When The Wind Makes you Quit.

[WiscoRon 0]

When the winds are 20 + there are places to flyfish......not necessarily on the boat especially with small craft caution advisories; but if you're on the water get on the lee side of some islands or in the backcountry & maybe the ride back to the ramp won't get you too wet! Mornings can have flat calm seas & afternoon winds can bring up 20 + winds with 2 to 3 footers & SURF"S UP that can feel like skiing a black diamond trail at 8 AM, or at 8 PM one of those mechanical bulls in the bars. That's when adjustments are necessary & fly rodding might not be the best choice for saltwater with either a #7 weight or a #12 weight, much less cruising on a boat! Wading is easy when the winds are up as the principle is the same, just get out of the direct winds to flyfish. What do you think guides do when a party has hired them for a day & the winds are not cooperating ? Located about an hour north of Naples I-75 exits.

 

I'm a guide part time. If I can I reschedule, if not we deal with it but it limits the fishing possibilities as far as distance you may travel. Most people who hirea captain want to be comfortable and not get wet. On a very windy day, small craft advisory) Your faced then with 2 situations, put the trim tabs down and better the ride while getting soaked or leave them up, stay a little drier and go home with a back ache, sometimes no matter how close you stay to the shoeline you have to travel into open water (manatee zones, low water etc). Remember that most clients arent used to saltwater fly fishing let alone saltwater fly fishing in the wind. All my guide friends agree, may be were just soft. the lee side is always the best choice as Dave suggests unless the wind direction messes with the tides but even then you can make do, ex. Last week I was out with a client and an east wind was blowing around 15 mph and gusting in the low 20's. Not a big deal but it was blowing the water out pretty bad and the outgoing tide was super low. I got out and pushed the boat across a sand bar, it was that shallow, towards a deeper trough where I had seen a bunch of snook and a few reds a couple days prior. Fortunatley I was out of the wind once across the bar and polling around we had the fish to ourselves. Guy caught his first snook ever that day. Personally, I can fish most anytime I want, I choose not to deal with the wind unless I have to. If Im on a fishing trip to an exotic place of some sorts, Im with you guys, Pull out the big whippin sticks and haul some line around!

 

On Capt Matt's comment about back aches, a few years ago a hungry guide on Andros convinced me that a 15 knot wind was "no problem" and I spent the next three days laying on ice packs. Sure, you can find a lee to fish and bulk up with a 10 weight. But, it's the getting out and back that hurts. Repeatedly dropping off of five foot crests in a skiff can do in even a strong back. Thanks for the discussion.

[Voodoo 0]

shit son, we up to 60km/h winds up here. I just use my 9wt spew with a windcutter line and i rock the nyphs or streamers

[720 Kevan 0]

I mainly fish rivers -- in soulth park the wind is there just about everyday, I have bcome very use't to it --- I hate wind with every bit of my soul-- never liked it-- but in s.p. it's cool cause it will seprerate men & mice-- If the wind get upto 15 - 20 mph i just blowes people back to there cars & road--- yippie - I have many trick's as do others --- but you guy's on the big blue w/ 16ft. canonoe out in that kinda stuff would make me turn tail real quick yall got sea balls for sure

 

and does that god stuff pertain to river guy's to?

if so I will try to comand the forces of nature next time

[jimk 0]

Kevan, you should have been on the Dream Stream on Black Friday - absolutely no wind. Beautiful day.

[David Legg 0]

I find the wind can work both as a blessing and a curse. I remember fishing on the Keys when the mosquitoes were so bad you thought you might expire from blood loss. Every time the wind came up, we got relief. I have also been out with the wind at my back so fiercely that I just had to wave the rod back and forth and strip out a little line, and lay it out on the water.

 

Last week was one of the very rare times the wind drove me off the water. I had headed out with my Ross 3 weight, and hit the Big Thompson partway up the canyon. I could see fish hitting emergers right at the surface from the roadway above the river. But the wind tearing down the snow laden canyon was so cold and damp my bones ached after I had stood there for only a couple of minutes looking at the water. I was underdressed for the cold, and decided to give up and head back home. It wasn't the wind itself, but the cold and damp, but I was daunted nonetheless. But in only a few weeks we have some great fishing coming, as I get older, I seem to be slightly more patient in waiting for the weather to turn. I may head out again on a nice day, but I will definitely be dressed for it. Last year my winter trips ended with me not being able to feel my fingers, and that's fine, but I don't want to die of hypothermia out there.

[narcodog 0]

I usually quite after the third or forth time I get the fly stuck in my back or I get whopped in the head a couple of times with a big big head.

[bonebum 0]

im not gonna say im a fly rod god. far from it. but i do know that you can creep up on bones so much closer when its blowing. to be honest i dont even want to go unless there is a 15 knot wind.

