Science of Fishing: Wind

Science of Fishing is an ongoing series of informational articles in which we will interview biologist and ANGLR user Nathan Troyan on a variety of topics. Troyan has devoted his life to trying to figure out critters. His career has taken him from projects with Sockeye Salmon in Alaska to wetland research in Colorado to research surrounding fish migrations in the Chesapeake Bay, among many others. He’s seen a bit of everything. If you have a topic you’d like to hear about, let us know.

Wind speed and direction is another fishing feature that we are proud to provide for you in the ANGLR platform. But what does it mean really? Beyond blowing my boat around and screwing up my casts, does wind speed and direction have anything to do with fish behavior. We grabbed everyone’s favorite bearded biologist and ANGLR user, Nathan Troyan, to get his thoughts.

Fish will often seek shelter in high winds – predators and baitfish alike. High wind and water turbulence effect the entire water column. From top to bottom, nutrients, sediments and microorganisms all become suspended and this creates a fluctuation in the food chain,” says Troyan.

Never really thought of wind having an effect beneath the water’s surface, did you? Here are 4 things to consider.

Be not afraid

“Windy conditions of 10-20+ mph will scare away most fishermen. Use the wind to your advantage. Learn and try new techniques by using the wind to sneak up on otherwise spooky fish. I kayak fish entirely and with proper ‘yak position, drifting with the wind can provide effortless hours of action especially in overcast conditions.”

Use the wind during your “Patterning Fish Phase”

“During your ‘patterning fish phase,” the wind can actually help you identify which level of the water column the fish are at. Casting with the wind can maximize distance which can help you get that lure deeper in that water column. This is useful when finding overall key spots where fish are holding. Whether that’s finding isolated deep water structure, windswept points, sheltered corners, weed bed edges or even docks. Fish with the wind at your back as this ensures direct line contact with minimum slack. This definitely helps your strike detection. Even when being pushed by the wind, the Tracker allows you to drop that pin without pulling your phone out.

Utilize heavy crankbaits and lures such as suspending jerkbaits like a husky jerk or shad rap on light line and don’t be afraid to use swim jigs and bounce them off the bottom as well. My favorite windy day patterning technique is throwing 3-5 rods rigged w/ 0-15 ft divers in varieties of colors for fast casting and recon. Rattles, Clackers and BB’s are a must.”

Below: While you’re patterning these fish with several rods, the ANGLR Tracker easily swap between rods when fast casting.

Fish Position

“Wind forces fish to ease into stable water conditions, including clearer, sheltered, less stained and deeper. Fish bodies are designed to be aerodynamic. On calm days on the lake, fish will lay perpendicular to the shore facing the shore or with their tail facing to the shore. But you have to understand that under moderate to heavy wind conditions, the fish will angle themselves from the bank so that they can feed on oncoming bait much in the way they do in rivers. This should definitely change the way you present your bait under windy conditions”

Particular attention must be paid to your target species, do they prefer to suspend in cover like bass, hug rocks like Smallmouth or lay on the bottom like perch and walleye? Adapt accordingly. All fish suspend, but most favor a particular position in the water column. Bass love to suspend, walleye and perch love to school up and lay on the bottom.”

Substrate as it Applies Water Staining

“Pay close attention here: depending on your lake or river’s soil composition and surrounding landscape you may have subtle or severe water clarity and suspension of materials. There is a difference between the way different substrates react to wind. Rocky shores, sandy bottoms, silty bottoms, red clays and heavy detritus bottoms all react differently to wind and the water clarities will inevitably vary. I concentrate my efforts on the stain line. Fish will use the cloudy and clear contrast(stain line) to ambush wind swept schools of bait. I tend to focus on rock, gravel, and sandy bottoms. Silty backwaters cloud up faster making the fish uncomfortable and only then will they seek more stable and suitable conditions.”

The ANGLR Tracker is available at anglr-labs.myshopify.com

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