Fishing in the wind - when is it too strong?

[Glenn]

New video!

 

[BigAngus752]

Great video!  There's some tough love in this one!  Stuff people need to hear and very well-worded by @Glenn.  Wind speed numbers are actually the second thing I pay attention to.  It's the lake that makes my choice for me.  My spot closest to home I will spend all day on at 20-25mph.  Another lake I fish regularly is 15mph MAX and if the wind is NW or SE then it's 10-12mph max.  

[A-Jay]

@Glenn

Nicely Done Sir.

Very easy to tell by the delivery that you speak from experience.  Being so passionate adds credibility.   I surly hope folks heed all of these wise words of advice.   The stories we tell about how we "just barely" made it back to the dock, often means that day started out with at least one supremely bad decision. 

Stay Safe

#victoryatsea

A-Jay

[Bird]

Thanks for the video.

Wind is the very first consideration when I'm picking and choosing the best days to take to the water.

 

[casts_by_fly]

I think I’m like most here that when the wind hits a certain number I’m just planning to not go.  I do check wind direction in the forecast also. The point  about how open the lake is makes a big difference.  My early season lake is a big bowl and if the wind is from the west at 10 mph or more you just don’t go. It will be calm and the wind behind you u til you’re too far out to realize it. Then you’re SOL and the whitecaps are coming in behind you. 
 

that said, my blanket ‘10 mph’ that I usually follow I’m going to explore it a little more this year. A 10 mph wind here at the house is ripping pretty good but I bet there are a couple lakes around where 15 would be fine but I just don’t go to check. 

[gimruis]

There's two sizable lakes I fish every season where wind is a factor for me.  I know what my boat's limits are on these larger, more open lakes.

 

The other ones are much smaller in size and wind is not a factor.

[Swamp Girl]

I laughed when Glenn related his raft years and "skating down the lake" with the "slightest wind" because I know how that goes.

 

My canoe is a Bell Rockstar, a 32-lb., Kevlar, 15' 6" boat. It's long for a solo canoe and slender to save weight. Like a raft, it rides high, so it's like a semi truck on a windy day, catching and being abused by wind.

 

It's advantage is speed. Being long and light, she's fast, but the wind tells me when I can and can't fish. Being narrow, she's quick to tip and when I first sit in it, it feels like I'm perched atop a fence rail. 

 

Good video, Glenn. Thanks!

 

P. S. - Regarding lake orientation, I would not fish certain lakes in northwestern Ontario because of their orientation. When you're camped on a lake for just a week, you can't skip a day or three of fishing because of wind. You're giving up too much of your trip, so we'd pick lakes what would allow us to fish no matter how much the wind blew. Lots of islands (windbreaks) and bays were the key with short paddles between them. So was a lake that ran every which way. A long lake with a westerly or northwesterly orientation and few islands would have meant windbound days.

[GaryH]

Good job Glenn getting the point across. It’s not a game when the winds kick up and you’re not prepared or skilled enough.

[WaskaCrank12]

Good video and info. - thank you.

 

Several lakes near me have had the look of the wind/wave blown dock you showed and said "absolutley, completely unuseable" as the dock was waving up and down. An easy decision for me not to go out in that -- yet a tricky proposition when you have been out already (the day started calm) and come back to a dock/launch being lashed by the wind/waves.

 

A few times last season I had that happen and made the choice to go to another dock/launch area on the lake that was not being rocked around as hard -- yet that required an 8 mile plus walk to get back to the truck/trailer.  Got some exercise and no damage to myself or the boat - making it worthwhile. 

[rgasr63]

Great video!!!

You are spot on sir. Back when I was young my dad and my uncle taught us this as we learned to drive the boat. Everyone who wants to operate a boat should have to see this video. I am so thankful for the efforts you put into keeping people safe and informed. 

[Junk Fisherman]

On Lake Michigan anything from the East or North and I'm going somewhere else.  Even 5 mi/hr winds from the East produces rollers and while it's not dangerous in my boat, I don't enjoy fishing in it when those rollers bounce off breakwalls and then collide with incoming waves.  West or south winds and I'll go out in winds up to 20 mi/hr.  Any inland lake and my max is about 25 mi/hr assuming it is calmer in the morning.  I won't launch in and fight 20+ mi/hr winds all day long.  That is just not enjoyable to fish in.  

[Bankbeater]

Good video, @Glenn.  You made some good points.

[WRB]

The one video clip with dock on a rail is typical at SoCal lakes in the wind, waves going over the dock. So many accidents have happened at lake Castiac for example they shut down the lake if high winds are forecasted. Small 2 mile lake that developes 4’ white cap rollers in less then an hour blowing down a canyon onto the marina.

You need to keep a in the wind direction shifts, it usually stronger winds are coming from another direction.

The Colorado River desert lakes are notorious for quick wind changes and 6’ to 8’ waves building up, find a sheltered cove and wait sometimes over night to return to the marina.

Good video Glenn hopes it saves somebody from making a mistake.

Tom👍

[greentrout]

Ditto ... once owned an inflatable Sea Eagle 8 with front and rear motor mounts. Had hard wooden floors with a 2 HP engine. Great little boat and very stable. But in high winds it was flat out dangerous to be in. I know. Use some common sense whatever you fish in.

