Fishing The Wind 2024
Robert Riley reply :
So I fished a small pond the other day, and I was attempting to pick out where to fish based off the wind (something I just learned about).
I've attached a picture of the scenario I fished. The blue star is where I thought I'd catch fish, green is where I did... Opposite of what I thought.
Anyone know why I didn't catch fish at the bottom of the pond? It's not like there was any cover in the calm area, it's a golf course pond.
Lemme know if you want more info
EDIT: The calm spot was bc of a hill that blocked the wind, or so I suspect. The whole shore line is "raised" if that makes sense.
Bluebasser86 reply :
Maybe the wind was stirring up too much mud and making it difficult for the bass to feed? Or that area you caught them at is just plain better cover than the other side. Was the side you were fishing on shaded perhaps?
Robert Riley reply :
It looks almost identical actually. It was nighttime, cloudy and the wind was about 10-15 mph.
gardnerjigman reply :
There was either better cover, better food source, or possibly a spring fed spot in that area. (does the pond ever go dry?)
fishballer06 reply :
I don't know how big this golf course pond is, but more than likely, it's not big enough that the wind would affect the baitfish at all.
Robert Riley reply :
So if size of the water matters, where would you draw the line?
J Francho reply :
I don't think you can generalize location based on wind alone. Take into consideration other factors, such as cover, depth, structure, and effects of wind on water clarity. Also, are there fish on the blue side on calm days?
gulfcaptain reply :
Being it was night, the baitfish may have been on that side instead. And bass in ponds atleast around me cruise when feeding at night especially when there isn't a whole lot of cover to be had.
J Francho reply :
It's a pond....if all the bass are one side, what side would be on, if you were a baitfish, lol. Ponds kind of break the rules. What's a pond and whats a lake? I'd call 150 acres the cutoff.
gardnerjigman reply :
On 10/24/2014 at 3:11 AM, J Francho said:It's a pond....if all the bass are one side, what side would be on, if you were a baitfish, lol. Ponds kind of break the rules. What's a pond and whats a lake? I'd call 150 acres the cutoff.
Can you clarify on the cut off?
J Francho reply :
The OP asked what is a "lake" and and what is a "pond." There's no official metric.
gardnerjigman reply :
On 10/24/2014 at 4:12 AM, J Francho said:The OP asked what is a "lake" and and what is a "pond." There's no official metric.
Thanks man. For whatever reason I got hung up on that one!
J Francho reply :
That's ok, I think a post flew in there before I finished typing.
WRB reply :
Pond brass cruise the shoreline perimeter day and night, that is where most of their food comes from.
Insects are blown into the pond on the upwind side and float down wind, the bluegill and baitfish feed on the insects, the bass on the baitfish. Your presentation in a pond during a windy event is casting into the wind so your lure lands very near store or on the bank and worked back into the water.
If the wind has been blowing for several hours, the bass may move down to the opposite end where it's better oxygenated and baitfish or crawdads are eating the dead insects washed up near the bank.
Keep in mind pond bass cruise the banks rarely stay put in one spot for long periods, unless spawning.
Tom
Robert Riley reply :
On 10/24/2014 at 5:34 AM, WRB said:Pond brass cruise the shoreline perimeter day and night, that is where most of their food comes from.
Insects are blown into the pond on the upwind side and float down wind, the bluegill and baitfish feed on the insects, the bass on the baitfish. Your presentation in a pond during a windy event is casting into the wind so your lure lands very near store or on the bank and worked back into the water.
If the wind has been blowing for several hours, the bass may move down to the opposite end where it's better oxygenated and baitfish or crawdads are eating the dead insects washed up near the bank.
Keep in mind pond bass cruise the banks rarely stay put in one spot for long periods, unless spawning.
Tom
I totally follow you, and that's what I did that night. And I didn't catch a thing.
Paul Roberts reply :
On 10/24/2014 at 1:37 AM, J Francho said:I don't think you can generalize location based on wind alone. ...
X2
Wind has some real advantages, and some real disadvantages. But... they are in relation to real things: current, temperature, lighting, floating cover, prey availability or vulnerability, ... Sometimes these weigh in heavy. We cannot answer why you caught fish where you did based on wind direction alone. Wind may have had nothing to do with it.
Some thoughts:
-It's often easier to fish and detect takes in calm air.
-On a small pond there are probably bass that use all sides of it, although I do have ponds that have the majority of fish on one area or side only, bc that's where the prime habitat (food, security, winter quarters, spawn substrate, ...) is.
