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3. Windy Conditions

I was hoping you guys could explain to me what the fish do when the wind really picks up. From my experience, the fishing tends to really slow down on lakes when the wind picks up. I have read different articles that explain that it may actually turn the fish on and bring them to the surface because the waves make the water more oxygenated. I also have read that the fish tend to collect on the downwind side of the lake because all of the bugs get blown into the water, then washed downwind. I have tried fishing in these conditions numerous times and it seems to really shut down when there's wind. As soon as the wind dies down, normally the bite is back on. There has only been one experience in a backcountry lake where I was catching bigger (golden) trout because of the increased wind. Can anyone confirm/ or explain better what the fish are doing in windy conditions?

I have always fished the windward(the side the waves are crashing on) side of lakes. I was told that it possibly disrupts the minnows. I haven't really noticed a difference in catch rates. I would think the method you are fishing could affect your outcome. In lakes I used to fish the banjo minnow and the way I fished it I needed to be either anchored well down or in very calm conditions to make it work for me.

I have zero experience with trout in lakes but I can tell you that whenever the wind blows on the rivers that I fish the trout just stop rising. Now I don't mean a little breeze, but if you can see the surface of the water is ruffled the rises stop right away. I don't think the trout can see the insects when the water is ruffled.

As an ecologist-in-training, I've learned that trout spend most of their time on windy days laughing at my attempts to cast.

Here in the Midwest, the reason the wind blows like a fury on the meadow spring creeks is that Nature abhors a vacuum and there has to be a compensatory annoyance to make up for the lack of trees to lose your flies in..

Today I was fishing the windyest conditions ever,I shore fished the whole lake front to back left to right into the wind and with the wind every cove & all the points.I used panthermartins,castmasters,homemade penny spinners,powerbait in a few favorite colors & gulpworms.nothin! and i fish this lake more than any one else! no joke.and have fished it almost my whole life.I always catch trout. but I learned somthing today.the spot I normaly fish wich cought me over 800 trout last year & 200 this year,was producing for some weekender fisherman using plain old night crawlers blown up to float around 2 ft.off the bottom,close to shore and in very shallow water no more than 5 ft.deep & 25-30 ft.out.that was the only thing working for anyone.all trout I winessed being caught when windy were under these conditions now im not the kinda guy to fish like that.I believe thats just feeding the fish somthing they would be used to eating, anyone can catch a fish on worms, not that it aint fun, but i believe in skill not guaranteed fish.plus you catch carp,catfish,bass,bluegill,red ear pirch & every other species known to man,with worms. what im trying to say about windy conditions is,its just a different type of weather that make the fish act a certian way,the fish are still their and they still have to eat,you just need to find out what they want,and be very open minded cus when u witness a kid catch a trout on a piece of bubblegum thats when it hits you, that anything is possible!!!

"you need to find out what they want and be very open minded"

Amen.

Four of us were fishing the mouth of Taylor Reservoir in Colo., many years ago, using ultra lights with spinners, unsuccessfully, when a brisk south wind developed. The inlet began to fill with flotsam and the water became turbid. There was a definite division between clear water and turbid water visible from shore. All of us began to catch fish, but only in the turbid water, any effort in the clear water was fruitless.