Worst Fishing Condition You Encountered? 2025
bassheel reply :
The worse for me is new cold muddy water. What about yours?
HoosierHawgs reply :
Blue bird skies. Just not my strong suit. My strength would have to be overcast+heavy wind.
fisherrw reply :
Super hot and super flat lake. Never could handle that.
ABW reply :
Lightning 
Jd_Phillips_Fishin reply :
Hot summer day and the fish are on ledges 25ft deep
Sam reply :
Cold water and cold air temperatures.
I hate cold weather.
roadwarrior reply :
Mars Platform in the Gulf of Mexico late at night in front of an approaching hurricane.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_(oil_platform)
A-Jay reply :
Back in the day, the "Worst Fishing Conditions" were always times I had no business being out on the water.
Once I figured out that my fishing shouldn't be a life threating evolution, my types of "Worst Fishing Conditions" were still challenging but a whole lot safer.
I have trips when it's a challenging to get bit during conditions I'd expect it to be tough and during periods I don't, that's fishing. But at this point, I'm glad to be out there.
So honestly my worst fishing conditions, are that days I can't get out.
A-Jay
Raul reply :
On 1/3/2015 at 2:42 AM, Sam said:Cold water and cold air temperatures.
I hate cold weather.
Coming from the man that lives in VIRGINIA ( too funny ! )
The absolute worst I´ve encountered is rainy "norte" ( high speed cold wind ) unless I´m fishing a deep canyon type lake those conditions mean that I rather stay on the shore.
RSM789 reply :
Santa Ana Winds. They typically happen here in the colder months, late fall to early winter.
It isn't just the velocity, but the bursts & direction changes. You will go from a steady 10 mph northern wind to a 35 mph gust from the east back to 10 mph from the NE followed by a 30 mph gust from the north. Throw in a few dust devils swirling around like mini tornados. The velocity make boat control & casting accuracy near impossible while the direction changes eliminate calmer spots.
Only positive is they raise the air temps, so the days following them often find the fish more active.
Alonerankin2 reply :
Supercell T-storms, Been caught in a couple of these on the lake, not much warning, Bad, Bad, Stuff...
blongfishing reply :
I absolutely hate the cold weather. The bass in my profile pic is my biggest I have ever caught in cold weather and I caught it last week. So that being said cold is probably worst for me. I like just about any other time. The worst I have ever been is in is lightning and hail. I made it back to my house and parked the boat at my dock and I had marble sized hail coming down on me!
gobig reply :
The worst conditions I have ever seen while bass fishing happend at lake Mead located on the Nevada/ Arizona border. Went from 115 deg to a 90 deg monsoon. For those of you that don't know monsoons deliver torrential down pours causing flash flooding and heavy winds. I have seen big water in several other places but what makes it so bad at Mead are the canyons walls. The wave bounce off the walls back into themselves. There is no trough to run and they are very inconsistent. The wave action is similar to what you would see if you drove your boat in circles only 6-8ft tall.
Slade House reply :
during a tournament , it was raining around 2 inches an hour, in the winter in california. had to quit early
Slade House reply :
then again, their was a day when it was 110 degrees , and there is no shade out here.
Slade House reply :
On 1/3/2015 at 3:51 AM, RSM789 said:Santa Ana Winds. They typically happen here in the colder months, late fall to early winter.
It isn't just the velocity, but the bursts & direction changes. You will go from a steady 10 mph northern wind to a 35 mph gust from the east back to 10 mph from the NE followed by a 30 mph gust from the north. Throw in a few dust devils swirling around like mini tornados. The velocity make boat control & casting accuracy near impossible while the direction changes eliminate calmer spots.
Only positive is they raise the air temps, so the days following them often find the fish more active.
I fricking hate the santa ana winds, so much. they make fishing suck when they're blowing , and everything just goes badly
BassinLou reply :
In one of outings in the glades alone, I had dense fog on the water, required running lights. Then the fog cleared and the sun came out and it was hot!! Then the clouds came back and I had a 40min run in back to the ramp in hard rain. That hurts!! LOL!!
OntarioFishingGuy reply :
Ice not thick enough to ice fish, but too thick to punch with a 4oz weight...
RSM789 reply :
On 1/3/2015 at 4:14 AM, gobig said:The worst conditions I have ever seen while bass fishing happend at lake Mead located on the Nevada/ Arizona border...
There have been a few houseboats sunk there by inexperienced renters who believe the big boat can cruise right through those 5 foot rollers on the main lake. If they are savvy enough to take shelter in a cove, they often don't realize that the nice sandy beach they have chosen to park at is actually the mouth of a flash flood channel. Out of the frying pan & into the fire...
Blues19 reply :
Cold wet weather. When its just warm enough that its rain and not snow... Oh that is the worst. Soaking wet in the cold wind. Can't handle it.
MacDaddyFishin reply :
On 1/3/2015 at 2:42 AM, Sam said:Cold water and cold air temperatures.
I hate cold weather.
I'd have to agree on the cold water. Cold weather doesn't really bother me all that much luckily!