-I also have ponds that have areas that require certain techniques that I prefer not to fish, or am not equipped for that day. Lures aren't food. I mean, one lure, tackle, and technique may not work all the way around a given pond -even a small one. I often see two approaches to all that potential: Fish your tackle/strengths and pass up the water that doesn’t fit. Or, bring the tackle shop with you and cover it all.
einscodek reply :
Theres theory and real world.. real world sometimes involves so many factors a general theory cannot hope to accurately model..
Yer talkin a pond where likely if you can rip a 40+ yard cast youd prob be able to cover most of it
Fishing places like that I would simply cover all of it and let the fish tell me where they like to be
rather than where theyre supposed to be
Who knows there may have been an underwater depression there where you caught that fish where the pond bass like to ambush from
Robert Riley reply :
You're talking to a guy that studies physics at one of the best universities in the world haha. I'm all about the theory of it.
The main reason I asked this was bc wind was one of the few variables I could know before I got out there. There is little to no cover, and the depth changes are unknown.
Paul Roberts reply :
Nothing wrong with a theory. Unless it's wrong! 
But then come the proofs. The natural world is a complicated place. Trying to distill it to single factors or dichotomies is (besides what we humans automatically do) a recipe for disappointment. Things are almost always more complicated the deeper you look. Make your theories AFTER you've fished. Works out much better that way. Until the next time you fish!
Sam reply :
We all realize that the "rules of bass fishing" can be destroyed in a New York minute.
Magazine articles; TV shows; guides; friends; the Forum can all state how the bass are supposed to act under different conditions.
What we don't understand is why the bass don't do what is expected under different conditions.
Personally, I would have thrown low into the wind and had the bait float or reeled to me with the wind in my face. This is supposed to move our bait with the baitfish and push the baitfish into the bank being hit by the wind.
Sometimes this works; sometimes this does not work. And I have no idea why.
So please read the above posts and remember: those little green monsters have one goal in life - to drive you crazy.
WRB reply :
Thought you caught 1in the calm end, green star? And expected the down wind end, blue star.On 10/24/2014 at 7:49 AM, Robert Riley said:I totally follow you, and that's what I did that night. And I didn't catch a thing.
Tom
WRB reply :
It's been my experience a lake of 2,000+ acres the bass tend to be more active feeding on the windward or down wind areas, ponds just the opposite, especially at night. All you can do is start where you think the odds are in your favor and adjust from what is actually going.On 10/24/2014 at 8:32 AM, Sam said:We all realize that the "rules of bass fishing" can be destroyed in a New York minute.
Magazine articles; TV shows; guides; friends; the Forum can all state how the bass are supposed to act under different conditions.
What we don't understand is why the bass don't do what is expected under different conditions.
Personally, I would have thrown low into the wind and had the bait float or reeled to me with the wind in my face. This is supposed to move our bait with the baitfish and push the baitfish into the bank being hit by the wind.
Sometimes this works; sometimes this does not work. And I have no idea why.
So please read the above posts and remember: those little green monsters have one goal in life - to drive you crazy.
Tom
Robert Riley reply :
On 10/24/2014 at 8:25 AM, Paul Roberts said:Nothing wrong with a theory. Unless it's wrong!
But then come the proofs. The natural world is a complicated place. Trying to distill it to single factors or dichotomies is (besides what we humans automatically do) a recipe for disappointment. Things are almost always more complicated the deeper you look. Make your theories AFTER you've fished. Works out much better that way. Until the next time you fish!
Nah man, hypothesize, experiment and then make those theories.
On 10/24/2014 at 8:37 AM, WRB said:Thought you caught 1in the calm end, green star? And expected the down wind end, blue star.
Tom
Yeah, I didn't catch one where I expected, the not calm area.
WRB reply :
Upwind or windward vs downwind or leeward. You expected the bass to be on the leeward end of the pond, but caught 1 bass on the windward or point of origin calm end. Lots of folks mix up leeward with the calm water, it's the opposite.On 10/24/2014 at 8:37 AM, WRB said:Thought you caught 1in the calm end, green star? And expected the down wind end, blue star.
Tom
Tom
Paul Roberts reply :
On 10/24/2014 at 8:47 AM, Robert Riley said:Nah man, hypothesize, experiment and then make those theories.
Yeah, gotta start somewhere.
Now, was the wind from the east??
Ozark_Basser reply :
In my experience, pond bass are almost always caught by beating the banks. In smaller ponds, I rarely pay mind to the wind because I can fish the entire thing pretty easily so I don't worry about wasting time fishing unproductive areas. It's cool that you study physics. I studied engineering, and I understand your viewpoint on trying to analyze EVERYTHING to maximize your fishing. However, I've come to find that studying bass is not quite like studying chemical reactions or collisions etc. It's not as predictable.
