FS Digest

I go fishing regardless of wind or temperature, but I have a log going on and even inland, whether it be spring stripers in the river or largemouth at the creek, I never catch a damn thing when the wind blows East. Today the barometric pressure is steadily rising, yesterday it was steadily dropping but no fronts moved through. Overcast conditions, two types of bait, not a damn thing yet again. I have no reasoning behind this old wives tale yet I have logs to suggest it to be true. Many spots, many types of fishing, many types of lures, almost always boils down to skunkfest! But why? Any theories?

--
by hurricane1091

FS Digest

Ooo this is good.

--
by sandyvagerson

FS Digest

Dang. Almost makes me want to start logging everything now. Independent verification and all that...

--
by MandM78

FS Digest

Typically the wind blows west and the weather is often pleasant, so it's hard to really say "west is best" but it does produce, but it's more common so who knows. I've never correlated much though. I'll go fish same tide same spot same lures same conditions back to back days and get skunked day #2. So I mean who knows.

--
by hurricane1091

mbw7673 Loc: algonquin, illinois

low front = east wind = uncomfortable swim bladder. fish have fed now going deep for comfort. my barometer is at my side as I type this.

DonaldRotter80 Loc: St, Cloud, Minnesota

I spent many years working 5 days a week, fishing or hunting on Saturdays only, as Sunday was "Family Day" as it should have been. We were forced to fish Saturday regardless of the weather. I never documented it on paper but it did not take long to realize that the weather played a big part in our success! With Vexilars on zoom it was evident of the lethargy of the fish during the east wind cycle. The fish would lay on the bottom and the ONLY way we knew they were there was to drop our bait into the red zone indicating the bottom and occasionally getting a fish to slowly exit the red zone and become temporarily visible while slowly approaching the bait, then heading to the bottom again. An east wind often precedes a storm. I have had fantastic fishing just before and during a storm, USUALLY a SNOW STORM as we are ice fishing. The next day after the storm front passes, the day is cold, bright and sunny WITHOUT a cloud in the sky! Unless you HAVE to fish then or have nothing else to do, don't expect to catch a lot of fish and you can observe how slow or inactive the fish are. It will take a couple of days before things change and the fish will rise to eat or inspect your bait as you lower it to them. Now that I can fish almost whenever I want I just avoid the negative effects of the cold front and do something else instead. I observed this over about 60 years but it only became obvious visually in January 2002 when I bought and started using the Vexilar FL-18 with the split screen zoom feature that magnified the bottom 6 feet and dropped my bait into the red zone of a few inches on the bottom that the fish were hiding in and getting them to occasionally and sluggishly follow the bait a few inches out of the red zone before slowly returning there. In open water fishing I do a lot of fly fishing which dictates calm, warm water so I avoid windy days and of course especially east wind days. I don't pretend to know the answers, all I have to see are the results. In addition to avoiding windy days in a boat I also avoid fishing weekends because of the pressure and intrusion from the crowds. I have a mental note of the different lakes I fish and know where to fish to get out of the wind coming from any direction so I just go where I will be sheltered from the wind which is usually a shallow bay bathed in bright, warm sunlight and sending the panfish into the shallows to gorge on insects and minnows, perfect for fly fishing.

ver Loc: La Grange, California

Sorry for the stupid query but a newbie here..."just exactly what U mean, when the Wind is Blowing East?....is that ""Towards...... or the Direction of the Wind, if U R facing East"" ???.....Tnx.

gregumar1

all interesting comments- add this to the mix: the tendency when the wind is blowing in any direction is to get out of the wind and fish in protected areas- at least to the extent you can. It will work for some fish, but it's the wrong way to go. Fish close to or along the shore that the wind is blowing onto, especially in slow waters and lakes. The wind is pushing the food up against that shoreline and the fish know it- so that's where they go to feed.

DonaldRotter80 Loc: St, Cloud, Minnesota

East wind means the wind is blowing FROM the east, therefore if you are facing east the wind will be in your face and blowing to the west.
Gregumar1 is definitely right. Fish the windblown shore for walleyes and bait chasing fish. My comments above was for fly fishing in the bays sheltered FROM the wind as I said, I want it calm and warm in the shallow bays up against the weeds and shoreline with a muddy bottom. We are talking from one to three feet of water where the panfish are feeding on insects and minnows late in the afternoon, early evening after the sun has warmed the shallow water for much of the day. The fish will move out into the deeper part of the bay during the night when the shallows cool and then back in shallow after another calm, warm day with bright sunshine. The insects become active after the shallow muddy bottom heats up and the fish KNOW it!