Wind...how do you factor it in?

[clemsondds]

Would like to learn more about wind and how you guys take it into consideration.  Would like to know how you fish based on the wind of that day?  Eg no wind, light wind, strong wind...  I know there are other variables but just want to learn a little more.  I know I have heard that if there's no wind, some go straight to finesse, and if it's pretty steady wind then quite a few are using moving baits.  And also would love to hear about direction of wind...how that affects things (eg SE wind vs NW wind...) Hope that makes sense.  

Thanks everyone

[PaulVE64]

I like a windblown shoreline.

 

[Choporoz]

Great topic.  

  My strength...or at least my comfort/confidence zone is 1/16-3/8 t-rig.  I will still fish t-rig in some wind, but it takes a lot more attention to details and patience.  Boat control becomes harder, but more important.

 I increase weight incrementally, but I still acknowledge early on that I WILL miss bites.  I still work to maintain that 'barely slack' line with bait on the bottom, even with boat moving and wind bowing my line.  Works best if my lure is pretty much straight up wind or down wind from me but that limits casting angles.  One thing I have always done in a kayak that sometimes translates to the boat is setting up barely in the lee of a point (or dock or wall, etc) and casting out into the high percentage areas out in the wind.  Tricky to do usually, but better than trying to manage that retrieve out on the point.

    Spinnerbaits always get thrown when there's any chop, so little changes for me there, except I may choose something a bit more compact simply for castability.  I like cranks ok in the wind, but I do struggle casting them anywhere other than with the wind...traps are good, though.

[TnRiver46]

I always throw a worm unless I can’t feel it, then I’ll try something faster. If the waves are too much blowing against the current I troll a crankbait with the gas motor 

 

first option for me is to hide from it. I don’t think that’s the best option all the time because people catch them on wind blown banks pretty well, I just don’t happen to be one of those people 😂 

[A-Jay]

IME "Wind" is just one piece of 'the puzzle'. 

Can be a little tricky looking at a single deal when it comes to seeing

'the big picture'.

Either way, the wind is almost always a fairly major part of any fishing story. 

 

Assuming we are talking safe wind, in almost every scenario, I prefer at least some.

But there's a quite a bit more to it (which is what makes all this just a blast). 

Direction, speed, duration all factor in there some how.

Then we throw in seasonal pattern, past, present & even future weather patterns,

and the puzzle gets bigger.

Like so much in bass fishing, I have found no hard & fast rules when it comes to the wind.

There's plenty of 'sometimes' stuff that I can & often do often capitalize on.

However, there have been far too many times where, for example 'that special wind blown point' has been a total bust, to call any of this deal a sure thing.

I've managed a few decent fish 'in the wind' and have done OK when there was less wind.

But as mentioned above Flat A$$ Calm can be some pretty tough sledding,

especially up here for northern Brown Bass. 

Except for night time and early morning topwater, then it's like the south side of Heaven.

Fish Hard

A-Jay

 

 

[TnRiver46]

From my travels to Michigan and Ohio, there would be many days I simply couldn’t go. It’s much calmer here for the most part 

[Bird]

Wind is and always will be my #1 consideration when planning a trip..... less is best for this guy and way to many reasons to list as to why I don't like fishing in wind.

 

[Tennessee Boy]

The Rules Concerning Wind

 

1) There are no rules

 

2) Wind causes current and current is very important in positioning the fish.  Always consider the current caused by the wind in addition to other currents.  Remember that any water being moved on the surface by the wind has to go somewhere when it gets to the bank so the current at depth might be different than the surface current. 

 

3) The bait fish tend to be more concentrated on the bank the wind is blowing toward.  

 

4) The ripples and waves caused by wind reduce the light that penetrates the water and the light that does penetrate flickers.  

 

5) The waves caused by the wind can muddy the water when they crash against a muddy bank and they can also wash fish food into the water.

 

6) As you get older the waves caused by the wind get bigger and are more likely to cause you to loose your balance and fall out of the boat. 

 

 

[TnRiver46]

Glenn just posted a video recently, good conversation on the topic. It’s like two threads below this one 

[WRB]

Bass like to face into current created by wind and waves generated by the wind. 

Our local lakes have fairly clear water with depth of light over 15’. Wind breaks up sunlight beams and creates surface mud lines that also reduces clarity slightly. Both these factors help the bait fish activity and that in turn bass feeding activity.

Mid morning to late afternoon wind and direction is NE normally at our local so the bass activity and locations is predictable. A change in wind direction throws a wrench in location and high wind velocity ends your day.

The reaction to wind for most bass anglers is to find more sheltered wind protected areas. Difficult to have good boat control and focus your attention on lure feedback, easier to get out of the wind but you maybe be missing the best bite. 

Jigs are your friend in the wind and diving crankbaits can be good. I like to cast cross wind retrieving lures at the depth I believe the bass are holding. Lures coming from behind bass often spooks them, lures in front of the bass often creates strikes. 

Jigs are very wind resistant small, compact and heavy for their size. This make jigs the easiest to cast into or cross wind without factoring in windage. Crankbaits on the other hand are more difficult do to their tendency to sail in the wind. Cranks baits are ideal trolling lure in windy conditions. You can cast down wind about a 45 degree angle to decrease windage issues yet extend the casting distance with crank baits. The 45 degree angle still puts the lure in the basses sight window.

