MAKING THE
MOST OF
HEAVY WINDS
coastal fishing corks are great
for this purpose, since the weight inside them is easily adjusted. Make the cork heavy
enough, and you can launch it through gale force
winds like a cannonball.
It should also be noted that drop shot rigs and
slip corks are a good applications, too. Drop shot rigs
lead through the air by the bottom weight and don’t
tangle as easily in the wind.
Some braided fishing line is a nightmare in heavy
wind, especially in comparison to monofilament and
fluorocarbon, both of which don’t tend to fold over
onto themselves. If you are going to use braided line,
then I suggest giving FINS Windtamer a shot. While
the line isn’t as round as their XS fishing line, it certainly does an excellent job of not folding over onto
itself in the wind. It avoids wrapping around the rod
tip or creating other annoying wind knots. I tried to
Four Horse Lake will be a bumpy ride in nasty winds, but the smaller bayous won’t. NOTE: When we refer to “lee
get the “secret sauce” of Windtamer out of FINS but
water”, we are really referring to the “lee of the land.”
all they would tell me is that their Spectra fiber is
woven and finished in a different manner than other
Spectra braided fishing lines.
You may be like the rest of us here at the Blog
and use a baitcaster of one sort or another. I use Shimano and Abu Garcia, both of which have some kind
of adjustable braking system, such as a centrifugal or
magnetic design. If I am fishing a tough wind, I will
crank down that spool tension knob and braking system dial in order to avoid line run over. There is no
set formula for this, I just experiment with what works
The MRGO shoreline has tall spoil that vegetation has The Great Wall of Chalmette, often referred to as “The
best for me to keep making quality casts without getgrown on over the years, allowing for a break in tough
Wall”, is a flood wall that serves as an excellent break
ting backlash.
winds blowing from the southwest. You can see the
against a vicious wind.
lee, or glass calm, water created by the tall spoil.
Of course, you can always use better casting
techniques. Instead of using your normal overhead
cast, try swinging the rod more like a golf club to
ing spot. So, what are some “less windy” spots?
keep your rig flying low across the water, where the wind can’t grab it.
The marsh in Louisiana is constituted mostly of spartina grass,
which
is low lying and doesn’t do much to stop wind; but there are a
FIND A LESS WINDY SPOT
few areas in the marsh that are higher than spartina grass, and it is
Even if you are set up to battle the wind, it may not be enough, so those places you want to consider fishing.
you have to find a “less windy” spot. This may sound nuts to you, but
For example, if you look at satellite imagery using Google Earth,
this is what separates everyday fishermen from the “Fish Smarter” anyou will see a lot of man-made dead-end canals lining the marsh.
glers. Seriously, find a spot where the wind is not blowing as hard. It’s
These canals may have “spoil”, or piles of dirt, built up on each side
better than duking it out in a hard blowing wind at your favorite fishthat will protect you from the wind. This spoil was created when soil
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January 2016 www.marshandbayou.com