Hi AMFisHers! This weeks AMFisH(Visit today: www.amfish.ca) fishing vlog is about how to fish more effectively on windy days.
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Wind can be our best friend while fishing or our worst enemy so there are key items to take into consideration when you arrive to a lake and see it is a very windy day. One of the first things I like to do is start a chat with any locals that have arrived to fish as well, this is a great way to get a better understanding of what the last few days have been like in that area. I will ask stuff like has it been windy like this all week or how has the weather been here this past week, both great starter questions to gather more info on how to approach your day on the water.
From here I take a few minutes while getting ready to observe the wind and waves, so I can get a better gauge on speed and my strategy moving forward. Once I am on the water I feel the lake out, by paddling out in my kayak and stopping to see if there is only one wind direction I am dealing with or two like in this video. From here I immediately head into a streamlined shoreline casting approach, where I drift with the wind to gauge speed again and it’s much easier to fish with the wind than against it.
There are a variety of baits that can do well with a little wind, first one being a spinnerbait as it is best fished with a slight wind. You can also try some lipless crankbaits, soft plastic swimbaits, jerkbaits and spoons, all good choices for casting with the wind and possibly into the wind if need be due to the weight/profile of these baits causing minimal drag in the air. As I have these baits ready to go I cast the shorelines to try and locate any tight to shore holding fish or moving fish that are chasing down schools of bait fish, as those windy days stir the water up a lot causing massive movement of the feed bait fish feed on hence causing the predator fish to follow the bait they feed on.
Any attempt at fishing directly in an open water area on a windy day is quite the task, as is trying to fish slow bait presentations that require keeping your bait in the strike zone for as long as possible. If I locate fish along the shorelines on the above baits I stick it through until the fish stop biting then I review my approach again. If the fish are not near the shorelines I back myself out several yards to try and find that deeper edge of water, anywhere from 8 to 15ft where I try these same baits again either casting or trolling them which is a great way to fish on windy days.
Trolling is quite the natural bait presentation, as it a bait in a steady swimming motion that is covering a lot of water and again is easier to do on windy days. If there are still no bites I stay in this same area and slow things down by dragging a bait along the bottom while the wind blows me along the lake. Good baits to do this with are soft plastic swimbaits rigged on jig heads, deep running crankbaits, soft plastic tubes, any soft plastic bait that can be rigged on a lead jig head and dragged along will do the trick.
Depending on the species you are targeting you can really put a pattern together on windy days by trying some of the above baits and strategies, which can also include trying to tuck into bays and direct target casting areas within that bay with slower presentations like the ones above as well. The key thing to realize is when the wind arrives you automatically need to adjust for what is happening, in order to be able to fish that day.
Now on really windy days where you are unable to even cast any bait, the choice of trolling is quite clear as being the only option for you. Trolling can be quite productive and it can be done in various conditions, so when it gets far too windy use a high confidence trolling bait and get to covering as much water as you can, moving in and out of shallow/deep water to locate moving fish. Remember to always keep safety at the top of your list and if wind picks up to an extreme level, it’s best to leave fishing for another day.
Here is a recap of the key items to note when wind and waves arrive: user heavier baits, used baits with aerodynamic body styles, cast with the wind instead of into it, tuck into shoreline bays, avoid fishing open water as it will be much more windy, consider trolling for a while and cast the shorelines with the wind carrying you along. Learning to utilize the wind is a must as it will help keep you fishing more often instead of trying to avoid those windy days.
Hope you found this video helpful…tight lines everyone!
The AMFisH guy…
Visit today: www.amfish.ca
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