Wind blows

[Reid Bacon]

I fished the farmington yesterday during the gael force winds that the northeast faced.  As I drove by the usual spots that would be elbow to elbow there was not a soul to be found.  I nymphed a stretch that holds a bunch of nice fish and is one of my favorites.  The wind was kicking my ass as well as my drift's.  I had to go to a straight sighter and a slightly heavier anchor (typically a basic size 12 czech would be perfect, but had to go sz.10 tungsten).  In some instances I think the wind helped induce a couple of strikes.  I still put good numbers in the net, but I know I missed a ton of strikes do to contact loss with adverse wind gusts.  How do guys like to you deal with intense wind conditions?  When I got off the river it looked like I had been skiing all day.

[Rashed Abdullah]

With winds this strong...If I had a choice, I would not go. But if i was out on a 5 day trip, I would look for bends in the river that was out of the wind.

R

[Dejon Hamann]

Yeah, heavy wind is the pits.  I can handle rain, snow, sleet, but Wind!  If it's really bad I usually switch over to a big indie fly/dropper rig and stay low. 

[Chris Topmiller]

The wind has been howling out here too.  For me, a heavier anchor fly and straight polish nymphing has been the ticket.   Forget about the french and/or spanish stuff.   The most important piece of gear on a windy day?  Studded felt.   

[Domenick Swentosky]

If it's really bad I usually switch over to a big indie fly/dropper rig and stay low. 

That's what I've been doing too.  I actually ended up with a small Thingamabobber (I don't compete) instead of a dry, however I fished it like a dry dropper presentation.  I found it to be much less wind resistant than my dries and that's exactly what I needed the other day.  I picked up a lot more fish once I made these couple adjustments.  However, my buddy stuck with straight nymphing and continued to catch fish at about the same rate.  We both did miss and lose a lot of fish.  No matter what you tried to do, good contact was difficult to achieve.

I actually look forward to those days where the conditions are terrible.  It's challenging and it keeps most guys off the water.  With my home stream as one of the premier waters in the East, it's tough to find the kind of room that I like to have, especially at this time of year.  I'll take the heavy wind and fewer font endings.

Enjoy the day.
Domenick

[Rick Scida]

About a month ago I posed this same question and I'm Happy to report the advice I received here helped immensely (lower rod tip). Saturday was probably the worst day to be on the stream but better than work (I'm I right )  My "Buddy" and I hit the water and ran into two fellow angler's who had been on the water for about an hour and said they were done couldn't handle the wind.  This reminded me of one of Lorens article's on reading water. The way I interpreted it was read the water, read the water, read the water, which caused  me not to worry about the weather.  I can only imagine using the advice from this board  what a perfect day could bring.

Again thank's......... and thanks "Buddy" nothing better than clanging together a couple of Yuenglling's and enjoying the day!

[Philip Short]

I had the same problem with wind on the ausable. I found that I should get my best drifts while the wind dies down a bit then when it picks up I just do my best. I also found with a shorter line you can keep more control over your flies with heavy wind.

[Chris Smorul]

Bends in the creeks with high banks that shelter from the wind are what I look for.  I could be wrong but when the wind blows hard the fish seem to gather in these spots as well.

[Todd Oishi]

....How do guys like to you deal with intense wind conditions? 

Fish with thinner diameter tippet; hold the tip of the rod lower to the water's surface; ensure that absolutely no fly line exposed; use heavier patterns; and pull/lead the flies at a faster pace...

If all else fails, switch to a different technique that allows you to effectively present your flies to the fish, as it's absolutely senseless and a complete waste of time to present your flies in a manner that inhibits and reduces your ability to detect takes. Quite often you have only one shot at enticing a fish, which emphasizes the importance of making an educated guess as to which presentation will be the most effective... 

[Sean Crocker]

 Todd i think you are spot on! I often will try to stick to my usual nymph techniques and hold my rod tip lower to reduce the amt of wind pushing my leader. I also will tie on a much heavier nymph so I can keep consistant contact with my flies and detect strikes better. I also don't utilize a sighter as much in high winds due to my leader blowing around allot. If the wind keeps my flies from the strike zone despite that then time for me to throw on a streamer. When all else fails go home and tie flies.