What wind speed is too much for you?

Looking at the weather forecast and thinking about the weekend and realized that I don’t really have a no go wind speed. I just haven’t paid close enough attention and usually go when I can unless the weather looks pretty bad. Have you guys paid closer attention and know the MPH when you start to get uncomfortable about heading to the lake? Just curious.

Certan kayaks are better in the wind than others. We have been in some pretty seroius wind and ended up ok, just takes more work.

15 is too much for me on a big body of water. Also depends on the kayak some if the bigger more stable kayaks with pedal drives do better in the wind. I think most people are off the water at 20+

But that is my opinion and not fact.

My yak catches a lot of wind so 10 mph is my limit.

It doesn't help that the prevailing winds on Falcon tend to go toward Mexico!

Seriously thinking about a trolling motor so I can go out more.

15 mph for me in my Frontier. At that speed, I can paddle, but my kayak doesn't go anywhere

Depends on the lake and the kayak. How many wake boarders, jet skiers, and fast driving big boats tend to be on a particular lake is another factor.

I'm careful and err on the side of caution. Sustained wind over 20mph isn't fun in my Hobie. Wind over 12mph isn't fun in my Lifetime Manta.

If there's a strong wind out of the north or south, I'll go to a lake that runs east/west or a lake with good sized creek arms that run east/west.

Have a few good bank fishing/wade fishing spots at south, north, east, and west facing points and funnel points (like bridges)
This weekend, for example, is predicted to be very windy out of the south with cloudy conditions. This time of year; that can be a recipe for great fishing as the bass are herding the baitfish. I'll be bank/wade fishing a south facing point, throwing a lipless crank bait into that wind; retrieving the lure with the current

Thanks for feedback. I found a couple of old threads and 15mph seemed to be the magic number for many, with all the stipulations you guys suggested (lake, kayak, etc). And thanks Collincounty for the info about southerly winds. I’m going to install an anchor trolley this week and will try to sneak out Saturday morning. Forecast is for 13mph winds later on Saturday here.

I upgraded from an ocean kayak Scrambler to a Pescador Pro 12 last Thanksgiving. The Scrambler was unbelievably sensitive to wind. The bulbous nose of the kayak acted like a sail and I would often spin like a top when anchored and get pushed sideways while paddling. Now that I think about it I have barely noticed the wind since I got the Pescador Pro and I havent been using an anchor, so I think I definitely upgraded my ability to handle some wind with the new kayak.

All depends on the body of water, where on that body of water, wind direction and type of fishing I'm doing.
In most cases 15 mph is a good number but I've fished in higher winds and caught good fish.

Nucanoe Frontier? That’s what I have too. Love that high swivel seat and flat floor but hate the wind!

> ... MPH when you start to get uncomfortable about heading to the lake ...

Depends on what you are doing. 12mph is the limit for me when jigging for crappie. And yet I fished (quite successfully) for marsh reds and spawning crappies in 20+ mph. Also depends on available cover.

15 mph is the cut off point in my Outback. If I'm on my Adventure Island then I look forward to 15mph through about 25mph winds. Of course I don't really call it fishing when the wind is that high, it's more like sailing with fishing poles.

Remember that for every doubling of the wind, the force exerted on you and the kayak quadruples. 5 increasing to 10 mph, 4 times the force. 5 increasing to 20, 16 times the force. At some point, the wind will defeat any paddler or pedaler. That number is different for each person. Every winter when the fronts blow in, kayakers hit the beach front and it looks so inviting. The waves get knocked down to nothing in the strong offshore flow. They tell themselves I'm only going out a couple hundred of yards, how bad can it be? Bad enough that they can't paddle in and they ultimately have to be rescued.

Remember that weather forecasts frequently err. Wherever you paddle, always go through what ifs. What if the wind got a little stronger? If you can't answer that with you absolutely making it back to safety then the wind is too strong for that location. When you start getting into cold and cool water season, that's when you really have to look at what ifs. What if I turtled here and my kayak blew away? If the weather is marginal go some place safer or just plan something else that day.

