Depending on air temps, wind can push fish out of an area or draw them to it. A light breeze may yield a feeding frenzy, while heavy winds can ruin fishing. (Photo courtesy of Rapala)
May 02, 2025
By David A. Brown
Springtime bass fishing in the Midwest can be difficult, due in no small part to the weather systems pushing through the region this time of year. Winds, sometimes excessive, often accompany these fronts and can frustrate angler efforts. Successfully fishing in windy conditions isn’t about toughness. Rather, it’s about recognizing the real-world impacts of wind and how they influence your angling objectives. While an angler’s personal comfort matters somewhat, how bass respond to wind is far more important.
This is especially true in spring when water temps and clarity heavily affect fishing. Think of it like walking into a dinner party where everything seems pleasant and cozy. Once you’ve settled in, someone cranks up the most obnoxious music and drops the air conditioning to an arctic level. How long are you staying?
It’s similar with spring bass moving toward spawning destinations. Extreme wind from a cold front is just like that chilly AC and loud music. The colder, and often roiled, water makes bass uncomfortable to the point that they may retreat from an area. Alternatively, some wind—light enough to not send temps plummeting or excessively churn up waters—can actually be beneficial. As Bassmaster Elite pro Chad Pipkens explains, wind levels are likely more critical to consider this time of year than at any other.
“The less wind, the warmer the water and the clearer the water,” the Michigan angler says. “Sometimes, wind can turn those swimmers into biters. Baitfish get blown into places where the fish are used to super-clear water and [are] super-skittish. Then, suddenly, you get the right tint to the water and they get active.”
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A TALE OF TWO FISH Around the spawn, bass largely fall into two categories—pre-spawn fish and spawners—each with their own preferences or biological needs. Pipkens says pre-spawners prioritize feeding (as do fish that have finished spawning), which makes them appreciate a little stain and light motion to the water, as it reduces visibility and increases their ability to ambush prey. Conversely, spawners are solely focused on rising water temperatures, which hasten egg development. High winds pushing cold water into an area will stall spawning fish, and many will also seek out clearer water, meaning anglers should pursue these fish in leeward areas during windy conditions.
THE CHILL FACTOR Seth Feider, a Bassmaster Elite angler from Minnesota, considers wind the number-one consideration during the early pre-spawn period, especially during ice-out. Once main-lake waters reach the mid to upper 50s, the effects of wind become less severe.
“The rule of thumb says: If the air is warmer than the water, the windiest banks will be the warmest,” he says. “If the air is colder than the water, the calmest banks will be the warmest.”
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Feider suggests that on any Midwestern lake with water temps averaging in the mid- to upper-40-degree range, the warmest water in the lake will load up with bass. It doesn’t have to be the best spot on the lake, as long as it’s warmer than surrounding waters.
When winds create a light chop, ChatterBaits work well and cover lots of water. They shine in and around grass and vegetation, too. (Photo courtesy of Z-Man Fishing) The other consideration for wind direction involves water movement. As Pipkens explains, a light chop is good, but stronger spring winds will push cold water into an area and either put the brakes on pre-spawn advancement or scatter spawners.
Water stability is crucial and, while a little ripple’s okay, you don’t want deep, cold water to roll over and invade the spawning areas. That’s why Pipkens looks for areas that are not too exposed to strong winds.
According to Pipkens, small inland lakes are generally less likely to see significant turnover. The winds simply move the colder surface water around to different parts of the lake, so he seeks the calmest, warmest side. On larger water bodies, the main lake or river might be 10 to 12 degrees cooler than the air temp, while a leeward creek arm or bay could be 5 to 6 degrees warmer and holding more fish.
Feider further notes that wind affects lakes far more than rivers. It will impact backwater areas, too, but usually not the main river as much because of the current.
“The only time I feel there’s too much wind is when it’s turning up the bank and getting too muddy,” he adds. “A little color actually helps because it will accelerate the warming.”
BEST PRACTICES The most consistent anglers use geography and natural features to their advantage. For Ohio pro Alex Redwine, that could be as simple as considering bank angles.
