Wind direction 2024
BASS fisherman reply :
How does wind direction play a role in fishing?
And I don't wanna hear "the wind blows the plankton and algea into the down wind shore, and that attracts baitfish, and the baitfish attract the bass."
I have heard if the wind is coming in from a certain direction, the fishing will be better and so forth.
What's the deal?
fourbizz reply :
the wind blows the plankton and algea into the down wind shore, and that attracts baitfish, and the baitfish attract the bass and so forth....jk
all I know is : "I like wind, it is my friend"
BASS fisherman reply :
Why in the heck is wind your friend?
fourbizz reply :
Because I believe that it helps the bite a TON! Many, many times I have been having a real tough day, and when the wind kicks up, the bite will turn on. It doesn't hurt that wind is often associated with storm fronts here either.
BASS fisherman reply :
hmmmmmm, interesting. I have yet to notice that the bite turns on when the wind picks up. To me it seems the bite dies when the wind picks up.
fourbizz reply :
no way dude! some of the best bites i have been on have been in three foot rollers!
BASS fisherman reply :
3 feet? Wow that is some wind.
fourbizz reply :
clearlake and the california delta can get pretty big. add in giant yachts on the delta, and it can get pretty sketchy in a small boat.
KU_Bassmaster. reply :
It goes:
Wind from the .....................
South, bass open their mouth
East, bass bite least
West, fishing is the best
MY MOTTO:
Wind from the .......................
North, go fishing
South, go fishing
East, go fishing
West, go fishing
Can't go wrong.
BASS fisherman reply :
QuoteIt goes:Wind from the .....................
South, bass open their mouth
East, bass bite least
West, fishing is the best
Is it true or an old wives tale? Like the cow one.
KU_Bassmaster. reply :
As far as I am concerned it's a wives tail. It's not like one day I am going to be like "Oh crap. The wind is from the east. I better stay in"
Wind direction can be a sign of weather conditions though. That I believe a LITTLE more in, but there is still a lot of grey area there as well.
BassChaser57 reply :
You will find that some wind will make some chop on the water thereby causing light to diffract on the surface. This does four things which are; lessening the light penetration to the fish, obscuring the fishes vision above the surface, dislodging plankton starting the food chain, and making continuos surface noise so your noise is not as noticeable. The bottom line is it makes the bass feel more secure and feeding increases.
As for wind direction;
I do not believe it is the wind direction BUT the barometric pressure associated with the wind direction. A south or west wind NORMALLY is associated with stable weather (stable pressure) where as an east wind is normally associated with an approaching cold front (dropping pressure), when the front passes (rising pressure) the wind will come from the northwest, the wind calms, and the clouds will dissapear causing the toughest fishing conditions.
The approaching cold front normally will cause the fish to get aggressive as the front gets close (fast pressure drop)and will slow as the front passes (pressure rises.) Deer do the same thing -- feed alot just before a storm.
I my world, I just go fishing any time possible, I simply realize when the fishing normally will be slower and when it should be a bit faster action. Good Luck
8-)
jdw174 reply :
I never let wind direction stop me from going fishing. A little chop on the water can help the bite enormously as it keeps the fish a little more active. I'm not a fan of wind if I'm trying to fish a worm as I have a tough time feeling the bite with the line bowed.
Re the comment made about 3' rollers.....when I lived on the shores of Lake Erie and did a lot of smallie fishing, I can remember being in rollers like that (and a few larger 
) and hooking into a 3+ smallie on darn near every cast. 
cart7t reply :
QuoteQuoteIt goes:Wind from the .....................
South, bass open their mouth
East, bass bite least
West, fishing is the best
Is it true or an old wives tale? Like the cow one.