Anything above 10 MPH makes things difficult; above 20 MPH makes fishing really difficult and it has a huge impact on how fast you can paddle.

As far as safety, I feel much safer in a kayak when it's windy then I do in a small aluminum boat.

Good observations!

I'd only add that it is so very dependent on your particular kayak. If you are pedaling or paddling, a good rule of thumb is if you can't make progress into the wind of at least 1 or 2 mph, that is, some decent observable forward motion, that'd be a level of wind too great to be out in. Like others said, if you need to really hold position, say in deeper water, it'd need to be lower. One can always find a cove to hide out in, or under a dam . . . if the wind blows over your head. That, and you can even get to these protected areas.

And, for a given forecast, lakes vary significantly based on several factors. Wheeler Branch would be my example of a small lake that really catches a lot of wind because it sits relatively high, has deep water.

I've been out twice where the wind became so strong after I got on a lake that pedaling once, paddling another time, I couldn't make any progress into the wind to head back to the launch area. I just beached my ride in both circumstances and waited for a lull.

Brad

For a beginner I would say 10. But that also depends on the lake, and where on the lake. I fish RR with double that number BUT I’m not out on the open body of water.

As mentioned above, depends on the water. 10 mph if its a big lake and youre in the open. 15-20 if you can stay in a protected cove the whole time. also depends on your kayak and skill/conditioning level. I fished some days out on the lakes in my Hobie Revo that I would not attempt in a paddle kayak. Peddle drive and rudder let me power back to my launch point.

When it gets windy you have to think about where you CAN fish, which may not be the same as where you WANT to fish.

I highly recommend the WindFinder App. Its great for checking wind speed/direction on most lakes around here.

So true. Depends but fishing on open water anything over 10+mph and I'm usually thinking "work". No wind and the fish don't usually bite as well. In the early am no Wind is ok. But can get too hot in the SUN.

For those that are new to kayaking, keep pushing yourselves to fish in higher and higher wind speeds. Sooner or later you're going to get caught out in conditions that are much worse than you would ever intentionally go out in and if you've been in them before there will be less chance of mishap and much less stress. I've tried to never let a windy day stop me from going out, even if it meant leaving most of or all of my gear in vehicle to reduce risk of losing it, just to see what I could handle. Lots of ways to minimize wind's effects... only take a couple of rods and lay them across deck instead of using your flush mounts, tether your rods so you don't loose them if you dump, lower your seating position if you have adjustable seating, let air out of your seat air pad if you use one, feather your paddle, store anything you don't need immediate access to under deck, take shorter quicker paddle strokes. Better to hit the beach and wait it out if you are confident you can't handle it.

PS.. don't try a stump field crossing in big waves and strong winds. Even if you make it through you will never get it out of your mind.

If its a windy day and you aren't sure whether its safe or not, its probably not safe. However, if you're going against the wind when launching... that might be better. At least after a long day of fishing and you're exhausted, you get a nice paddle back because the wind will be at your back.

Seems at least in our case the wind finds the need to be as inconvenient as possible both directions. Lol.

Truth and experience talking!

I hear you. I think I ended up being a little over cautious on Saturday. I was fishing at Gibbons Creek and stuck to the south end of the lake to hide behind the dam. I also hugged the shoreline on either side of the dam a bit. I caught one bass. I have been doing really well on the north end of the lake (at least in terms of numbers), but it's a three mile paddle and the wind would have been right in my face on the way back. In hindsight I wish I had used the wind to zoom to the north end of the lake where the fish seem to be biting and then dipped in and out of coves on my paddle back south. I think the wind was gusting around 13 to 15 mph, so nothing horrifying. Lesson kind of learned.

I try to find a cut or cove that is out of the wind if at all possible if on the lake, river or creek i will try to stay in a bend that is out of the full force of the wind. Open water for me is 15+, i will find another place to fish or even just beat the bank. some lakes are worse than others when its windy. Granger lake is pretty bad if its windy in my experience. compared to like parts of belton lake can be complete out of the wind.