Coming off the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship on Bays de Noc, it seems like a good time to talk about wind.
If you followed that tournament, you know that wind was everything — mainly because it dictated whether or not we could even go fishing. The tournament started on schedule, but then we were kept off the water for three consecutive days because it was too much for safe boating. In the end, we only had two competition days, though we were scheduled for three.
It has often occurred to me that just about all great bass fisheries (especially the Great Lakes) benefit tremendously from the wind … but maybe not in the ways you think.
Whether we're talking about Bays de Noc or Sturgeon Bay (Lake Michigan), the Black Forest or Farmer's Flat (Sam Rayburn) or Horse Creek (Grand Lake), wind is often the biggest factor leading to success or failure, safety or danger.
One of the ways that wind makes these places (and some places you fish) great is that it keeps anglers away much of the time. When the wind picks up, you simply may not be able to fish there. You can't get to them or stay on them, and the fish get a break. If everyone could fish them every day, the fishing would suffer. It might even get so crowded that you'd be turned away by too many boats.
Even when the wind lays down a little and you can get on these key areas, a lot of anglers won't do it because in some places a relatively light wind can create boat control issues. These anglers will often go out to these terrific spots only when it's glass calm. And guess what? The fishing's usually not very good then.
So wind protects some of the best waters in the world from getting too much fishing pressure.
Wind also creates great fishing spots by generating current and fertile feeding grounds. When the wind blows, bait moves and bass become more active, often positioning themselves in predictable ways where good bass fisherman can target them successfully.
It's no coincidence that this often happens on big, expansive flats. Just like deer living near fertile farming areas, bass like flats because they're often the best feeding grounds, and they don't have to work very hard to eat. Flats hold lots of bait.
Also like deer, bass like edges. The key areas on a big flat are going to be the edges and break lines — edges of vegetation, edges of current, breaks where the water gets deeper.
The bottom line with the wind is that it can be great for bass fishing, but only when it's not so severe that you can safely fish. When it's blowing too hard for safe boating, wind is one of the most dangerous things in the world, and you should stay out of it.
I'll have more on bass and the wind next time. We'll talk about some of my favorite tactics for catching bass in the wind. We may even have a Part 3 where I tell you about some of my favorite accessories and safety measures for fishing in the wind.