In my 30 + years of bass fishing I've found fishing to be the worst with a wind with an easterly component to it. I'm almost to the point where I won't even bother going out if the wind is going to be blowing from that direction. I've never experienced issues when it was blowing from any other direction. I don't think it really has anything to do with the actual direction of the wind but more a matter of barometric air pressure. Most of the time we get easterlies around here is because a low pressure system is passing way to the south of midwest. For some reason it just turns the fish off.
justfishin reply :
This is only my opinion but, I feel that the first part of your letter is true to the tee ( plank. gets blown,followed by baitfish,followed by the bass. Also, I think the wrinkled water from the wind gives you some added stealth. I also feel that the wind can create more current than you think and that the fish move with the current or to get out of it. I like to fish the backside of anything blocking the wind blown created current. I also feel that the colder the water the more this holds true.
Catt reply :
The only time wind affects my fishing is when it's above 20 mph regardless of direction.
justfishin reply :
I have to agree with " fourbizzle " some of my best days have been on the most miserable,windy,2'roller days. I think that it turns things on personally. I think when someone says that this is just the opposite that they are just not feeling the bites as well. When it gets windy I usually use jigs and soft plastics with added weight and, at least for me switch to a spinnerbait a lot. Riprap and the eddie side of wind blown areas are two great places to start your search when the wind jumps up.
dizzy5868 reply :
I agree with basschaser57 with some exceptions. Here in Pa. I fish the Susquehanna river in the wilkes Barre area and when the blows from the south there is definetly a tough bite. There could be 20mph winds out of the north and the bite is on. Anytime the wind blows upriver forget it. The bite sucks. Have'nt figured it out yet. The opposite is true on Lake Wallenpaupack. A north wind shuts them down every time. I think it has to do with bottom contour of the lake or river and how the wind effects the the water movement. I still fish in any condition, thats whay it's called fishing not catching.
Rob
Way2slow reply :
Wind, and old wives tale???. Yes, wind and wind directions have a definite affect on bite. Some of that is based more so on the pressure systems causing the wind directions but some directly related to direction. Wind creates artificial currents that attract bass. Also, hard winds blowing straight down a wide channel drives bait fish up on the longer shallow points going out into that channel. Some of the best fishing I've gotten into in recent years has been where bass were stacked on these points like cord wood feeding on those helpless baitfish. When the wind gets strong and yes, with 2 - 3 foot white caps as mention, where the trolling motor will not even stay in the water, I head to these types of points or heavily blown banks. They are a pain to fish, but if you're hidding from the wind, you're possibley passing up some of the best fishing you could hope for.
Whether the cows are up and feeding, or laying down have any affect, since they are domestic animals and may have a lot to do with the farmers feeding schedule, who knows. However, if you are seeing deer and way more other wildlife as you're getting to the lake or along the banks while fishing, you can bet the fishing is going to be better also. I do contribute the same conditions that have the wildlife up, moving and feeding as to having the same affect on the bass. Been doing the game a long time and have made this observation for many years and have come to swear by it.
RoLo reply :
For the record, according to an article I read, the water current that's produced by wind is surprisingly little.
I tried to locate that article but failed, but from what I recall, a 10 MPH wind produces a water current of about 1 MPH.
It's hard to appreciate this from a boat, because our boats ride on the surface of the water where the wind's work is most violent.
Be that as it may, I'm not disturbed by wind until it insults my Boat Control, then even if bass are biting it becomes difficult to exploit
Another type of wind that I do not like is a cold wind, when the air is colder than the water
and the wind is driving the air temperature into the water. This normally but not always means a noreaster or norwester,
in short, an arctic front. Winds that I look forward to are warm winds, typically out of the southern hemisphere.
Oh and one other thing, the wind blows the bioplankton and the forage fish follow the.........................never mind
In truth, I don't even believe that bass follow the baitfish, I believe that the bass are already there,
and when the baitfish move in with the plankton, they trigger a feeding spree, which ends as soon as the baitfish move out.
Maybe one day we'll learn the truth.
