Explain "blowing the bait fish"

Vollmer

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We all know that wind can blow the baitfish into a shoreline. I do not disagree with it, so don't get this topic wrong, however, I often struggle with understanding how wind can cause bait fish to be physically moved to that extent.

I also wonder if too much wind can have an adverse effect, causing a shoreline to become far too stirred up, or muddy.

Someone explain the "blowing bait fish" theory to me ... and use crayons so I understand it. :::

Also, how much wind is too much wind? What is the perfect wind? etc ...
 


Twitch

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I can’t exactly give you a mph for too windy but I have seen it get too muddy that the bad outweighs the good. As far as blows the baitfish I’ve always thought that the wind blows whatever the baitfish are eating up shallow causing the baitfish to move up. From there where the bait goes the predator goes more so than the wind blowing the bait up shallow.
 

KDM

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There are two trains of thought on this idea. One is what Twitch mentioned. The other is that the wind causes the water to get stirred up and cloudy on the windy side which causes "mudlines" to form where cleaner water runs against this muddy water. The idea here is that this dirty or muddy water makes it easier for the predator fish to ambush the baitfish and not so much as there are more baitfish. What baitfish are there are just easier to get. Easier pickings makes for more predator fish in the area. Either way, the windy side shorelines seem to have more active fish if the wind has been steady in one direction for a few days.

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johnr

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Never had any luck fishing "in the mud" so to speak. Fish the windy side, but stay on the edge of the mud line, unless someone else has had luck in that area, as I sure have not.
Today would be unfishable
 


SDMF

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You can have the "Windblown Shoreline" this time of year. I'll take the lee-side with the clearer water allowing the sun access to the dark bottom, warming the water.
 

Allen

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KDM is thinking kinda similar as to what I've always thought.

The choppy waters do stir things up, so the baitfish may have somewhat higher chances of finding a meal themselves, but they are primarily looking to hangout where they are harder to find themselves. That's in the muddier waters.

Too bad for them that walleyes have some of the best vision in the freshwater fish around here, so walleyes in particular like to lurk along the mud line and there are times where this has led to some really incredible fishing for me. Literally, I have seen walleyes roll in the surf and land on Sak's shoreline only to let the wave carry them back into the water. Of course, I've also had my boat blown up on the shore a time or two as well, it's tough to fish in 3 ft of water when you have 2+ ft waves. But if the boat is light enough, get after them!

For the actual behavior in fish? There probably isn't a "too much wind" thing, for safely fishing it's all on your skills, equipment, and comfort zone. I would way rather fish the lakes on windy days than the damn river. Having both wind and current to fight can wear a person out.
 

CatDaddy

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"Blowing the baitfish" is what you do when fishing "sucks". There. I did it.

On a serious note - good topic. Have been curious what others thought/have experienced as well.....
 

ndfinfan

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Personally...I don't like wind much over 15mph...impacts how quickly I can get from point A to point B. On those nice light to moderate wind days, I usually start out trolling the windward side and go from there...but that's just me.
 


sl1000794

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I can say from 25 years of SCUBA diving that wind doesn't move anything under the surface of the body of water.
 

3Roosters

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All i can provide to this topic is i have 2 ready to express my excuses if i am not catching fish: 1. its too windy or 2. its not windy enuff.. haha
 

raider

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I have good luck fishing yesterdays wind some days

this is always how i start, unless i have a recent honey hole...

some of my best days have come fishing a mud line drifting with 2-4 drift socks out... but you have to have a boat that will let you do that...

back when sak was way down (20-25 years ago), drifting over shallow flats on van hook was an almost spiritual experience in big wind... had a 1775 tyee back then and when there was water splashing over on a side drift it was always a good day...

anymore i will usually pitch and reel baits through the mud/mud line... at that point boat control isn't as much of a thing...
 

Sluggo

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And the wind blown side can have water temps a few degrees warmer than the lee side which can make big and little fish happier, especially in spring and fall when they are seeking warmer, more comfortable water.
 

guywhofishes

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If clarity allows it, careful observation of the surface water on the wind blown side will reveal trillions of freshwater zooplankton, which prey on phytoplankton, which in turn rely on sunlight. That top foot or so of water, which teams with life, gets pushed across the lake's surface by the wind.

So the windblown side naturally ends up teaming with the very foundation of the food web. Thus the entire food chain often “stacks up” on the wind blown side.

I used to be big into aquariums and would need to harvest zooplankton to feed fry. A guy gets an eye for zooplankton if he’s ever been forced to forage for them. Ha ha.

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Also - that water has to go somewhere - it can’t keep accumulating on the windward side. So there also a rip current if you look closely.... a river flowing upwind carrying water back to the other side of the lake to maintain level.

You’ll often see flotsam/jetsam moving with it... a dirty trashy little river flowing upwind.

Man have I had some good bites pitching into or slipping with rip currents.
 
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espringers

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a windblown shoreline is always where i will start tossing cranks once it has warmed up. i can't speak to really early like this. but, my best days... all day... early, midday and late... have been where the wind is blowing in with the wind at my back trolling and tossing into said windblown shoreline. having said that, i've rarely caught more than a white bass inside a clearly defined mudline. also, even if it calms down, if you can fish that same shoreline within 24 hours of the same wind, production seems similar. that's all i got on that subject.
 

Allen

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I can say from 25 years of SCUBA diving that wind doesn't move anything under the surface of the body of water.


One would have to define "surface", but I get your point. Waves don't mix as deep as a layperson would think.

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....I used to be big into aquariums and would need to harvest zooplankton to feed fry. A guy gets an eye for zooplankton if he’s ever been forced to forage for them. Ha ha.

....

Man have I had some good bites pitching into or slipping with rip currents.

Of all the things I've never done, somebody please stop me before I do!


Right! We who have shorefished the ocean know the importance of the rip current! They are bait collectors!
 

sl1000794

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One would have to define "surface", but I get your point. Waves don't mix as deep as a layperson would think.

Waves do not mix at all. On a long reach (distance) high winds will cause what ia called "upwelling." We experienced that one time diving in the Carmel area. The wind had been blowing from the NW hard for several days. That is closely to parallel to the CA coast. What happens is that the strong wind for such a long time water is actually blown downwind and the water turns offshore as the wind diminishes. The result is water rises and comes in from deeper water to replace the water that has moved down shore and out and is called an Upwelling. In the Pacific it is cold water.

We dove in Carmel when water would normally would be 50° and it was only 44°. We only did 1 dive - too cold even with 1/4" wetsuits.
 
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