Here's a great question that all of us can relate to. "Hey, besides telling me you're as frustrated with the wind as I am, really are there any advantages to fishing in the wind or should you just stay at home?" That's really a good question because, man, I could fish in rain, I could fish in cold, I could fish in heat. But man, when it is windy out, that wears you out sometimes for a lot of reasons. It's hard to control the boat. It's hard to cast. It's hard to control your presentation. Really other than having an extreme windy condition where it's not safe out, there is adage to, a saying, "The wind is a fisherman's friend." It actually can be a good thing for several reasons and I'm just going to hit a few of them.
One of them is that it breaks up the light penetration and when that happens bass tend to roam more freely. They tend to be more aggressive and it conceals and kind of camouflages your lure a little bit more. So, for example, if you're fishing the spinnerbait, it makes it look a little more lively, more realistic and the bass are more apt to hit it. So that's number one.
And another reason is, the water can be oxygenated more with wind. Especially if you're fishing, say, in the summertime when the water temperatures are really high and the water has less of capability of holding dissolved oxygen, you get a lot of wind and it'll churn up that surface and it'll get some oxygen going and that will get the whole food chain going. Bass will move up shallower and they'll feed on those baitfish that are moving up shallow feeding upon all the plankton in all the algae that's been worked free from the waves and the wind.
Wind also, if it's been blowing a consistent direction for quite a while, at least several hours, it can produce some amount of current, not a ton but a little bit of current is better than none and bass will set up on those breakpoints. If you've got, say, for example, bridge pilings or you've got a point and the winds going across the point or those chokepoints where there's narrow areas that the water can get through with the winds blowing right down through it, bass will set up on those areas and will ambush whatever lure you bring by.
Also, wind can turn on areas where typically they're not productive. I have a spot on a lake that I fish, it's a stretch of rip rap. The water's really clear and typically when you go through there with crankbaits, jigs or drop shots, what have you, you pick up a couple of fish here and there but it's not all that productive.
However, I've learned when the wind picks up and it's anything over say 12,13 miles an hour, the stronger the better and is blowing right up against that rip rap, man, I run to that spot because I've had days where I'm catching literally every cast, every single cast with crankbaits. It's a bonanza. I'll catch 25, 30 fish in a matter of 45 minutes. So wind can really turn on an area that way.
Wind also can create mud lines. If it's hitting the shoreline, you've probably noticed this with a lot of wind in areas that have this loose topsoil, you'll find this mud that comes out five, six feet, maybe more off the shoreline. Well, the fish will use that mud line just like it would a weed line. They'll conceal themselves right inside that muddy water and then they'll jump out and hit any baitfish that happen by. So if you fish that mud line, you can get really productive results.
So wind can be really productive. It can really help you fish areas that otherwise are not productive or can turn a non-productive day into a fishing bonanza. Just be safe out there. If you don't feel comfortable out there, you feel like you're in danger, get off that water. Fishing is supposed to be fun guys, so don't risk your life just to catch a few fish.
All right. That's it for today's questions. If I didn't get to yours, don't worry, we're going to do a lot more in the weeks to come. And if you have any questions that you've thought about while watching this, hey, feel free to hit me up at this email down below or come to our Facebook page and leave us a message and hopefully, we'll get to your question soon. For more tips and tricks like this, visit BassResource.com.