[salty fly 0]

west coast surf fishing the wind is allways there. on the central coast or northern cali., the wind comes howling out of the north,across my right casting hand blowing my line into me.I use about a 280-290 grain head,when the wind really picks i end up haveing to do a side arm cast or a good ole chuck-n-duck.when the white caps start flowing around 15k. I start wanting to give up,but I cant give up,gota make just one more cast.But you how it is one more cast turns into one more cast, before you know it an hour has gone,and the wind has picked up to 20k., way blown out.I end up haveing a birds nest in my runnin' line, my leader and fly all cozy in a ball. Allright I give up you win...this time...fore now, but I will see you in the cold grey light of dawn. I wont give up,never.I crave the salty spray in my face and in my soul.

Keep on chuckin'

Bryan a.k.a. 'Salty flt'

 

[Capt Bob LeMay 0]

If you fish the salt you'll rarely have those perfect low wind conditions so all of us need ways to cope. An awful lot of days you simply wouldn't be on the water if you can't figure out a strategy. That's why it's so great to be a guide in south Florida since there's always somewhere that you're partially or completely sheltered from whatever the wind is up to... I'm a bit old fashioned and gave up on trolling motors about 10 years ago and have four pushpoles on hand to chose from. On windy days I try my best to work with the wind or across it if at all possible (and yes it is possible on some days to make a roll cast extend almost a full fly line's length, downwind of course....). The tough part is getting there and back and that's where my old Maverick (only 23 years old now) really shines. Every skiff is a compromise and these days with the large number of really light technical skiffs on the water... being in one of them on a windy day isn't fun at all, period. A bit larger and wider skiff with good comfortable "bass style" seats is a blessing on windy days. In the interior of the Everglades, where I am most days, there's lots of lee shorelines and islands to hide behind. An added bonus is that areas sheltered from the wind (and some days we're out in 25+mph conditions) are also the areas where the water stays clear and doesn't get muddy the way open bays will when it's blowing...

 

When I was a lot younger I hammered my way in bad conditions (and on more than one occasion had the fun of re-building a skiff that we'd beaten to death....) but finally learned to slow down and find the easiest way to run in bad conditions - it's safer, better for your passengers, and less costly in the long run. One other minor point. I won't rig a skiff without trim tabs - they make all the difference when you learn to use them properly.

 

Tight Lines

Bob LeMay

[Panama Red 0]

As Capt Bob said, wind is a fact of fishing in salt, in fact one of my favorite places is Crooked Island Sound, seperated from the Gulf by a small finger islands. I throw an 8wt Imperial with 9wt redfish taper, works well for me. However, once the wind starts to cause me to duck I break out light spinning tackle and artificials (god bless mirrodine). I love to fish and will not get off the water until I stop having fun!

 

BTW, Bob also makes the most important point....My boat sucks in a good chop, very, very wet and rough. Throttle back and enjoy the ride, it's much cheaper in the end...I know this first hand :wallbash:

 

 

[mikechell 0]

From what I've heard, it takes much less wind to start effecting you, Panama. Those dresses tend to billow and tug in very low gusts, no?

[ditz2 0]

Not in the salt but many years ago a group of us spent a week on a large lake in northern Minn, that layed east to west. Got up real early one day and headed to the east end of the lake where a waterfalls fed the lake. It was about a 20 mile ride. During the day an east wind came up and the main body of the lake was quite rough. We headed back west at a slow speed which would have made for at least a 4 or 5 hour trip. My" buddy" decided to increase the speed to the point that I had to grip under the seat to hold myself into the boat. It was a heck of a ride and when we got back to the camp my boat seat had actually broken away from the boat. These were very substantial aluminum V hulls with deep sides for a big lake. I never want to take a ride like that again.

[Bienville Fly 0]

Down here the crossing to the Marsh is just to dangerous in a skiff in conditions over 15mph. Also I mean, for me living down here, it's just not worth the hassle. I'm out here to have a good time, not work my rear off.

[Capt Bob LeMay 0]

I'd pretty much forgotten about this old thread until it was revived (thanks, Bienville). Read what I posted all those years ago (my old skiff is in its 28th year now....) and was pleasantly surprised to find it's still relevant. This past week I alternated between Flamingo and Everglades City -only one of the days was the wind not a serious factor.... That's pretty much how it goes in the salt -any time you see footage of perfect fly fishing conditions on the flats, ocean, or backcountry.... you can be pretty sure they spent a few days on the water for those few minutes of film.

[Poopdeck 0]

I love vegetables but I would never pigeon hole myself as a vegetarian because I also love a thick pork chop. Same thing with fishing. Sometimes its just better to pick up a spinning rod.