Fishing in the Wind

Overhead power cast into the wind

Weather conditions play an important role in your success or failure when you’re trying to catch fish. Unless you have some kind of strategy to meet the unpredictable whims of Mother Nature, your luck will usually be as dismal as the weather.

Take the wind, for instance. For me, this is the worst element to fish in because it makes casting a labor instead of a love. Fighting it won’t do much good, so you’ve got to use it to an advantage if you can. By that I mean know the direction of the prevailing winds and the proper casting angles so that you can cast to productive water. Here are some suggestions.

If the wind is blowing from your right and you are right handed, an overhead cast or a sidearm back cast to your left will suffice. When it’s howling from your backside, a low backcast will easily loft the line forward. In wind that is coming directly into your face, the backcast must be high and aimed two to three feet above the water and driven forward at a low angle.

All bets are off in strong, swirling gusts of forty miles per hour or more. Your only hope may be to pause and wait for a lull to cast. If there’s anything positive about the wind, it may be that bugs are thrashed off the bushes and blown into the river. If you make short, snappy casts close to these areas, you may beat Mother Nature at her own game.