Windy Conditions.

Fishing in Windy conditions

By Joseph Jordan

Just the other day I was out on the water doing some filming for another webisode of Fishn’ with Joe. As always I was happy to be out but, I knew the fishing would be tough because of a stiff 20 mph wind blowing out of the Southwest. Many times in the spring when the fishing is the best we have our windiest days but, there are a few strategies that I’ve developed to help me deal with that wicked winch the wind.

The first strategy I’ve learned is to know the weather before I go out fishing. Know when the sun rises, when the sun sets, temperatures throughout the day, cloud cover, barometric pressure, wind direction and wind speed. There are many places online or on television where detailed hour by hour information is available. Be sure to use this information in planning a fishing trip. I collect as much information as possible about that day’s weather and the next day’s weather in case the unfortunate event arises that I get stuck out on the lake overnight.

The second strategy is to be flexible. Let’s say that I want to go fishing at a lake that has a relatively north south orientation with few coves like Griggs Reservoir in Columbus, Ohio. I know that most of the fish I might catch will be on the west bank near the brush piles and boat docks. I have checked the weather report and I have a Twenty mph wind gusting from the Southeast. This tells me ahead of time that the wind will be pushing the back end of my boat right into the bank. Sure I can use boat positioning to try to keep the back of the boat off the bank but, I’m confident I’ll be fighting it all day long. I may be expecting to put ten fish in the boat that day with no wind but, in my mind I know that by battling the wind I may only be able to put two or three fish in the boat. Is it worth it for me to battle the wind?

If I’m fishing a tournament on a windy day battling the wind is a must. I’ll just have to put up with it but, most of the time its not. My option is to opt out of going to Griggs and look at my maps for another lake that has good tree cover to block the wind and areas with an east west orientation. I might expect to catch five or six fish at that lake on a good day instead of the ten that I could catch at Griggs but, this isn’t a good day because there are Twenty mph winds out of the Southwest.

I’d opt to go to a lake like Alum Creek near Delaware, Ohio instead. The lake has lots of coves heading east and west and the southern banks of those coves will help shelter me from the stiff wind. When I’m fishing in these spots most of the day the back end of my boat will be comfortably pushed off of the bank by the wind. Those are my fish and that is my type of fishing. I’m going to put my five or six fish in the boat instead of the two or three I would have caught at Griggs and be much happier. Sure I’ll think about Griggs and what would have happened if there was no wind but, I am confident I’m putting more fish in the boat at Alum.

Now that we have hit the most important point I’ll throw in one more guideline that I’ve found to be effective. It is using heavier baits. In windy conditions fish are much more likely to attack larger bait because they often feed in a more aggressive manner. The increased current associated with wind often cuts down on the amount of time that fish have to look at the bait before it goes by. Heavy baits are also much easier to cast in windy conditions and will sink faster.

Try these simple tips on a windy day and I’m sure they will help you to put more fish in the boat.