Fishing in high winds exceeding 20 mph can be totally frustrating. But if everything is done correctly, it can be great fishing. This goes for most all species, although the highest wind speeds can cause a few species to bite less, and strikes are often difficult to detect.

Crappies tend to like wind but do not like extremely high wind speeds. The best fishing for them is when there is a slight chop on the water, not white caps. Bass and bluegills can go either way, although they can be pickier on very high wind speeds and are more favorable under a slight chop or light wave action.

Tackle can make a big difference on how an angler fishes higher winds. Spinning tackle with lighter lures can be a nightmare, especially when casting crosswind. This places a huge bow in the line. This is why it is best to bring the rod tip down to the water’s surface immediately after the cast is made. Even do this while the lure is going out. Then quickly reel up the slack and start your retrieve.

Heavier, streamlined lures are the best to use with baitcasting outfits. If the reel is adjusted properly and has good anti-backlash features, it is best for casting heavier lures of 1/2-ounce or more, even into the wind, with the addition of slight thumb pressure. I’ve been using Handing Fishing Almaviva and Magic Soul reels in these conditions with surprisingly good results.

Rods are another consideration. For both types, I like using longer rods of 7 to 8 feet with flexible tips. For spinning, my favorites are B‘n’M Fishing’s 7-foot Sam Heaton Super Sensitive (used for finger jigging and smaller jigs), 7.5-foot Godwin’s Crappie Cast (for medium-weight jigs and Road Runners of 1/8- to 1/4-ounce, and finesse worms), and the 8-foot Russ Bailey Crappie rod (for floating a small jig under a float or making long casts with Road Runners and soft plastic jerk baits like Natural Forage Baits FT-Shad). On the casting side, I mainly use two models of Handing Fishing rods: Magic Soul medium/light action (for casting different lures of 1/8- to 1/4-ounce) and M1 medium action (for casting 1/4- to 5/8-ounce lures), both slightly longer than 7 feet.

High wind can many times determine the types of lures and techniques to be used. Lightweight lures are next to impossible to fish crosswind, especially if they are retrieved with a slow speed. With these lures, I try finding a place where the wind may be blowing into an area and cast with the wind as much as possible. The same holds true if fishing larger jigs and soft plastics that will be worked along with a slower retrieve, unless you cast directly into the wind, which can be done with heavier lures.

Since we are talking about casting directly into the wind with heavier lures, this is done best with ones that are more streamlined and designed with less wind resistance, such as a Rat-L-Trap, Hammer, Blitz Blade or swimbait with larger jighead. That is mainly why these are my “go-to” lures when fishing these conditions for bass or big crappies. If these don’t work, I’ll start looking at other options.

The best location is normally where the wind is blowing into a shore, which of course makes it worse for the angler to fish, but at the same time can be a fish-holding magnet. Fish are feeding in these areas because the wind is whipping up food that feeds the smaller fish, which in turn feeds the larger ones.

Paralleling these sorts of shores can provide great action but can also create problems with the cast being blown on the shore. Make your casts at about a 45 degree, or slightly larger, angle to the shore. Or cast from an area of another shore where the lure can be placed outward a few yards from the windblown shore, so that the line can be retrieved without being blown all the way in. It is also good if the lure can be cast directly into the shore, as when fishing from a boat.

Coves or small cuts are another good spot, in two locations. If the wind is blowing across the opening, fish will many times hold along a line where the wind is blowing past the opening. It is blowing food from the upwind point to the other side. I will parallel that line starting with a Rat-L-Trap, unless I know they are already hitting on something else. The second location is at the backs of any such areas if the wind is blowing into them. If the fish are in such a shallower area, then a cast to the back will often garner an immediate strike.

If there are submerged weed beds, make your cast into the wind, and bring the lure over the weed tops, pausing long enough at the back edge to allow it to drop. This is an excellent spot for a swimbait, Texas-rigged tube, plastic worm, or Road Runner, all of which will have some sort of action and/or flash as it falls.

Points are much like the coves. The best spots will be the downwind side of the end of the point, and just inside of it where the wind may be creating an eddy. Also, fish the side that the wind is blowing into. If the point is pointing into the wind, then fish both sides parallel.

Whether in a boat or from the shore, high wind can be the worst of conditions, but can often produce the best fishing.

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