Entry 326-4

Catching Transition Bass and Dodging Fishing Pressure in the Fall with Chad Brauer

Part 4: Bass When It’s Blowin’

Question: One of the elements that you’ve mentioned we need to consider when fishing this time of year is wind. You’ve said that you like to see a cold front move onto the lake or river that you’re fishing at this time of year, and those fronts are often driven by strong wind. How does wind on the lake affect the bass, your lure selection and the way you fish?

Brauer: The most-critical element for most fishermen on windy days is how to control the boat and put their baits in the places where they believe bass to be holding. The #1 rule that I abide by on windy days is I always try to fish into the wind using my trolling motor to help hold the boat still in the wind and to move the boat forward into the wind. This makes boat control and lure placement much easier. Now fishing into the wind requires a little bit more work on the fisherman’s part than if he tries to fish with the wind. However, I’ve learned you can be more successful using this tactic as opposed to letting the wind propel you down the bank so you don’t have to fight the wind. If you drift with the wind, many times you’ll miss a lot of targets because the wind will blow you past them before you can fish them thoroughly.

Question: What happens to the bass and the water on windy days?

Brauer: The wind stirs-up the water column, including algae, phytoplankton, zooplankton and all the microorganisms on which baitfish feed. So, when these microorganisms get stirred-up and become more available to the baitfish, the baitfish go on a feeding spree. The bass will follow the baitfish and become as excited as the baitfish. In my opinion, wind makes all the fish in the water become more active.

On windy days, I try to fish a little faster than I do on calm days. I want to cover more water quickly to find the schools of bass that are actively feeding. I’ll be using lures that are designed to catch more-actively-feeding-fish, like the Strike King spinner bait and the Strike King crankbait. Even if I’m fishing with a tube or a jig, I’ll move these baits a little bit faster. I won’t sit on one spot and work those baits as thoroughly as I will on a calm day. I’ll also use a heavier-weighted jig than I’ll use on a calm day.

Question: Why do tournament fishermen always run to the bank that the wind is blowing into, and most weekend fishermen go to the bank that’s out of the wind?

Brauer: Tournament fishermen are more concerned with catching bass than they are with being comfortable. The tournament fisherman knows that on those windy banks where you have to really depend on your trolling motor, you’ll find the most-active bass. A fisherman fishing on the windy bank will have to work harder to control his boat and make his casts, and tournament anglers are accustomed to that, while recreational anglers aren’t. Generally, the recreational fisherman wants to catch bass the easy way, he’ll go to the banks that have less wind on them where he can cast easier and control his boat better.

To catch bass, you’ve got to be willing to at times be uncomfortable, be challenged by the elements and cast through the weather, not dodge the weather. So, a tournament fisherman is always looking for the elements that cause bass to bite more actively and go to the places where those elements are causing a feeding spree. The recreational fisherman is often more concerned about his comfort and finding an easy place to fish than he is in catching the most bass in the shortest time. But I’ve learned by fishing those windy banks, the bass are easier to catch and much-more active than the bass on the calm banks in the fall. Tournament fishermen don’t get paid for being comfortable when they’re trying to catch bass.

Question: Okay, now we know why to fish windy banks. What lures will we use to catch the bass on these windy banks?

Brauer: My #1 lure in the fall on a windy day is the spinner bait. I believe that the Strike King spinner bait is one of the most-effective ways to fish a windy bank. The spinner bait is easy to work through any time of cover you find on that windy bank. You can cover a lot of water with it quickly. Too, it gives off a lot of flash and a lot of action like the actively-feeding baitfish.

Question: What color spinner bait will you use?

Brauer: Either white or chartreuse or white-and-chartreuse, depending on water color. I use white for the clear water and white-and-chartreuse for the dirty water. I let the wind dictate which size spinner bait I’ll use. The harder the wind’s blowing, the heavier the spinner bait I’ll choose. Heavy spinner baits are easier to cast in the wind, and you have a much-better feel on a heavy, big spinner bait on a windy day than you’ll have on a lighter spinner bait. On a really-windy day, I rarely will choose a Strike King spinner bait smaller than a 1/2-ounce. If I’ve got a 20- to 30-mile-an-hour wind, I may cast a 3/4- or even a 1-ounce spinner bait, because I can cast it better in the wind and I can feel it better when I’m retrieving it than I can a lighter spinner bait.

Next: The Lonely Fall Fisherman

Contents:

• Part 1: Finding and Catching Transition Bass
• Part 2: Take the Temperature in the Bass's House
• Part 3: Rain, Water Clarity and Bass
• Part 4: Bass When It's Blowin'
• Part 5: The Lonely Fall Fisherman