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"Springtime Rock n'
Roll" Fishing"
Article by Capt. Jack Culberson ~
USCG Licensed Fishing Captain
Visit: 4-Alarm Guide Service
Ph:
361-813-4229
Fishing by Boat Wade Fishing Drift Fishing Flounder Trips Live, Artificial & Lures
Fishing
I was sitting here at the house wondering what I would
write about and I could hear the wind blowing through the trees. So I
decided to write about something that we have no control over and that is
the weather. This time of the year we get to fish in every kind of weather
that you can imagine. We have cold fronts, warm fronts, rain,
thunderstorms and last but not least wind. There is not a day goes by that
we don't complain about the wind either blowing to much or not enough.
During the Spring we usually have more wind than we need.
I thought that today I would talk about a few things that we do to combat
bad wind conditions. Our prevailing wind in the Spring usually comes out
of the south or southeast. If you happen to get a north wind it just
messes up everything. Our Bay runs north to south and with a north wind it
has about 20 miles to build over open water and that really churns up the
south end. Most days on a north wind, I fish the flats or just hide behind
the islands. You can actually get to the St. Joe shoreline on a southeast
wind by following the ICW to the shrimp boat Channel and then the Lydia
Ann Channel. Takes a lot of gas but keeps you out of trouble.
One of the things to keep in mind when fishing a hard wind is, first and
foremost, safety. If you don't have a boat that will handle rough water or
don't feel safe, don't go. Things happen fast and you don't want to be a
statistic. It's usually worse than it looks, so if it looks bad, it most
likely is worse. There is nothing wrong with waiting for another day. I
usually check the weather before getting on the water so I'll know what to
expect.
www.Windfinder.com is a good website to
check along with
www.weather.com. I also try to come
up with a plan for the next day. If I know that the wind will be blowing
40 plus, I'm not going across the Bay. I'll fish Estes Flats, Dagger or
Ransom. We will at least have some cover to get behind.
I will also change my fishing techniques to match the wind. I know that we
will not be drifting if the wind is howling. We will anchor up and fish
with either artificials or bait. I would rather use bait when the water is
churned up over artificials. They will still work, it's just a lot easier
with bait and I've had better success. It seems like the Trout are turned
off more than Redfish during bad weather. Because they don't react as much
to the bad weather, I'll usually target Redfish during bad wind. My bait
of choice will be live Shrimp under an Alameda rattle cork, cut Mullet,
cut Perch, or Menhaden. All of these baits allow the fish to hunt with
senses other than sight. The Alameda uses sound and the other put scent
into the water.
Last but not least, be careful during bad weather. It's better to wait
until another day than get into a bad situation. You can certainly fish
during bad weather but we all wish we didn't have to deal with it.
Capt. Jack Culberson ~
USCG Licensed Fishing Captain
Visit: 4-Alarm Guide Service
Ph: 361-813-4229
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