I find it easy to compare a bass in a pond to let's say a dog in a fenced backyard. It's going to be impossible to predict where the dog is going to be in the backyard on any given day. However, you can use certain factors such as shade on a sunny day or where his food bowl is located to help you dial it down. Same with bass. Just remember they relate to structure, cover, shade, and whatever else will help them get what they need. Whether that be food, shelter, better water quality, etc. But just like trying to predict the location of the dog, you're not going to be able to predict everything about the bass. Just use these guidelines as a starting point and go from there.
I like to start off with power fishing (covering lots of water - spinnerbaits, crankbaits etc) If I get a couple of bites that way, I'll wait till the bite slows then try out some finesse fishing to get a few more bites. All you can do is fish predictable areas and focus on your presentation.
Robert Riley reply :
The wind was coming from the East.
I understand how to "find the fish" in theory as mentioned above. It's just that I was fishing a structure lacking pond, at night haha. So wind is of the few I felt I could use.
Also, it seems like beating the bank is the simplest and probably best thing to do next time.
einscodek reply :
On 10/24/2014 at 8:14 AM, Robert Riley said:You're talking to a guy that studies physics at one of the best universities in the world haha. I'm all about the theory of it.
Well then you got alot to learn young man
the world dont work exactly like they write in those books ya know
and I got my pedigree at one of the best universities in the world too
Robert Riley reply :
Amen man, it's all about the pursuit of knowledge.
Paul Roberts reply :
On 10/24/2014 at 10:49 AM, Robert Riley said:The wind was coming from the East.
Well now, there's the problem! That's when they bite the least!
WRB reply :
It's all about the Pursuit of Giant Bass, the late Bill Murphy.On 10/24/2014 at 11:22 AM, Robert Riley said:Amen man, it's all about the pursuit of knowledge.
The wind from east, the fishing is least....high pressure ridge creates air flowing clockwise around a dome eastward. Wind from the west, fishing is best....low pressure creating westward air flow.
The bass in a golf pond rely on terrestrial critters falling into the pond. Live large night crawlers are like candy to pond bass. At night soft plastic worms work very well and if the pond has any big bass a rat swimbait is hard to beat.
Tom
Robert Riley reply :
Thanks for the full on explanation!
It does have some large bass, and I'm about to purchase a swimbait rod. Might have to invest in a rat swimbait 
RSM789 reply :
On 10/24/2014 at 5:34 AM, WRB said:Pond brass...
These would be the fish that run the pond, no?
WRB reply :
Yes, the big heavy brass bass.....On 10/24/2014 at 1:44 PM, RSM789 said:These would be the fish that run the pond, no?
Tom
TBO reply :
On 10/24/2014 at 3:11 AM, J Francho said:It's a pond....if all the bass are one side, what side would be on, if you were a baitfish, lol. Ponds kind of break the rules. What's a pond and whats a lake? I'd call 150 acres the cutoff.
i thought lakes and ponds were distinguished by depth and/or surface space??
J Francho reply :
There's no standard.
geo g reply :
Once the wind is above a steady 15 MPH, I keep the wind from my back as much as possible and let the wind be my friend. With the wind coming from your back your lines will always be slack free. Casting is easier. Easier to detect bites. A lot easier to control the boat. You are in stealth mode because your not on the trolling motor very much. I will put out a sea anchor and it slows the boat down big time. Don't fight a strong wind, let it work for you! 
The thing I hate the most, is when I have a cross wind, and you just can't change direction, like when fishing a canal. I usually go home early even if I'm catching fish. I just hate fighting the trolling motor all day long..
Bassun reply :
On 10/24/2014 at 10:39 AM, Auggie14 said:I find it easy to compare a bass in a pond to let's say a dog in a fenced backyard. It's going to be impossible to predict where the dog is going to be in the backyard on any given day. However, you can use certain factors such as shade on a sunny day or where his food bowl is located to help you dial it down. Same with bass. Just remember they relate to structure, cover, shade, and whatever else will help them get what they need. Whether that be food, shelter, better water quality, etc. But just like trying to predict the location of the dog, you're not going to be able to predict everything about the bass. Just use these guidelines as a starting point and go from there.
I may use that dog in the pen example next time I'm trying to explain positioning of fish. That's a great visual that most people should be able to relate to. Interestingly enough, my dog (much like bass) seems to hide from me when ever I look for him in the pen, lol.
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