[JeffreyDavisJr]

How important have you found wind direction to be when fishing? I fish a lot of rivers and creeks in the Roanoke and Tar/Pamlico River Basins. I've always heard that fishing is always better when the wind is blowing out of the rivers/creeks. For example, the Roanoke river runs west to east... so fishing in theory would be better if there was a west wind rather than a east wind as the west wind will pull water out of the creeks which in turn get the bait fish moving which of course the game fish follow the bait fish...

I've really started to practice and choose my locations based on wind direction and water currents. Just curious to know if any other anglers have any insight on how to use wind direction to your advantage?

 

[catfish_hunter]

meh i dont buy that nonsense. i've had great days on winds from all directions in the area's your talking about. as long as the winds less than 10 mph I don't worry about what direction. If its blowing more then that then i might change which side of the pam/tar i fish on.

as far as the roanoke goes wind doesn't have much effect on it unless your at the mouth.

 

[trigger22]

You've heard the exact opposite of what my experience has proven. I like the wind to be blowing water into the creeks but catch fish with all directions. Wind direction definitely determines what side of the river I fish

 

[Neilslure]

I cant speak for rivers but on the lakes I dont think direction makes any difference. Any way it blows you can find places to use it to your advantage to locate and catch fish. Some spots only produce when the wind blows a certain direction. Id rather have wind than no wind for sure.

 

[ChltBnks]

As a bank fisherman I look for wind going in the same direction for three days or more. Then it is just following chain of command. Wind in my face means food for bait fish has piled up in front of me; blue gills feeding on bait fish; then bass feeding on both. Especially at night, on goes the ninja outfit and I fish parallel to the HOA banks.

 

[bustman]

Dad always would say hogs would eat on east wind,, seems like it is slower on east wind for me any way

 

[ChltBnks]

In the salt, fishing next to a bridge on the outgoing side with the current and wind blowing east, the sandeels get washed out of the sod banks. This was always a good time to use bigger lures. I personally feel people who go fishing look at the wind or cold front moving in. People who go catching keep a log and do their homework and look for location, location, location.

 

[RouseD]

I just hate a wind that is blowing hard enough to make it difficult to keep my boat in the direction I want it in.

 

[ChltBnks]

I just hate a wind that is blowing hard enough to make it difficult to keep my boat in the direction I want it in.

You know what I want to say to that but I don't want to upset wademaster again.

 

[RouseD]

Another thing that gets blown out the window occassionnally is a blue bird day not being a fish catching day. Went last Thursday I think, and did well with no clouds in the sky at all.

 

[SurfRider]

I can hear Joel Richardson in my head from fishing at Belews with him once... "The wind is your friend!" I fished once with Maynard Edwards on High Rock, and he chanted the old "West is best, East is least, South blows it in their mouth, and North- brave fellows go forth." Having that in my head, I have had some craptacular days on a West wind, some great days on a North wind, and well... I don't recall an East wind, it's always NE or SE shifting to South, but almost never out of the due East.

Personally, I hate the wind. I tolerate it because I have to, and I have heard all the people who love the wind chime in on how it concentrates the bite, but.... I'm a soft plastics guy and the wind just hampers my bread and butter tactic. I'll catch 'em any way I can and I have done just as well on windless days as windy ones for my style of fishing, sometimes better. I think it just depends on what you like and how you like to fish it. Guys who fish a lot of moving baits I find typically like the wind, but I guess I'm just the weird one. I don't care for it.

I will try to capitalize on it if I think wind is moving water across points or structure and creating current; I don't ignore it, I just don't like it. I guess I just take whatever direction it's blowing and make the most of it.

 

[Fish_Fiend]

Yer not gonna keep the wind from blowing so dont give it the satisfaction of keeping you from fishing!

Gene - Red》X《 - Asheboro

 

[Bleedingblue]

I'm in the 'I like wind' camp. As far as direction goes, I think it is slightly better when the wind is out of the S-SW-W as opposed to the E-NE-N. The reasoing is if you think of the coriolis effect, low pressure systems rotate in a counter-clockwise direction. As these approach the area the wind is TYPICALLY out of the S-SW-W. As they pass the wind will shift around and post-frontal the wind is form the E-NE-N. Now while you can still catch fish in post-frontal conditions I don't think anybody can make the arguement that post-frontal will be better fishing than pre-frontal conditions.

I'll take any wind over no wind. I'll take overcast over wind.

 

[jab0106]

OP for the areas you mentioned you are on the right track...wind is crucial there, for the bass at least, which is what I think you're asking for. Neuse/Trent is likewise important, but more due to how the wind affects water levels.

 

[JeffreyDavisJr]

OP for the areas you mentioned you are on the right track...wind is crucial there, for the bass at least, which is what I think you're asking for. Neuse/Trent is likewise important, but more due to how the wind affects water levels.

Is there any other fish besides bass?! HAHA JK. But yes, glad someone agree'd with the theory.

 

[Neilslure]

Now while you can still catch fish in post-frontal conditions I don't think anybody can make the arguement that post-frontal will be better fishing than pre-frontal conditions.

I can recall alot of really good days right after the front and some bad days before the front. I dont buy all that mess about fronts, you may not catch them in the same place you did yesterday but once you find them it can be a great day. Fronts change the weather and water conditions, when those change, the fish will too. IMO a front is just an excuse for the guys who dont adapt when their fish disappear.

 

[jerry condrey]

My experience is northeast wind sucks for fishing most of the time. Usually this is because a system is moving out and the "wrap around" winds in advance of a cold front shut them down.
That being said..Ahem..
Yesterday we caught 27 bass with a 10-12 mph northeast wind, lol.However, they had to be coerced into biting with ole shaky heads..lol
The best time to go is when ya got time!!

 

[Bleedingblue]

I can recall alot of really good days right after the front and some bad days before the front. I dont buy all that mess about fronts, you may not catch them in the same place you did yesterday but once you find them it can be a great day. Fronts change the weather and water conditions, when those change, the fish will too. IMO a front is just an excuse for the guys who dont adapt when their fish disappear.

I have also had good days after a front, and your point is well taken. My comments were written as a general guideline not as a reason to stay home. You fish when you can and do the best you can given the conditions you fish. I agree that at any given time there are fish biting regardless of conditions if you can find them and figure them out. Those days when conditions are tough and you catch fish anyway are some of the most rewarding. Solving the puzzle is half the fun of fishing.

That said, why would you want to have to change patterns if you don't have to? Why would you want to go outside your comfort zone if you don't have to? I guess what I'm saying, is that if fronts have no impact on fishing, then you would have no preference between a day with N wind and bluebird skies over a cloudy day with S wind all other things being equal? I would take the clouds and S wind every time and I think most others would too. That is the point I was trying to make.

 

[lewisfishing]

When you learn to catch fish in any condition, you gain confidence, techniques and skills that make you a better than average angler.

It all depends on how much a person really wants to fish.

In tournaments, we have to fish the conditions of the day. So far, I've never been in a tournament that was cancelled for weather. I have fished with snow dumping over an inch on the boat and having to scrape ice off the steering wheel to have a good grip. I have fished when it was so hot and calm that the shade felt cold.

All that experience has made me a pretty decent bass angler, I think, and I have utmost confidence that I will, not might, catch bass every time I go out.

For some, the only days they can fish are their off from work days...and the weather may not be the best. They can either hold off and miss yet another opportunity to fish or they can go and still enjoy the outdoors and learn a little more about the fish they are chasing.

I vote to "go"!


To fish is human!