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You like fishin' in the wind?


BassProAddict

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With the little knowledge of windy conditions that I have, I actually consider this less-than-ideal conditions. All I know is it's a good chance to catch 'em on spinners, jerkbaits and shallow cranks on the waves.

I don't like it all that much but I may be missing the point here. My typical reaction to wind is hind behind coves.Thing is, are them fish even in there? Do they hide too?

What do y'all do when the wind starts to blow? Do you hide? Do you go main lake? What type of structure do you go for when the wind hits?

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I look for edges! Always. With Bass I look for wind breaks. Areas where I can see the white caps but not be in them. The Bass will do the same. The wind will push the Bass into these areas the longer the wind blows from the same direction the more time the fish have to get there, thus more fish in the area. When the wind stops the whole thing falls apart. When it comes to wind alway think of how it is pushing the water around in the lake. Some lakes with deep bays get the water pushed around in them like the air in a whistle ( there is almost always a bar in this type of bay).

Unlike Walleye which you can find in the rip currants of the wind blown shore lines with Bass I look to the calm side of the lake where the water is up welling. This means near deep water. When the wind speed isn't up in the 20's you can see the up welling water by looking for slick water,(areas where the small ripples on the surface disappear and the surface is smooth) this is caused by the water in that area being pushed up higher then the tops of the small waves. Work the breakline of the deep water and work the shallow water in that area and any cover. This is where the Big Bass will be!!!!!!!

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I'm not a big fan of the wind, but when its blowing I'll fish the wind blown areas especially points. The bait fish will get blown in there and the bass will follow. You will be fishing dirty water so its flash baits not finesse baits. Markers are a good idea because you can get blown of your spot so easily if its howling. Besides, you're fishing!

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Wind positions fish better than a dead calm day in my opinion. Wind moves the plankton, which causes the baitfish to follow, and the bigger fish follow the food... I usually fish the windy side of the lake along points and breaks, but will also fish calm water as well, it just depends on my gut feeling. There are no set rules on what to throw on windy days. I have caught fish on anything from drop shots to swimbaits and anything in between.

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Quote:
Wow, now that is detailed MD. How'd you go and figure this out? Seems like you like the wind and know how to play it.

When ever you catch a fish you have to ask yourself why the fish was there. Fish don't act in a haphazard manner and they don't think about what they are doing. They are where the food is and they prefer the food to come to them. So you need to use the environmental cues to shorten your hunt. I do alot of trolling to eliminate unproductive water and after years of doing this and asking myself why the fish were there patterns develop. So watch the water surface for cues and fish the edges. Read the book "Spoonpluging".

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Muddog - if you don't fish muskies, you should start smile The way you describe how you think about wind is exactly how I look at it for both muskies and bass. Bass are predators, and "predators thrive on chaos and turmoil." (quote is from Richard Pearson - a muskie fishing legend who advocated fishing the wind when everyone thought he was insane...) Wind creates conditions that put all the advantages in the predator's favor. The key point in what Muddog said though is that the effects aren't instantaneous. Wind has to be sustained for a while before it really starts to have an influence on fish location/behavior. Wind blowing in on a spot for a couple hours doesn't mean much other than it's harder to fish the spot. 2 days of wind on a spot though - now you're on to something... Wind blown points this time of year make me a very happy bass fisherman...

I should make one distinction here - fish activity can definitely be different depending on what conditions create the wind. Warm wind in front of a weather system can be awesome (I pray for south winds...) Cold, NW wind after a cold front - not as good because fish activity is lower overall. But - under conditions like that when you need all the help you can get, wind is a big help.

I fish windy spots with stuff you can fish in the wind. Crankbaits are definitely my #1 choice. In shallow water spinnerbaits or swimbaits are great too. If you have to slow down, fish vertically with a drop shot or vertically jig a jigworm or grub (amazing how many bass you can catch right below the boat - even in 8 or 9 feet of clear water). Football heads or Carolina Rigs are also great. Anything you can cast into the wind and stay in touch with will work.

Don't fear the wind - use it! Richard Pearson still closes every email with "let the wind do the work!"

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

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