ColdSVT reply :
15ft seas 100miles E of delaware...15ft seas in a 40ft boat for 20hours straight
We did however limit out on yellowfin tuna and i didnt puke...the mate did though lol
Bankbeater reply :
I've been caught in sleet, and in a hail storm.
gobig reply :
On 1/3/2015 at 6:25 AM, RSM789 said:There have been a few houseboats sunk there by inexperienced renters who believe the big boat can cruise right through those 5 foot rollers on the main lake. If they are savvy enough to take shelter in a cove, they often don't realize that the nice sandy beach they have chosen to park at is actually the mouth of a flash flood channel. Out of the frying pan & into the fire...
There was a pleasure boat lost when I was there for the U.S. Open. I would bet 3/4 of the field or more punched waves on day two.
Catt reply :
December through March every year on Toledo Bend!
We are on a pattern of cold fronts every 3-4 days, the air temperatures aint the only problem, with the fronts come 2-3" of rain per hour plus 25-35 mph sustained winds.
Yea I know I've heard em all about how rough it gets where y'all fish but y'all aint got to deal with boat lanes!
Boat lanes on Toledo Bend are 20-30 yards wide & do not run north-south or east-west; most are river or creeks channels. This means you might be running with the chop, into the chop or across it at every possible angle. Get outside these boat lanes & you're running in standing timber inches under the surface.
I've seen boat hulls with 8-14" x 48" rips, huge holes punched in the hull & during one B.A.S.S. Top 150 the whole transom ripped from a Triton.
Senko lover reply :
Pitch black, raining cats and dogs, lightening all around me, and waiting for my ride home. Not fun.
bighed reply :
36' center console with triple 300 yamahas on the GOM running long (~110 miles) in seas that built the farther we went. Destination was a spar rig for tuna at night. Had a 150 gallon bladder on the back deck so no place to put a bean bag chair in the back of the boat until it was transferred. In front of the console it was brutal. Every time the boat fell off the back of a wave it pounded me. Each breath had to be intentional between the pounding and the spray. This went on for hours. The shock snapped every rocket launcher off the t top. The crew discussed the conditions and chose to continue to the rig. The wind layed at dark, we caught fish all night, and returned home in easy following seas when the sun came up. Took about four days to recover
geo g reply :
One time 30 years ago we went too Slims, on the south side of Lake Okeechobee. We went through Boy Scout cut out to the outer edge of the big lake. We had a great couple of hours fishing and then noticed clouds building to the north and the west. After a half an hour the clouds gathered to the south. We were getting circled by this storm. We started running for the safety of the rim canal, and the skies opened up and the wind began to blow. As we got closer to Boy Scout Cut we noticed wind had been blowing water toward the cut and the waves were almost 3 or 4 feet in size. Being so shallow the wave build quickly and it can get ugly. We were so glad to get back to Slims and the safety of the truck. An hour later it was beautiful again.
I learned a valuable lesson that day. Okeechobee can get real dangerous quick when a storm approaches. Don't wait to long to head for the dock, and those cuts become dangerous when all that water builds behind them.
RB 77 reply :
On 1/3/2015 at 3:51 AM, RSM789 said:Santa Ana Winds. They typically happen here in the colder months, late fall to early winter.
It isn't just the velocity, but the bursts & direction changes. You will go from a steady 10 mph northern wind to a 35 mph gust from the east back to 10 mph from the NE followed by a 30 mph gust from the north. Throw in a few dust devils swirling around like mini tornados. The velocity make boat control & casting accuracy near impossible while the direction changes eliminate calmer spots.
Only positive is they raise the air temps, so the days following them often find the fish more active.
This times a thousand! I live right down the road and the Santa Ana's aint' nothing nice! Fishing is bad and catching is often worse!
SMB101 reply :
Arriving at Lk St. Clair only to met with 25+ winds with gusts up to 45, scattered rain and temp drop. Sure was a wet and bumpy ride. Crazy
Bluebasser86 reply :
At Table Rock last April we had it go from dead calm to 30mph winds, rain, hail, and lightening, all in about 20 minutes time. Had some of the heaviest rains I've ever seen start falling 30 minutes after we got to the lake on day this fall, really bad lightening too. I've fished an 8 hour tournament through 20mph winds, rain, sleet, and snow.
corn-on-the-rob reply :
getting caught in 7-10 footers (not an exaggeration it was what the NOAA report said they were) on erie. Coast guard was keeping an eye on us when we were heading in just in case. They said they'd see us on top of a wave, then we would disappear for about 3 seconds, then see us again. We made it because my dad is extremely experienced on erie but I required a change of underwear and pants...
When we were at the bottom of the wave (between two of them) the water towered over us, one of the scariest events of my life.
Oregon Native reply :
Pucker factor right up there when we had to take waves at an angle on the upper Columbia River as when you hit them straight on you felt like you were going to flip backwards.
Cburgert reply :
Today was the worst for me. All ponds and lakes by me are frozen.
gulfcaptain reply :
Trying to catch a bass at night in the middle of Dec. I didn't get one but my buddy did. Other then that, cold, windy rainy days.....Only thing worse then being cold is being wet and cold.
RoLo reply :
I'm assuming that you’re asking about the 'worst fishing conditions' and not the most hazardous fishing conditions.
Among the worst fishing conditions that come to mind is cold muddy water, particularly when the air temperature
is lower than the water temperature. In this situation you’re dealing with a double-whammy:
you're dealing with bass burdened by a narrow sight window coupled by bass with slow reaction times. Furthermore,
when air temps are lower than water temps, there's little hope for an uptrend in temperature or bass disposition.
Roger
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