Dead Calm,Slight ,The 5-10,The Strong and The Ball Blustery

[CrappieJohn]

CM....You forgot the wind type that "waits" until you get clear over to the other side of big water before showing up....in your face of course. I was in the Mississippi River backwaters doing some island camping/fishing for a few days. This took place mannnnnnnnnnnny years ago when I was still known to consume a few barley pops. I decide one of the morning to go quite deep into and area I wasn't too familiar with....and decided as well that as long as it was past 7:30 am that I should take some of my barleys. The air was heavy and a very slight SE breeze could be felt if you thought about it a while. I got to where I wanted to go and commenced my angling activities only to be shaken from my barley haze by a crack of thunder that would scare the be-jesus out of anyone. Then I noticed the white line coming acroos the wide bay...right at me. With the black snake coming from the clouds. I managed to get to some shore...more like a floating bog...and flipped the boat over so I could get underneath it. You know ...preservation. Well, I have no idea what happened to that snake, but I can tell you an F-7 alumacraft is NOT good cover in heavy winds. And the human body is NOT hail resistant no matter how many barleys he's had. It hailed so hard and so big that the beer in the cooler got busted- after the wind blew that boat, complete with a 15 horse Evie, clean off from me. And to add insult to the injuries, I had to bail the hail out of my boat before I could begin my trek back to the water...about two blocks. If you ever have a question about why I may not find the wind a very pleasent companion, this should suffice as an answer.

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Plastics...making better fishermen without bait! Good Fishing Guys! CrappieTom

Culprit Tackle Crappie Pro Staff
[email protected]

[CrappieMagnet]

Yeah Tom i can relate to a few of them stories,maybe that's why we became experts on fishing wind.I too don't like seeing any kind of bad weather.I've been out in the sheet rain,sideways rain and seen my buddies hair stand on end too many times.Never again.I am now one of the first ones off the lake when any bad weather approaches!

CM

[CrappieMagnet]

As long as we are throwing wind topics around,i thought i would also mention a few wind variations.

Dead Calm:

This variation can be a pain in ones rear,if it's dead calm before the crappies move shallow.After ice out there's been days on the lakes i hit first in the spring where there is no wind to speak of,yet the sun is shining and yah decide to hit the lake anyways thinking you can at least find some wind.I get there and no wind!Then i need to pull out the lake map and go fish deeper water,transitional areas,sunken islands,underwater saddles and humps,boat docks that have deeper water at the end of them.With no wind crappies are relating to either open water or some kind of structure.That's where i concentrate my efforts.

The Slight:

This variation is one of hope.The slightest wind is a very nice one.The sun is high and the temps are around the 70-80 degree mark.The crappies are in shallow(1-6 ft.) and they are actively feeding and will hit any plastic i throw at them.When they quit biting,either a bigger fish spooks them or it's time to change colors.I often change colors to see what they prefer.But most commonly they need the slightest wind to get them biting again.Sometimes the wind will start,than quit and just gently blow out of the sw.This is exciting...

5-10's:

Aww.My without a doubt...favorite!This variation is when i catch the majority of my fish.I use this kind of wind to my advantage.It always seems crappies prefer this kind of wind to get active and agressive.It doesn't seem i have to put hardly any effort into fishing for crappies in the 5-10's.Some of best fishing i've had is where the dead calm meets the 5 to 10 mph mark.The fish won't feed unless theres wind.You can see if the wind is coming out of the south that particular day and i'm concentrating on the mud on the south shoreline that there is calm water next to the shoreline out to the first 50 yards,seems the majority of the fish are located right next to where the wind is blowing.If i cast into the shallows with no wind,the crops won't bite till i hit the windy part of the lake.These areas could be the first or secondary weedlines.They could also be an inside or outside turn in depth.All areas worth checking out as the water temps rise in the spring.I do alot of fancasting to find concentrations of fish.Once found,i slip bobber them till they quit biting.All C&R,pretty much unless some buddy wants to keep a few of the smaller fish for tablefare.I don't mind that in the least.

The Strong:

This variation of wind is my last attempt at fishing.i know i gotta be half crazy to be fishing in strong winds.But sometimes one can hide behind an island or some kinda of land where the wind isn't so strong it practically blows you out of the boat.Plus there's absolutely no way of controlling the boat and the anchors won't hold!Once those little areas are found(Hopefully) i can sometimes boat some crappies.The wind blows around the plankton,the minnows eat the plankton,the crappies eat the minnows,and i catch them on hook,line and sinker.I really wish it was that easy in the strong!

The Ball Blustery:
COLD FRONT.35-45MPH,RAIN,OVERCAST,WHITECAPS THE SIZE OF MT.MCKINLEY-BAD WEATHER
Ain't no way you gonna get me out in The Ball Blustery.I'm not that crazy about fishing!
Yah right! Who am i trying to kid!
LOL
I learned along time ago,it isn't worth going out in this variation.The crappies are deep and so tightlipped you could'nt even entice them to bite if you force fed them nightcrawlers!And that's if you can feel your fingers to put the nightcrawlers in em'!You know it's cold when you put on longjohns and a parka just to stay warm in The Ball Blustery!

Just thought i would add a little humor in it too!

How does these winds affect you? Humor or no humor..

Have fun and good fishing!

CrappieMagnet

I almost forgot...

60-100+mph winds,hail and lightning:

STAY AWAY FROM LAKES!!!

[This message has been edited by CrappieMagnet (edited 04-29-2004).]