Tom

[Zcoker]

Wind is my friend, plain and simple. The bass use wind to their advantage to catch forage, so why not use the wind to the anglers advantage to catch the bass? Bass go wild in windy conditions, hitting most anything that moves. Wind blown areas like banks or weed-lines can become giant buffets for bass. The water is also warmer on the wind blown side. Even if the wind clocks up to 20+mph, the bass can be very active under thick mats. Punching about 3 feet in has produced giants in my neck of the woods. The only drawback is control of the craft, positioning and so forth, which can be daunting in certain areas, like open water. Swells can kick up or even white caps. Yet it's still doable in certain places where positioning can still be accomplished. Night time with a windy moonlit night spells trophy fish! I do like those early morning calm conditions but when that wind amps up, it's time to amp up with it! 

[T-Billy]

2 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

people catch them on wind blown banks pretty well, I just don’t happen to be one of those people 😂 

^^^THIS^^^  is when it's time to pick up that spinnerbait. I don't throw a spinnerbait a lot, but if there's fish up shallow, and it's too windy to pitch to 'em, a spinnerbait is my first choice.

[GreenPig]

I'll take light, medium, and heavy winds over flat calm except at night. Only concern about the wind direction is how I need to position my boat before Spot Locking to effective fish my target area. I'm going to stay out in the wind while everybody else goes and hides in coves or heads home. This is the very reason I have a 80 lb trolling motor on a 14' jon.

Our bass like small light baits and they don't care that I'm up there in 10, 20, or 30 mph winds. Many times I'm only able to fish just down wind behind the boat, so I'll make a few cast and jog over with the TM 5 - 10' and continue. 

I will always choose the conditions of pic №1 over №2.

[Susky River Rat]

I fish wind like I fish current in the river. I plan where I go around wind. When it gets cold I like to stay out of it though. 

[gimruis]

No wind at all with bright sun is brutal fishing for me, at least in the summer time.  If I see that, I try to avoid fishing that day because I know the bite is going to generally suck and it will require finesse presentations.

 

A decent wind with some overcast or rain is exactly what I'm looking for in the summer time.  It reduces visibility and allows me to concentrate more on moving lures with an aggressive approach.  Plus it keeps recreational boats off the lake.

[Bankc]

If there's no wind, then I'll sing a song and the double digit bass will jump into my boat, because clearly I've died and gone to heaven.  There's always at least SOME wind around here.  

 

As for wind direction?  That doesn't always matter.  It can in some places.  Like where I live, a Northern or Eastern wind is almost always a cold front and a Southern or Western wind is almost always a warm front, and the bass tend to be more aggressive after a warm front so I'll typically fish moving baits to cover more water if the fish are aggressive, and downsize and fish slower baits if the bass aren't very aggressive, like after a cold front.  But different parts of the country (and world) can have different wind patterns with their fronts, or no real patterns at all.  So it's better local advice than general advice.  Focus more on the fronts than wind direction.  At best, the wind direction just tells you a bit about what kind of weather pattern you're in.  

 

Typically, if it's really windy, I use louder more aggressive moving baits.  If it's fairly calm, I'll use more topwaters.  If the wind isn't too bad, I'll try to fish the windblown banks where the baitfish usually wind up.  But if it's too windy, I'll look for a calm spot out of the wind to fish.  If the wind isn't too bad, I'll try to find places to cast into the wind, because bass will usually face the current.  But if it's too windy, I'll cast with the wind because casting into the wind can be a nightmare.  

 

Basically, wind effects how I fish.  But there aren't any hard and fast rules I always follow.  Wind matters, but it's not the only thing that matters.  So it's something to consider, but it's not the decision maker, in and of itself.  

[Catt]

Pretty much gonna roll with @A-Jay on this one. This is one of those 1,000 piece puzzles.

 

As long as it ain't blowing off the lake I just go fishing. 

 

[Woody B]

I fish when I get a chance....don't plan trips around the wind.  I've found that Bass are more spooky when it's dead calm.   I've also found that wind blown banks can be productive most of the year....but I've left windy areas because I was cold and caught Bass in protected areas.  

 

Basically I'm got more questions about wind than answers.   How deep is the current caused by the wind?   Does the wind affect Bass or baitfish that are 20 feet deep?   A (power company) lake that runs from the North to the South is going to have current from the North, as long as "they" are moving water.   What if the wind is blowing from the South.  A couple weeks ago I was fishing(and struggling) in that situation.   I didn't think about this until I had left,  but are there eddies in certain areas where the natural river flow current is opposite of the wind blown current.   The next time I'm in a situation where the natural current is opposite of the wind current I'm going to seek out "mixing pools" 

[Bankbeater]

The first thing I look at is how hard it is blowing or when it is expected to start blowing hard.  That will tell me which baits I can or can't cast, and which presentations I can use.  Lastly, it will tell me if I'm launching a boat or walking the bank.

[Glenn]

 

[Tlauz]

I like a slight breeze or a good wind of 10-20 mph.  I don't fish big water so that is doable.  When the wind blows I pick up a spinnerbait and a crankbait and throw it all day.  On the lakes I am on it works. I hit rocky areas, reeds, and large weed flats near drop-offs.  On windy days I seem to catch a mix of Large and Smallmouth often in the same area.  Big toothy critters are more active also.  Overall I catch more wacky worming on calmer days but fishing on windy days is my favorite. 

[clemsondds]

Thank you all!  What apps are your favorite for quickly determining the wind situation? 

[Choporoz]

I used Windy for a while.  There was actually too much detail and I went back to simple Weather.com app.  There's probably ways to tweak the display in Windy, but I didn't have enough patience 

[A-Jay]

51 minutes ago, clemsondds said:

Thank you all!  What apps are your favorite for quickly determining the wind situation? 

I use weather underground 

https://www.wunderground.com/forecast/us/mi/gaylord/45.03,-84.68

A-Jay

[J Francho]

Wunderground is cool because you can look at specific weather stations.