How much wind is too much?

[brandozer317]

I was just interested what some your thoughts are when wind is in the forecast. How much is too much? Do you draw somewhere and avoid the creek that day?

 

[Nymph-wristed]

When I fish the Jersey shore, for sure. Otherwise, I tend to roll with the conditions given. If adding weight and going old school Joe Humphries to nymph does not cut it, then the big old thingamabobber will come out and I will make shorter, uglier casts.

 

[Swattie87]

Depends on how bad I want to fish. If there's enough wind it'll keep me off a big stream for sure. Sustained at 15-20+ is probably enough for that.

I've fished small streams on very windy days before and been fine though. Shorter casts clearly, they're less open in general than big streams, and you can often find ones in valleys or ravines with a ridge as a windbreak. Bigger issue on these kind of streams is falling limbs from above in those conditions. It's often not that windy on the ground, but VERY windy at the top of the canopy height. I actually caught my biggest Brookie ever on a relatively warm, but very windy February day. Gusts over 40 mph that day I'm sure.

 

[redietz]

It all depends on where I was planning to fish, if it's also cold out, if it's also raining, and how much I want to fish.

If you've ever fished the mountain west, you know that 20 mph winds are almost to be expected, and wouldn't keep me from fishing. Here in the east, they may very well, if it's 35 degrees out and raining.

To some extent, safety is a factor. I've been close enough to falling trees enough times that if were planning on fishing a wooded area 20+ mph winds would at least cause me to consider another location. I've fished the Beaverkill in 30 mph winds. I'm unlikely to get hit by falling debris in the middle of a large river. I wouldn't have fished, say, Clark's Creek under the same conditions.

As far as casting, yes, the wind can cause you to make some lousy cast. That's cancelled out to some extent, though, by the fact that the ruffled surface masks a lousy cast from the fish.

 

[jifigz]

I can often select a nice mountain stream where the ridges and trees can block the wind so much so that no wind is "too much." Now when you're out on a big river or a wide open lake wind can become a serious problem for casting. I'll still always try to fish no matter what though.

 

[CLSports]

I hate wind. I can fish in rain, snow, bitter cold, you name it, but sustained wind pisses me off. I hate it. It ruins my casts with dries, it ruins any sort of sight fishing, it blows the boat around when on a river or lake, and it makes a bitter cold day feel even colder. I hate wind.

 

[tomgamber]

MOST CREEKS HAVE ENOUGH SURROUNDING GROWTH TO BREAK THE WIND THAT IT ISN'T PROBLEM OR CAN'T BE OVERCOME. MEADOW STREAMS, OPEN LAKE SHORES AND BEACHES IT CAN SHUT YOU DOWN. SOMETIMES THERE IS ENOUGH TIME BETWEEN GUSTS TO GET A DECENT CAST AND RETRIEVE WHILE ITS BLOWING IF YOU KEEP EVERYTHING LOW. I'VE EVEN HAD THE WIND CHANGE THE PRESENTATION FOR THE GOOD ON OCCASION. AS SOMEONE ELSE SAID, DEPENDS HOW BAD YOU WANT TO FISH.

 

[MKern]

Best day ever was on a windy day on a brookie stream.

Enough surface chop that they couldn't see me.

Caught more fish out of that stream than I thought existed and bigger fish too.
I would have never thought at stream, which I had fished countless times before, had that many or that big of fish. Pretty much a fish every cast, and multiple fish from every holding location.

 

[RLeep2]

As suggested, it largely depends on where you are fishing, how bad you want it and the nature of your frustration threshold.

I have a regrettably short fuse, not necessarily for others, but with situational frustration. When I living in the Midwest and mostly fishing open pasture/meadow type streams, the wind could really try my wiring. It was as bad if not worse than any brush-choked Pennsylvania trout stream. Gradually though, I came to accept that there were days and wind conditions where I would have to make 3,4,5 or more casts just to get one I was satisfied with.
With this acceptance comes some degree of peace....

So, unless I am in a boat and getting blown all over billy h---, I don't mind the wind or at least I try not to.

 

[wildtrout2]

I caught my one and only wild tiger trout on a chilly and windy day. In fact, while riding my mountain bike along a RR bed to access this stream, I even asked myself why I was going fishing today? Things have a funny way of turning out.

 

[redietz]

MKern wrote:
Best day ever was on a windy day on a brookie stream.

Enough surface chop that they couldn't see me.

Not only that, but in small streams like that, where food can scarce, the wind will blow a lot more terrestrials into the water, putting the fish into a feeding frenzy.

 

[bugger814]

Most of my fishing is done on small valley streams , usually in heavily wood areas so for me the wind doesn't matter as much as to someone on A bigger River or open area. And even if it is windy ,so what, better than sitting home on the couch or even worse. AT WORK.

 

[Wildcat23]

Ok guys...no one yet has mentioned the biggest issue with very windy days on the stream or river....it can wreak havoc with trying to light , and keep lit, your cigar !!

 

[redietz]

Wildcat23 wrote:
Ok guys...no one yet has mentioned the biggest issue with very windy days on the stream or river....it can wreak havoc with trying to light , and keep lit, your cigar !!

Another case of the wind taking care of some of the problems it creates. The only reason I'll smoke a cigar while fishing is to repel black flies and mosquitoes, which are generally not much of a problem on windy days.

 

[outsider]

If I spit into it, and it flies back in my face, it's too windy. The Tully flows in a general southeast direction and 10-15 mph wind can be a pain in the butt to fish, especially at the upper half of the DH area.

 

[bradtheflyfisherman]

I've fished windy days on a kayak in a pond/lake and it was hell...trying to cast in the wind from a kayak getting moved in the wind was way too much to deal with! Still slapping myself for not bringing a small anchor that day.

Not a fan of winter wind...I will reluctantly fish in harsh windy cold weather... I'd much rather be inside sipping a beer or whiskey and tying some flies next to a warm fire!

 

[Dave_W]

No doubt - wind is the bane of fly fishermen. I hate it too.

Being a salt guy, I'm usually expecting to get wind at the beach or flats. Anything consistently above about 10-15mph and I'm done with paddle boats. It's beach or wading at this point. In my younger days I could paddle into wind at the Outer Banks or Barnegat Bay, but my endurance and tolerance for bucking wind in a kayak nowadays is much reduced.

Since I have to travel long distances to get to the salt, I will ditch the fly rod and go with spin gear once things get too windy - this would typically be gusts over 25mph or sustained winds around 10-20. Some days it's even too windy for spin gear. When visibility is 30 yards and I'm hit with sand blowing sideways, it's time to go back to the hotel or diner or drive home.

 

[dryflyguy]

Yeah, I'll stick it out in rain , cold, and snow. But high winds usually drive me off the water. Very frustrating when you can't drop a dry fly where you want it.
If high winds are forecast - before I even leave home - I'll bag the trip.
If I'm already out there - as someone else has already mentioned - I'll seek out a smaller, more sheltered stream.
And then go back to the larger water during the last hour of daylight. Often times, the wind will start dying down then.

 

[salvelinus]

The high wind warning is for 25-35 mph with gusts to 60. I don't think I want to be out anywhere tomorrow.

 

[lycoflyfisher]

Something to be aware of especially on the smaller streams in tight valleys are falling limbs/ tree tops. There are a ton of dead ash trees out there, I had a close call on Penns last year with an ash tree falling into the creek about 50 yards upstream from me. Hunting this fall I had another ash fall within a hundred yards of me while I was still hunting. Be aware of your surroundings and don't stand close to a cluster of dead trees in high wind conditions.