Pardon me for being a newbie and asking too basic questions.

Could you guys give me some hint on how strong wind (19 mph) affect bass fishing from the bank? I know temporature is another important factor too. But in my case the temporature over the last few days has been rising from 40's to 70's (today). It is also cloudy out there and there will be a heavy thunderstorm coming tomorrow. Also considering the factor that it is almost full moon, which I heard people say that fish should be biting strong.

I am really fighting myself over whether to go fishing this afternoon. Any suggestions? :-[

BTW, I am in Birmingham, AL, if it helps. :

to state the obvious, you can't cast that far into the wind and it gets pretty old if its blowing in your face.

its tough to feel bites on slow moving lures with a big bow in your line.

Lures don't track straight when your line bows and you'll need a 3/4 oz weight to keep a lure on the bottom without it drifting.

Windy days can be great fishing under cloudy skies but bluebird skies means less bites (cold front).

My prediction is it will be a great day fishing if you can figure 'em out

By the way its not a basic question.

good luck

Dude I've asked the same question a few times. Don't feel bad, it's not incredibly basic and it's helpful to understand what the wind does.

Fishizzle is right about the cloud cover/bluebird days. Another thing to consider is what type of grass/algae/weed cover your pond or body of water has. The wind will push plankton and other small forms of life to the bank in which direction it is blowing. In turn, the bait fish will follow. When the wind really whips up though the bait fish can be really spread out depending on what kind of body of water it is. If you can find out where the baitfish are holding then you should be able to locate the bass.

I don't do well in the wind from shore but I have caught a few from the boat during a windy day. Try search baits like spinners (excellent under windy conditions). I'd go with a 3/8 to 1/2oz spinner to keep it down in the column a little more.

The wind on the water breaks up the sunlight penetration and spinners blades shine during these times. With a quick retrieve the bass see the flash and you can get some good reaction strikes as they don't have time to analyze the lure. Also Rat L Traps would probably work pretty well under these conditions. Vary your colors according to the color or stained level of the body of water.

Good luck. Just some things I've learned here and from magazines.

Thanks a lot for the reply.

I am thinking fishing right under (kind of) a small steep hill on the southside of a cove. Since the wind is SSE, It is probably not going to blow right in my face (although I would definitely feel the wind). From the weather forcast, the temporature would drop to below 60 tomorrow night. But it is warm right now (68 degrees). So I guess the accurate description would be a day before the cold front.

I say, tie on a Rat-L-Trap or vibration lure of your choice, and go sling it!

Work as much area as you can. Fish can do things, as far as location, that baffles the most educated of fisherman this time of year. BTW, you need some wind to help a trap bite.

Wind effects:

1.- It reduces the light penetration

2.- It lifts sediment and increases turbidity which reduces light penetration and reduces the viewing distance of the fish.

3.- It dislodges insects and larvae from vegetation and cover which causes baitfish to go and eat them and where baitfish are bass will be.

4.- It concentrates plankton into the windblown area which causes planktonic eating baitfish to concentrate into that area and ... where baitfish are bass will be.

Pardon me for being a newbie and asking too basic questions.

I am really fighting myself over whether to go fishing this afternoon. Any suggestions?

Um I would have to be a governor or a president to pardon you so I can't help you there  

But the wind has dictated where I fish from a small lake or pond to keep it at my back so I don't catch alot of fish in the wind because I can't fish techniques I want to use where I want to try them.

On the other note.  Don't fight your self on whether or not you will go fishing !!!!!!!!!!!! Go. You can be certain that you Will Not catch any if you don't give it a try. Just my 2 cents.

Raul is right on, the plankton will be pushed into shore, bait fish will follow and so will the bass. It will be hard to cast so I would use a lipless crankbait like a "Rattle Trap" or a jig and trailer that I would swim rather than hop. Depending on the wind it might be hard to keep contact with a hopping jig.