Still another target is any downwind main lake pocket. If I see lots of frothy foam in those I figure on some bass being there.

None of that works well if the wind direction switches often, and you need at least an hour of steady wind to set up a prime forage condition bass have time to react to. But when wind gets so bad waves are crashing over shore boulders, I believe bass as well as shad begin avoiding the possibility of being thrown ashore, so will swim farther out into open water.

Jim

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

Maybe it's because I grew up fishing the ocean.  Not much on our 223 acre lake that's gonna keep me off wind-wise. Usually, the windier the better (up to 25 or so, I'm in a jon)  Anything over 15 or so, It's 2 drift anchors off the bow or anchor up on the leeward sides of land.  

Some of my best days are when it's blowing but yesterday, it couldn't make up it's mind where it wanted to come from.

[cgs2004]

Anyway, I just hate wind with a passion :-(

Fish

Right there with ya

[telecaster]

If the wind is pushin baitfish,and you locate them your golden.If its gusty and such it can s@#$ to cast and hold your boat but its worth it generally in the end. Hey ya could be home mowin the lawn

[jayhawkfishin]

The wind doesn't stop me, but it does stop my dad from going with me.  I will atleast try it for a while, there have been times i have been out there and not catch anything and leave because it not fun getting blown around and not catch anything.  

I like the wind, i seem to catch more this time of year with the wind.

[Shakes]

The wind doesnt stop me either. Fish a smaller body of water. Most smaller farm ponds and small lakes i go to have really choppy water in the middle of the lake..... I fish banks anyway. Most of my water is always a little more calm.

[YankeesWin]

I'm with you, I just hate wind. Thank goodness for cold beer!

Can't say it any better than that. Wind sucks... or no... it Blows thats it!

[captgene]

just buy a submarine and troll, no wind under the water.