Is the wind good or bad for fishing?

March 8, 2011 - Posted by Steve Dall Much can be said about windy conditions when fishing….some can argue that depending on the velocity, direction and sustainability of the wind, it can improve fishing as it moves water and baitfish to a concentrated area….others can argue that it severely dampens fishing because of the turbid water color and hampers your casting accuracy, ability to feel bites and just an overall uncomfortable condition to fish in. Both are fair arguments and I have recently experienced sustained ESE winds in excess of 15mph for over a week straight now here on Estero Bay. Unfortunately when guiding, you cannot script the weather, but every good guide and fisherman is a closet weatherman always analyzing the conditions and I actually enjoy the challenge of adjusting to the weather conditions….maybe that is the tournament angler in me. Right now, some areas of the bay are absolutely unfishable due to the water looking like YooHoo, but some areas are still consistently producing for us. In a way, that rules out water that you should not concentrate on, which can be a good thing. Estero Bay is 15 square miles and if you immediately ruled out half that water, it should ideally make finding fish half as hard, right? I found several areas in the past week and a half that have a little protection from the howling winds and gives our customers a shot at casting with some degree of accuracy, which is essential when targeting fish along the mangrove-lined shores and islands of Estero Bay. I really believe that the wind can help you greatly if you plan ahead. Know what the weather has done, is doing and will be doing. It blew 10 days straight from the East/Southeast at speeds over 15 mph recently and that kind of sustained wind can really push the fish in concentrated areas. We caught 17 redfish yesterday in an area that was 30 yards long. All that had been pounded by the wind for 10 days straight. Now that the winds are shifting, it may scatter the fish a bit, but those areas that were hit hard should start to have clearer water and the fish may still relate to them, but just be a bit more finicky. This past 10 days we have had many days with redfish catches in the mid teens to twenty fish counts….and the fish seem to be getting bigger. Those “rat” reds we had back in December are now growing and growing quickly. We are seeing many fish in the 16-20 inch class right now which is great. The late afternoon/early evening snook bite has also been strong with the warming temps, but some thunderstorms and post front conditions later this week may slow that bite a little. All in all, fish the wind. I know it is tough and less than desirable, but the upside can be huge. Tight lines!