“If an area has a lot of flat banks, and then you have a section with more 45-degree channel swing banks, that will offer more wind protection,” he says. “If fish are on flatter banks, they can pull off to those steeper banks until the wind [subsides] and it warms up again.”
Whereas flat banks allow the wind to roll directly across the water, steeper banks let fish tuck under the wind as it blows over their area.
What is considered too much wind may, at times, come down to personal preference. However, Pipkens warns against underestimating the “oops” factor when it comes to positioning and handling your boat.
“A lot of times, in the pre-spawn, those fish are grouped up, so if you get a bite, there are probably others there,” he says. “It’s easier casting with the wind, but you have to be careful because you don’t want to get blown into an area.”
Pipkens likes to quarter the wind, because if he’s fighting a fish while simply floating downwind, he could drift right over a school of fish and ruin a good opportunity. Also, when he gets a bite in windy conditions, Pipkens hits his Spot-Lock to ensure he can make that cast again.
When targeting bedded fish, few things beat a classic drop-shot rig with an enticing soft plastic. Look for calmer waters out of the wind, which spawning fish prefer. (Photo courtesy of Berkley) SPAWN SECRETS In a spawning scenario, Feider obviously wants the calmest bank he can find because he’s visually searching for targets. For wary largemouths bedding in shallow areas, Feider doesn’t mind a little ripple if he’s already identified a bed. However, if too much breeze starts to impede his vision, he’ll angle his boat to block the wind and smooth over the surface so he can see the fish.
BAIT BETS Bed-fishing typically implies more protected areas, so the standard lineup of Texas-rigged plastics, drop-shots and maybe a finesse Carolina rig won’t change much. However, as the fish make their pre-spawn approaches, Pipkens lets wind conditions guide his bait selection. “In a shallow place, if it’s calm, maybe you’re throwing a little swimbait,” he says. “If there’s a little wind and a chop and there’s grass, maybe then you’re throwing a ChatterBait or a spinnerbait or a crankbait.
“In other places, where it’s really clear and you have a little chop, I’ve caught them really well on a jerkbait,” he adds. “In slick, post-frontal conditions, if they’re following the jerkbait but not committing, then you can pick up a little swimbait on a ball head, a little jig-head minnow or a drop-shot.”
In his area, Feider says pre-spawn largemouths generally gravitate to shallow, dark-bottomed bays often bristling with the stems and stalks of dead vegetation. When targeting these fish, he likes a Texas-rigged creature bait, a 3/8-ounce ChatterBait , a lipless crankbait or a swim jig with a boot-tail trailer—all efficient baits that cast well in the wind and perform in a chop. When smallmouths abound, Feider includes a jerkbait and a tube.
In windier conditions, Redwine uses a bigger-profile bait because the greater disturbance is easier for fish to locate from a distance. For example, he’d typically throw a 1/4-ounce ChatterBait in calm conditions, but he’ll go with a 3/8- or 1/2-ounce on windy days.
A spinnerbait is another go-to option for pre-spawn bass when a little wind stirs up the water and fish become more aggressive. (Photo courtesy of Berkley) SEALING THE DEAL As Pipkens says, wind can prohibit or promote bites. In the latter case, though, windy conditions can make detecting light bites and setting the hook difficult.
“There’s a time when they’re spawning when you have got to be on it because they’re going to spit it out right away,” he says. “Even then, they’re going to bite again. I want to feel pressure and movement before I pull into them because that’s when I feel like they’ve got it. You’re going to miss them more often if you take it to them too quickly.”
When fighting fish in windy conditions, Redwine advises anglers to consider how the boat’s rise and fall affects line pressure and rod angles. And, unless he’s boat-flipping his catch, he’ll use physics to his benefit.
“If I have to go down and lip a fish, I try to do it on the leeward side,” he says. “And I’ll go down low in the console where I’m closer to the water level.”
This article was featured in the April 2025 issue of Game & Fish magazine. Click to subscribe
