East winds

[angler1]

Why do East winds make for bad fishing?

[roadwarrior]

Old wives' tale.

8-)

[roadwarrior]

Old wives' tale.

"Wind from the east, fish bite least.

Wind from the west, fish bite best."

Another:

Standing cattle = good.

Lying down = bad.

My best day smallmouth fishing was with a rising barometer.

Some of my worst days were when everything was perfect!

8-)

[SirSnookalot]

Down here with a west wind most stay at home, NE winds rules.

[Marty]

Like most others, I've done well with the "wrong" winds and well with the "right" ones.

However, regardless of the validity of those guidelines, it's not the wind direction, per se, but the weather systems that are associated with the wind direction.

Probably the one that most people are familiar with is that fishing is bad after a cold front. With the passing of the front, the wind shifts toward the north, thus part of the fishing caution about the north wind is really about the underlying cold front.

[Bassn Blvd]

Down here with a west wind most stay at home, NE winds rules.

And those that don't stay home catch nothing.

[Simp]

Old wives' tale.

"Wind from the east, fish bite least.

Wind from the west, fish bite best."

Another:

Standing cattle = good.

Lying down = bad.

My best day smallmouth fishing was with a rising barometer.

Some of my worst days were when everything was perfect!

8-)

I'm not saying you wrong RW, but I've seen a east wind kill a awesome bight. I'm not saying it's anything close to full proof or anything. I've just had a great bight on for several days and a pressure system with a east wind come in and bam you can't buy a bight. Then when a south west pressure system comes it will heat up again. There is a million factors that goes into having a great day on the lake but a east wind is close to number one for things I don't want.

[cart7t]

I've long found Easterly component winds kill the fishing.  It has nothing to do with the wind itself or the fact it's coming from the East but instead, the weather patterns that are causing the easterly winds that effect the fish bite.  

[Simp]

I agree 100%!

[aceman387]

Ive always heard this I'm glad somebody brought it up i i haven't fished long enough to have anything to add to some of these topics (in the future hopefully) but wanted to thank all you guys who always take the time to respond .Ive learned alot from you guys the past year.

[6pointbuck2003]

This is interesting to read. I have really Never given it much thought about wind direction.

[SirSnookalot]

Geography.........

On the east coast we prefer a wind in our face creating a higher surf and a better trough, brings the bait in which brings the fish.

If I were fishing on the west coast, I'd want a west wind.

Growing up in Michigan my dad always tried to get the wind in our face, he was right, fish want to be where the bait is.

[Mottfia]

    The fronts that typically come with the wind can play an affect on the fish. The problem with it is that most fishermen don't adjust after they realize that the fish are doing something different.

    Personally I've caught some of my biggest fish in ugly weather like what is coming over us right now. I think that the fish may be less bothered by it than we are and I know that this weather gets alot of the fishing pressure off the lake because people think the fish aren't "supposed" to bite. its all about adjustments tho

  You can come in doing the same old stuff that normally catches fish (and I do to start the day) and have success but if thats not working then its time to check other options or change your approach. Those options change as the year goes on. Read up your Bass, FLW, or whatever magazines and books that you have and see what they tell you. The pros give good advice that can apply to your trip and make sense of things for you.

Mottfia

[RoLo]

RW, I was TOTALLY confused last week! The wind was blowing out of the west, but the cows were laying down :-/ :-? ;D

Geography.........

On the east coast we prefer a wind in our face creating a higher surf and a better trough, brings the bait in which brings the fish.

If I were fishing on the west coast, I'd want a west wind.

Growing up in Michigan my dad always tried to get the wind in our face, he was right, fish want to be where the bait is.

Wind direction is definitely important in saltwater, even 50 miles offshore.

A stiff, long-standing wind out of the east can sharply deflect the Gulfstream (warm water),

and blow sargasso beds inshore, along with baitfish and gamefish in the mix.

By the way, when I lived in Edgewater, Florida (northeast coast), the predominant wind

was not the Prevailing Westerlies but was the "Northeast Tradewinds" (not unlike the maritime climate of California).

In freshwater, regardless of wind direction, windward and leeward water can always be found.

Roger

[Lund Explorer]

An Easterly wind in this neck of the woods usually is associated with the passing of a cold front, which may be the reasoning behind it.  This is because the summer jet stream seems to run to the North of us into Canada.  In the winter when the Jet stream moves to the South, an East wind comes before the snow.

On this side of Lake Michigan though, a few days of offshore winds can blow the warmer surface water out which allows colder water to roll in underneath it.  For pier fisherman after trout or salmon watch for this during the month of August as a good sign to hit the piers.

[EasternPAfisherman]

"When the wind is from the North,

wise fisherman to not go forth.

When the wind is from the south,

it blows the hook into the fish's mouth.

When the wind is from the east,

good fishing is the least.

When the wind is from the west,

Then the fishing is the best."

[Paul Roberts]

"When the wind is from the North,

wise fisherman should go forth.

When the wind is from the south,

wise fisherman should go forth.

When the wind is from the east,

wise fisherman should go forth.

When the wind is from the west,

wise fisherman should go forth.

Oh yes, and...

When the cows are flying, you should stay home -preferably in the basement.

[Catt]

The only weather condition that stops me from catching is lighting  

[toolpush]

Is that good lighting or poor lighting. ;D  Sorry Catt, first post in along time just had to be a wise guy.

[cart7t]

"When the wind is from the North,

wise fisherman to not go forth.

When the wind is from the south,

it blows the hook into the fish's mouth.

When the wind is from the east,

good fishing is the least.

When the wind is from the west,

Then the fishing is the best."

What the adages mean in weather terms in the Midwest. Not applicable everywhere.

"When the wind is from the North,

wise fisherman to not go forth.

A cold front has just passed. Barometer on the rise. Fishing will be off.

When the wind is from the south,

it blows the hook into the fish's mouth.

A front is approaching. Barometer is probably dropping. Fishing is usually good.

When the wind is from the east,

good fishing is the least.

A low pressure system has passed far south or we're on the southern side of a high pressure ridge. Experience has shown that fishing is much tougher.

When the wind is from the west,

Then the fishing is the best."

Another indicator of an approaching front or low pressure system.

[Needemp]

Last Sunday in the midwest I had an east wind most of my fishing day and I had the best day I ever had on that lake. I knew the weather was bad, so I made adjustments accordingly. This time it worked, other times it didn't. The east wind curse is not an absolute, but if you let it shake your confidence, then you could have a hard time.