Roger
Panamoka_Bassin reply :
When I was commercial fishing up here on Long Island, we'd say "West is best, East is least." I went back over my logs from then, and I was pretty amazed at what I found. Genrally, the fishing was steadier and more consistant with the wind from a westerly quarter, yet, the biggest hauls we had came from an eastern wind. Otherwise, during an east wind, it was pretty slow. Basically Feast or Famine with an east wind. Adding up the total tonage between the winds in a year, we caught more on a west wind about 3 to 1.
As for the idea of the wind moving plankton, bait, etc., I do agree with the principle that wind will "pile up" the bait, but I find its more on the leeward side (the west side in an easterly wind {windward->->-> leeward}) of points and not so much on the windward shore. As Roger said, the wind affects the water current very little, but the bait fish have an inate sense to be in calmer waters, with the bass hanging on the fringes to scoop up easy meals. Imagine watching a trout behind a rock in a river. All around the water is moving downstream agressively, but the trout finds that small oasis of tranquility behind the rock's eddy. When the fish sees something to eat, it darts out to grab it, and moves back to his safe spot. I know the condidtions aren't quite the same, but you get the picture.
Lastly, since I usually fish in a canoe, I hate the wind because its always a long paddle home against the wind...
MattStrykul reply :
I was wondering the same thing about the wind. I remember this past summer my brother, uncle, and I were out fishing lake gaston and it was getting hot and windy. We were about to call it a day, but then we got up to this shallow point, where my brother caught 3 fish within 2 minutes. They weren't very large, but it was 3 fish in 2 minutes. It was really cool and that was the 1st time we'd experienced that.
gatrboy53 reply :
wind causes the surface to create a light defraction which causes the fish to be alittle less cautious and expand thier territory.it causes current to an extent which can trigger fish to feed and or move.wind which causes current can position fish which can make them easier to locate and catch.bright bluebird skys i'll always look for the windy side if possible.you can fish more type baits in the wind opposed to slick bright conditions.
nboucher reply :
I'm always amused by the variety of responses whenever this subject comes up. I have no idea about the mechanisms through which barometric pressure affect fish--maybe some biologist out there can tell us how this physcially works on a fish. But I do know that wind is a surface phenomenon, and aside from pushing zooplankton around on the surface, how can bass possibly sense wind or wind direction unless they're surface feeding?
Go swimming underwater on a windy day. Once you're underwater, you have no idea how much wind is on the surface. Unless you're fishing in very shallow water, how can wind possibly affect bass, except as they chase bait fish in search of shifting zooplankton? And, as Roger said, whether they even do that is far from certain . . .
Catt reply :
With out getting into a whole metrological study, Wind is caused by air flowing from high pressure to low pressure, & high pressure and low pressure causes barometric changes. Wind, high/low pressure, barometric changes, water temperature, seasons, ECT all affect wildlife to a degree. The angler has the view the whole equation as do the fish, trying to determine which has the greater affect is not possible.
I have seen occasions where it was to my understanding all the conditions were correct far the fish to be active only to be skunked. On the other hand I have experienced the exact opposite.
While these atmospheric conditions affect how actively fish feed there are four biological factors that fish must do in order to survive.
1. Reproduce effectively
2. Feed efficiently (maximize food intake and minimize energy output)
3. Prosper during extreme seasonal changes
4. Achieve good growth rates by domination of the warmer areas of the lake during the colder seasons.
You see it can be 28 degree with a north wind howling and water temperatures hanging around the lower 40s a bass still has to feed or die.
guest reply :
I like a light breeze that is blowing at say 7mph. directly away from the ramp. I tie on a jig, the wind pushes me along nice and steady. And all I have to do is fish and groove on the beauty of nature.
Fishin49er reply :
Speaking of wind. I was out on a little pond near my house today, throwing a spinnerbait. But it wasnt what you call perfect spinnerbait weather, bluebird skys and no wind. Got Nothing, but as soon as a little wind came through and disrupted the surface, i caught one on the wind blown side. Wind died down again and nothing after that.
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