Wind strategies?

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Rich Stern

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I fished Lake Lanier in pretty heavy winds yesterday morning. It made for a wild ride in the boat on the main body of the lake with 3' swells coming in short frequency.

The really tough part was wind playing havoc with my fishing. I stuck with spinning reels to avoid backlashes, but often there was so much bow in my line, I couldn't tell what was going on with my lure. I could only get bites on a finesse worm. When the wind was doing it's thing, I had almost zero chance of detecting a bite unless the fish pulled the line far enough away to put pressure on the rod.

It was gusting and shifting direction quite a bit, so even when I tried to get the wind at my back, I was only able to make a couple of casts before needing to chase the wind again.

Any tips "from the pros" for these circumstances?
 
Go with a heavier weight Rich,...and buy a drift sock if you need to. We fish in wind and waves all t he time up here, and under those conditions we'll put a drift sock out to slow us down and we'll upsize in weight to get that bait to the bottom...you'll never detect a strike with that much bow in your line unless you can maintain contact with the bait. If you normally use a 1/4oz or 3/16...go up to a 3/8 and you'll keep that bait on the bottom and you'll catch more fish,....if it's windy,...add weight,......dead calm..decrease weight....use as much or as little as you can get away with and still feel the bait. Also try and position your boat so you cast directly into the wind and still affectively fish your target,..by doing that, the wind will cause the line to bow towards you and you'll be able to feel the strikes much easier, than if it was blowing your line and lifting it away from you... That'll help you on those windy and dead calm days!! Good luck!!Regards,
Mac
Regards,
Mac
 
Mac is right on. What I do here in Texas when the wind blows, I get out the carolina rig, with a 3/4 oz weight, and use a 4-5" finesse worm and c-rig the windblown points and underwater ridges.

I use a "sea anchor" also, (something you normally only see on the Texas Gulf Coast), I have never seen another Texas angler using them on a bass boat, which slows my drift down perfectly, and also keeps my boat in position. As a guide, it is important to keep the clients well positioned.

I catch tons of big bass that everyone else is missing, due to the fact that they are either hiding in a cove somewhere when it's windy, or they just stay home on those days.
http://hometown/aol.com/myhomepage/centexbassinc/business.html
 
When possible, position your boat closer to the target you are fishing. Do like we did at Truman - tie your boat to a stick-up within easy reach of several others, fish them and move on...... If you use flippin' techniques or very short casts you'll have much less wind pull on the line.

It's frustrating, but, with practice, you'll become proficient at thumbing the spool to avoid most of the backlashes.

Use the opportunity to explore shelterd coves that you may not have fished before!

Practice using jigging spoons. (I need this advice!)

Take Jeannie along - she'll help find and catch fish regardless!

me!
 
Hey Tom,

What is this Sea Anchor you mentioned? I'm looking for something that will help me battle this Oklahoma Wind. I tried to go to your homepage link but it didn't work for me. May very well be my machine.

Thanks

John K.
 
sea anchor, drift sock, wind bag.....it comes in many different names. All it is is a fabric bag that is pulled behind the boat to slow a drift or troll....

Bass Pro carries them.

Mini
 

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