If you hate the wind raise your hand.
I don't blame you, but personally I love wind. It can blow as hard as it wants--well almost as hard as it wants--because I know that the wind creates opportunities for fishing success.
I can't begin to count the number of great musky and walleye catches I have made when the wind was blowing. I remember one evening catching five muskies up to 44 inches in two hours on a windy night. There was only one other boat on the water and at the end of the evening we laughed at the great fishing we both had.
My good friend Spence Petros always tells a great story of the smallmouth outing he had catching three smallmouth over five pounds while the boat filled with water. In fact, if I recall, one smaller bass (4 pounds) swam out of the boat!
The point: wind does not have to be the enemy. Wind from any direction reduces light penetration and a fish's visibility, it makes their location more predictable, and concentrates fish. It does not matter if they are bass, walleye, or muskies, the same principle holds true.
WHEN THE WIND BEGINS TO BLOW there are five areas where I concentrate my efforts. All five areas have one thing in common--they are upwind of where the wind first makes contact with a structural element, and it is usually the most wind-blown area. Most of the time, this wind causes predators to move to the upwind portion of a structural element. I can only speculate that this may be a result of baitfish disorientation, resulting in a prime feeding opportunity.
When fishing rock humps for walleyes or muskies, concentrate on the upwind side or an upwind rock finger or projection. It won't take long to determine if there is an active group of muskies or walleyes. I say group because commonly that is what you find in windy conditions.
Another area is shoreline-connected bars. Visualize a bar that is over 100 yards long. The wind may make only a 15-yard stretch worth fishing and that may only take 20 minutes to fish. On a calm day, if you were to fish the entire bar it might take over an hour. Windy conditions make structures such as this much more fishable in less time.
ROCKY POINTS CAN BE EXCELLENT when the wind blows. Earlier this summer I was fishing a walleye tournament and when the wind was blowing the big fish would move to the points and the walleyes could be caught on 1/16-ounce Fuzz-E-Grubs tipped with leeches. When the conditions flattened, so did the shoreline areas. We had to change to trolling crankbaits over the mud basin to catch our limit. Had we stayed with the shallow-water points we would have come up empty. Knowing how the wind affected the walleyes was key to cashing a check during this tournament.
Weedy shorelines are another area to fish during the wind. Wind-generated currents cause predators to move towards the outside weedline. Rather than checking the entire weed flat, concentrate your efforts on the weedline. Fishing crankbaits along the weed edge is a great technique during windy conditions for catching bass, walleye, or muskies.
My final favorite area to fish during windy conditions is the upwind side of a neckdown area. I call this area a "push." The current is increased in these areas and baitfish area also concentrated. A push may occur in a neckdown section of a lake or between two islands. These areas commonly are underfished, but can pay off with big fish.
Remember, windy conditions are no time for finesse presentations. Use techniques to cover water, because the fish are usually more active.
Copyright (c) 1996 Jim Saric. All rights reserved.
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