Stop fighting March winds

Hey, Keith here.

March has a reputation for being the windiest month of the year.

According to NOAA wind data, anglers across the country are dealing with the strongest winds of the season, some maybe even staying home instead.

For a long time, that was me. I figured if the wind was howling, the fishing probably wasn’t worth it.

Boy, was I wrong. Thanks to a neighbor, I recently learned how a windy day and a Go Getter can put some bass on the bank.

Today I want to break down why wind actually helps bass fishing and how it can tell you exactly where to cast.

BEST LINKS

What I looked at this week

• Fishing in the wind: How to use wind to catch more fish (Anglers)

• Bass crash course: Catch more bass in the wind (Game & Fish)

• Fishing the wind Like KVD (Wired2Fish)

• Underwater footage of how wind affects bass fishing (Steve Rogers Outdoors)

• The best lure for pond fishing in the wind (TylersReelFishing)

Deals of the week

• Cabela’s marked down a 13 Fishing Concept A2 Baitcast Reel, regularly $180 now $79.97.

• Sportsman's Warehouse reduced a Rapala OG Rocco 5 Crankbait from $6.99 to $2.97.

• Bass Pro Shops knocked 33% off a Z-Man Original Chatterbait, regularly $5.99 now $3.98 for ⅜ oz and ½ oz weights.

DEEP DIVE

Let the wind do the thinking

If it’s not the number one nemesis of bass anglers everywhere, it’s definitely near the top of the list.

Yes, spring is here, and with it come some of the strongest winds of the year.

Over the years, I learned to avoid the bank when the wind blows more than 20 miles per hour.

Luckily, my neighbor Ken has no such scruples.

He was fishing one of our six neighborhood lakes and called me to join him. He said he had already caught about five large bass and the fish were still biting.

That was all I needed to hear.

I grabbed my casting rod, tossed it into the back of my truck, and headed down to the lake.

After parking, I walked a short trail through the woods until I reached the back corner of the lake.

Ken had chosen a small cove tucked into the shoreline, and as soon as I got there, one thing stood out.

The wind.

It was blowing straight into that cove and pushing loads of debris and floating vegetation toward the shoreline.

Ken was throwing the new, white KVD Elite Spinnerbait with a trailer directly into the wind-blown water.

“You see all that debris piling up right there?” he said. “That’s what happens in this cove when the wind blows into it.”

I made a few casts into the same cove using a white Hildebrandt Go Getter Spinnerbait.

Within a couple of retrieves, my line stopped dead and I set the hook.

“You see!” Ken said with a grin. “It’s automatic when the wind is blowing. The wind pushes the baitfish and insects into the shoreline and the bass follow.”

Now, this wasn’t news to me; I grew up hearing you should fish wind-blown banks.

But somewhere along the way I started avoiding windy days.

That afternoon reminded me just how powerful wind can be when you let it guide your fishing.

How to fish wind-blown banks

Once you find a shoreline that the wind pushes into, the next step is fishing it correctly.

The biggest mistake anglers make is treating a wind-blown bank like any other stretch.

In reality, these spots often hold bass that are actively feeding, which means you want to focus on covering water and making multiple casts to the same productive area.

Start by working the areas where debris and floating vegetation pile up.

Wind tends to funnel baitfish and insects into those spots, and bass will position themselves nearby, waiting for something easy to eat.

Another key detail to pay attention to is how the shoreline is shaped.

Small coves and pockets tend to collect more drifting food and baitfish than straight stretches of shoreline.

When wind pushes water into these areas, it naturally concentrates everything into a smaller zone, which makes it easier for bass to ambush prey.

Wind also creates subtle current in lakes and ponds, which bass use to their advantage.

Instead of constantly swimming, they will often sit just outside the strongest push of water and wait for food to drift past them.

Because of this, it’s important to make repeated casts to productive spots rather than constantly moving down the shoreline.

Focus your casts along the first few feet of shoreline where the waves are breaking.

That’s often where the baitfish get pushed, and where bass will slide up to intercept them.

The three best baits for windy March bass

Once you find a wind-blown shoreline, the next question becomes simple: What should you throw?

Wind does two things that influence lure choice: 

• Reduces visibility by stirring up the water and breaking up sunlight

• Activates bass and encourages them to chase bait

Because of these factors, reaction baits that create vibration, flash, or noise usually outperform slower finesse techniques.

Here are the three baits I reach for first when the March winds start blowing:

1. Spinnerbait

If I could only throw one bait in the wind, it would probably be a spinnerbait.

The flashing blades mimic baitfish and create vibrations the bass can feel through their lateral line. In choppy water where visibility is reduced, that flash and vibration help bass locate the bait quickly.

Spinnerbaits are also great for covering water, which is exactly what you want when searching a wind-blown bank.

On this day, I was using a white Hildebrandt Go Getter Spinnerbait. I really like the short arm on it that eliminates snags in the trash, and white and chartreuse are my go-to colors during the spring. 

A steady retrieve along the windy shoreline is often all it takes.

2. Lipless crankbait

A lipless crankbait is another great choice for windy conditions.

These baits are compact and heavy, which means they cast well even when the wind is blowing hard. They also produce a loud rattling vibration that draws strikes from bass that are keyed in on moving baitfish. 

I like to let it sink for a second and then retrieve it steadily, occasionally ripping it free if it contacts grass or debris.

Since it’s not weedless, it’s a good idea to cast on the outside of the trash. When fishing wind-blown coves I stick with the cheaper cranks like the H20 RT Lipless Crankbait or a Cotton Cordell.

3. Chatterbait (vibrating jig)

When the wind creates a steady chop on the surface, a chatterbait really shines.

The vibrating blade produces strong vibration and flash, which bass can detect even when the water is stained or rough. These baits also work extremely well around grass, which is where many bass position themselves during the spring.

I like the Z-Man Project Z Weedless Chatterbait because that extra weed guard helps when pulling through the trash. 

Slow-roll it along wind-blown grass edges or bump it through shallow cover.