Fly Fishing and Wind

[supervdl]

I was looking forward to getting out tomorrow (Thanksgiving) to get some fishing in before the turkey gets ready. Looks like we have a lot of wind in the forecast and that stinks.

Just curious what is the limit in terms of wind for you folks to get out and fish? And what type of stream/ fishing would you do if the wind blows hard?

 

[tomgamber]

I fish a lake with some frequency that get quite windy. I find that keeping my casts low, almost side arm helps in gusty conditions. Also if it is gusty and not a constant wind you can time your casts just at the end of a gust and strip during the big wind. Some places you can find a stand of trees or a big rock that you can use as a wind break. I don't own an anemometer. I just fish until it gets to be too frustrating.

 

[jifigz]

I agree with Tom on th sidearm casting. There is no amount of wind that will keep me from fly fishing. Also, don't false cast very much. Load your rod in other ways using the current, roll casting, or just one good strong backcast with a haul thrown in. Also, try to orient yourself so that your casting arm is downwind and not on the upwind side. Then you won't have to worry about the wind blowing your fly down into you..

 

[MKern]

Hit a stream with a lot of tree cover, but be ready for ones that get uprooted.

 

[Fly-Swatter]

You can, to some extent, use wind to your advantage by angling your forward cast at a slight up angle with the wind. Conversely, if casting against the wind, angle your back cast at a slight up angle. Making these adjustments, the wind should grab your up angled casts and help them to go farther.

You can pan your approach to a section of stream or lake by positioning yourself so the effect of the wind is minimized and the advantage maximized. It will take some trial and error to figure out what works for you.


Cross winds are trickier...

 

[ColdBore]

supervdl wrote:

Just curious what is the limit in terms of wind for you folks to get out and fish?

tomgamber wrote:

I just fish until it gets to be too frustrating.

Same here.

I just wing it most times. If I want to fish, I'll fish. I don't really have a predetermined limit, there are way too many variables (most already mentioned). I can usually find some way to fish whatever water I'm on, regardless of weather.

And like said above, if it gets too frustrating, I'll just eventually give up.

 

[Bamboozle]

That's among the benefits of 5, 6 & 7wts...

Despite some who theorize that smaller diameter lines buck the wind better, I find that more mass is the way to go in a strong wind.

Many times when I head out and it is windy, I'll have a heaver line weight outfit with me, just in case.

If you have a heavier rig, go with that, incorporate a lower casting plane as suggested and also use a shorter, stouter leader and you should be fine.

 

[redietz]

Bamboozle wrote:

Many times when I head out and it is windy, I'll have a heaver line weight outfit with me, just in case.

Along the same line of thinking, I sometimes overline a rod by one weight when it's windy.

The wind, to some extent, also has benefits: it masks sloppy casts (of which you'll make plenty) and you can get closer to fish on bluebird days.

And as others have suggested, side-arm casts, roll casts, single handed spey casts, minimizing false casts, etc all help.

The only times the wind will keep me from fishing are when there's danger of falling trees (I've had several close calls) and when it's very cold outside. I can take cold, and I can take wind, but I can't take both at the same time.

 

[Swattie87]

I try to find a stream to fish in windy conditions that's got a ridge or mountain as a wind break. Typically, the really windy days in PA are the result of a wind from the NW, as tomorrow will be. Many of the ridges in PA run SW to NE, or perpendicular to the wind when it's from the NW.

It can still be windy in the valley bottoms, but most times it's manageable in my experience from a fishing standpoint. The narrower the valley, the better this approach works. There often will still be gusts blowing across the treetops, so as mentioned, watch for widowmakers.

 

[afishinado]

I don't spin fish at all. I do have an ultralight spin rod in my basement for my nieces and nephews to use on occasion. So I either fly-fish in the wind or don't fish. I choose to fish, even in saltwater, where the wind is often a huge issue.

As Fly-Swatter wrote above there are ways to deal with the wind using rod angles for headwinds and tailwinds. For me the most difficult wind to fish is when it blows from right to left (I'm right-handed) where the wind blows my fly into my face or body. In that case I must angle my rod across my body, turn away from target and fish my backcast, or cast left-handed. I also sometime use a two handed rod for SW surf fishing that I cast left handed in a south wind (right to left when on the east coast).

Food for thought, if you break out you spin outfit every time the wind comes up, I suppose you will never really learn to cast in the wind with a fly rod. I've had some great days fly-fsihing on the water on windy days. It can be done.

 

[Swattie87]

Didn't remember it when typing my original post above, but I actually caught my biggest wild Brookie ever (13", on fly equipment too) on a February day with a very strong NW wind. I was fishing a stream sheltered by a ridge to my NW. I was glad I fished that day, obviously, but recall constantly looking up at the tree tops swaying above me, and wondering whether it was a smart idea. The winds at ground level were much less, and hardly affected my fishing though.

 

[RLeep2]

I have at best a moderate threshold for frazzlement, but will continue fishing in situations where there is an aggravating wind, if, and it is a big if, the quality of the fishing warrants doing do. But if there is little or nothing going on fish-wish, I tend to burn out pretty quick.

Sometimes, I find it useful to play a game of sorts in high winds. I guess I'd call it the "Kentucky Windage" game. I try to figure out how far to the upwind side I have to cast to make my fly land where I want it to. A couple feet, maybe aim for the bank so it comes down in mid-stream. And so forth.. Takes my mind off the aggravation at least a bit. And of course, if it gets too bad, I set my rod down on the bank and start yelling at the wind to quit. This works, briefly, about 15% of the time.

I've never been driven off a PA trout stream by wind. Too many sheltering ridge lines, woodsy settings and other nooks and crannies. It wasn't uncommon though to have to give it up when we were out in the Midwest and I was fishing meadow streams. Out there, the aggravating role played by trees in PA is played by the wind.

 

[dryflyguy]

I do the same thing that rleep talked about above.
Except that I refer to it as "accounting for wind shear"
And it can be tricky to do. You have to keep adjusting how far off you aim, according to how hard the wind is blowing at that moment.

I also give strong consideration to fishing small streams on windy days. They're usually more protected from the gusts.

However, wind usually subsides a bit the last hour or two of daylight.
And I'll return to larger water then

 

[salmonoid]

I tend to fish smaller streams, which tend to be be in valleys that break some of the wind. And this time of year, more often than not, I'm dapping a bugger, so casting isn't as much of an issue. I've fished Thanksgiving day for the past ten years or so, finally throwing in the towel on the tradition last year, when it was windy and 20 degrees colder than tomorrow's forecast is calling for. So I'll be out somewhere tomorrow.

Wind takes a lot out of me physically, if I'm out in it; after a day of steelhead fishing up in Erie, in the wind, I had numerous occasions where I came back to my brother's place and immediately conked out on the couch. Happened last Saturday too, when fishing locally with Swattie. Came home after a somewhat windy day and zonked out on the couch, much to the chagrin of my wife.

 

[drakeking412]

Ben just put out a video today on this subject that might help some folks out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZWAShWKd8Q