 

Good Fishing

 

   

[TnRiver46]

The wind doesn’t blow here often thank goodness . It did yesterday though, probably a light breeze compared to anything in the Midwest 

[GreenPig]

I normally go no matter the wind speed. But now you done got me scared. Thanks Glenn. 😊 

Great points

[ironbjorn]

It's too strong when I'm not enjoying myself

[tunaman]

It’s too strong when it is 5-8’ers on Mead in the middle of the basins…

 

Fished with Aaron on the last day of the US Open the year he was going for 3 in a row, and coming back down from Overton it was nasty. Got a great boat driving lesson that day in his Angler of the Year Triton - we had to tack a whole lot, and got a whole lot of air along the way.

 

For me these days, for fun fishing anyway, it is too much if it is going to be blowing more than 10. Tourneys, you have to take what you get.

[greentrout]

4 hours ago, tunaman said:

For me these days, for fun fishing anyway, it is too much if it is going to be blowing more than 10. Tourneys, you have to take what you get.

Me, too ... Ditto ...

[A-Jay]

Estimating wind speed & wave height on the water can be a bit of a tricky deal.

Exaggerated 'Big' numbers get thrown around all the time.

Either way, there's really only 2 kinds/sizes of waves and wind speed levels that matter.

First one, regardless of actual wave 'height & period' and wind speed,

is within the operating limitations of the boat & operator.

Second one, IS EVERYTHING ELSE. 

An operator can still get him/herself in trouble while operating in that first one,

especially if and when they are inattentive, on unfamiliar water and or using excessive speed.

Matching boat course & speed, motor trim and timing waves is critical to safe transit.

And ALL of that can and Does NEED to be manipulated by the second.

Just 'DRIVING' to the ramp' without taking any of that into account is a Huge mistake.

I have experience in much bigger conditions,(but I was in a rig designed for it, my Lund is not).

So that experience tells me the waves in this clip were 3-4 ft (at best) and all I wanted in my rig.

Earlier that morning the ride heading in the opposite direction was wetter

and took three times as long to get where we wanted to go.

Looking back, I should have stayed on the beach.

Moving forward, I will. 

If the main motor had failed at any point, this would have been bad.

Stay Safe

A-Jay

 

 

 

 

 

[TnRiver46]

The orientation portion of the middle of the video is where rivers can be nice on a breezy day. A good many of the places I fish are narrow and have sharp meanders, and are always at the bottom of a hill. If one spot is windy you can usually go around the bend and it will be calm. You just have to hope the leeward river bends are fishy that day 

[DaubsNU1]

Wise words @Glenn!!!!

 

Twenty years ago, took daughters and my old tin boat to a family vacation on lake in South Dakota. Boat looked like this...before renovation...20hp Mercury.

 

 

Drove boat around north side to ramp, and loaded up my 6 year old daughter (wearing life jacket!), and headed south towards the cabin.

 

On launch, did not realize wind out of the north was starting to howl...about 1/3 way across the lake, the white-caps were 2-3 feet, and I did not have my life jacket on.

 

My daughter was standing in front or me...I had one arm around her, the other steering the Mercury.

 

It was getting really dicey...but did not want to worry my 6 year old daughter...so I kept calm and assessed the situation.

 

I was able to keep the boat pointed south with enough speed to keep waves from crashing in the stern. Contemplated putting my life jacket on, but that would mean letting go of the motor, or my daughter. Nope.

 

Kept calm and steady and made it to the cabin unharmed and with very little water in the boat. Vowed to never put myself or my family in a situation like that again! 

 

Appreciate your video!

 

[Bankc]

Great video!  

 

I learned how windy is too windy by being out there when it was too windy.  If you fish often enough in Oklahoma, you will find yourself in a dangerous situation one day.  Our weather is just too unpredictable.  But I also discovered that you and your vessel can handle a whole lot more wind and waves than you'd think, if you keep your head about you.   Which is why I advocate everyone to get some experience with their vessel in uncomfortable and controlled, but not dangerous, winds.  Knowing how to navigate 40-50mph winds comes from knowing how to navigate 20-30 mph winds.  

I once fished in 80mph wind gusts.  Not from a boat, but from the bank.  Mainly just to say I did, and to see how far I could cast with the wind to my back.  Even standing was hard!

[Skunkmaster-k]

That was a very good video. We had a local deer hunter drown while trying to cross the lake in the wind not too long ago. Gotta know our and our vessels limitations. 

[CutNRun]

When I had my Hydra Sports boat, on a few windy days, I fished a point on Buggs (Kerr Lake @N.C./Va. border) where I'd have to run the trolling motor on 24 volt high and still get pushed backward as I drifted acorss a steep point.  The bass would stack up on the leeward side of the point & grab shad as the wind driven currents would push them across the point.  About all I could cast was a 3/4 oz. Little George and I'd only get a couple of casts in before I'd either catch a fish or would be too far beyond the point to catch anything.  What made me give up was when waves started breaking onto the deck of my bass boat.   

 

When I'm in the kayak, whitecaps are a no-go.  It takes too much effort to move into the wind and it gets downright dangerous if you turn parallel to the waves.  I'd rather be safe and live to fish another day.

 

Jim