A Week of Windy Fishing

A guide's worse enemy can be adverse conditions for his/her anglers. Notice that I'm mentioning anglers in this opening statement and not fishing. Often the only thing that holds back a guide from catching fish on a windy, rainy miserable day is either the anglers unwillingness to plow ahead and just go fishing as long as there's no dangerous conditions that present a safety hazard. With that said... I'm not suggesting that anyone bring their wives and children out for a miserable day on the water, but for the dedicated angler, adverse conditions are just "part of the game".

This week has been blowing in excess of 25 knots with occasional rain (no lightning). I've had the opportunity to get out during some of the days and have managed to have pretty good success rates at finding and catching fish. Has it been comfortable....? No, for the most part, but it's been rewarding to come back to the dock with our limit in redfish and trout with a few nice snook sprinkled in for good measure.

Fishing in the wind can be challenging for guides and anglers alike, but for those willing to understand the frustrations and deal with them, it can be rewarding. Using a trolling motor in choppy waters is tough, noisy and sometimes necessary to position the boat. Fifty percent of the time it's not effective or accurate, but if you're willing to accept that, your labor intensive day will often reward you with a nice stringer of fish.