Fishing in the Wind: Protected vs Wind Blown Water

When I saw the wind forecasts early in the week for Easter weekend I saw a challenge. I am no stranger 20-30mph winds, especially on the Coastal Bend during spring. Over the years I’ve fished in lot of tough conditions. I can recall one trip last year when a buddy, Clint, talked me into launching, no arm twisting needed, during 30 – 40 mph sustained winds during the winter. No telling how strong the gusts were that day. We were both crazy enough to forget “what if” and decided to find out for ourselves. Our results for that day were nil, but we weren’t left wondering what may have been. Time on the water no matter what the conditions is experienced gained and better prepares you next time you’re faced with similar conditions.

I think I’ve come to expect stiff winds this time of year. I’ve had some stellar days in the wind and one of my best topwater redfish bites was wading a flat near the ICW on Easter Sunday a few years back while a front was blowing in. I couldn’t even see my topwater most of the time because of the 2′ swells on the bay that day, but the redfish didn’t have a problem finding my surface plug.

There are two frames of thought when fishing in high winds. Find protection or find exposed shorelines. On any given day I can’t say if one is better than the other but from experience if one pattern isn’t producing chances are the other is the ticket to success.

I had plans to visit family in Corpus Christi, Texas for Easter weekend, but like any other trip south, my rods, reels, and kayak come along for the ride. On Friday, I met up with Michael and a buddy of his at a spot we thought we could get some protection from the wind. We covered a bunch of water early without much luck but there was plenty of bait and despite the wind the water was extremely clear. By mid-morning we finally found an area that was holding fish. We caught a few fish on topwaters near deep cuts that feed shallow flats.

We continued to cover water and we finally found an area that was holding good numbers of fish in open water. There were a few schools but for the most part the fish were scattered and alone. With the wind blowing in excess of 20mph trying to sight fish was nearly impossible by this point. We were drifting way too fast. By the time we saw the fish we were already on top of them. We made few drifts through the area with no luck and many spooked fish.

After many gaffes and blown opportunities I finally found a way to present my lure without spooking the fish or getting refused. I would drift with the wind while standing using my paddle to slow down my drift and then we I saw the fish I would squat down and stake out while keeping an eye on fish. Then I would cast out past the fish and bring the lure right in front its path. I caught several reds to 26” using this method. On the day I cover a little over 9 miles of water. I was using a TTF Flats Minnow in liquid shrimp on a 1/8oz Mondo Eye jighead.

This was the first time I’ve used the Mondo Eye jighead and I was impressed. I have been using Hi Tide jigheads for a while now because of the collars around the shank of the hook are the best I found for keeping soft plastics on the hook and they’re razor sharp out of the package. The Mondo Eye jighead held a plastic on surprisingly well and the hooks were extremely sharp. The big eye in front of the lure was an added bonus. It gave the fish something to target when attacking the bait.

On Saturday, unlike the forecasts predicted earlier in the week the winds didn’t let up even a smidgeon. If anything they were substantially worse than the day before. I met up with Chuck near an area he had found some fish a couple of weeks prior. We started off fishing clean protected water and although there was an abundance of bait the fish were nowhere to be found. We made the decision to make a long drift and fish some dirty water on windblown shorelines. Even though we had to face a strong headwind on the way in I’m glad we decided to explore.

As soon we reached the shoreline we started getting bit. I was chunking topwaters (TTF Flush in Bone/Silver and Rapala Skitterwalk redfish pattern) and Chuck was alternating between silver spoons and gulp shrimp on a jighead. We both caught a few reds but Chuck took home big fish of the day. He caught a tournament hog that measured just under 28” and weighed over 8lbs. My biggest fish was about 25” and weighed over 6lbs. Chuck also managed to catch several dink trout on a silver spoon in the dirty water.

On Sunday, I decided I wasn’t crazy enough to fight the wind for three days straight so I slept in and caught up on rest. All in all a good but windy trip and next time I’m faced with similar conditions there’s no doubt in my mind I’ll be better prepared.

About the author

Jeremy Chavez is a full-time fly and light tackle fishing guide who hails from the Bayou City (Houston, Texas for those of you not in the know). He eats, sleeps and breathes fish. He left (he was laid-off but who's keeping tabs) his career as a bean counter (he has a master's degree in accounting) to chase his dream of becoming a nomadic fish bum.

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