I have heard a hard wind blows the bait fish to the downwind shore ....

Does this really matter ?

Does the wind really make enough current that fish under the surface would get blown downwind ?...

I honestly find it so hard to cast into a stiff wind, that it makes it no fun. The few times have I done it, I can't say my luck was much better.

So what is your experience ?

Main reason is planning Sat eve to bank fish Benbrook, and either fish mustang park with wind at my bank, or at the dam with wind in my face. If the theory holds out then 2 hard days of south wind should have the bait fish pushed upto the Dam and my odds are better there.

It's my understanding that the plankton or whatever it is that the bait fish eat, is actually what moves with the consistent winds. Naturally, the bait fish move along with their food, and the bigger preditorial fish follow them... your plan to hit that wind blown side sounds like a decent one to me. I would start there...good luck!

Baitfish have a difficult time fighting against current being created by several days of wind blowing the same direction and therefore will be piled up against the shoreline the wind is blowing into. I've seen this many times on Texoma and the baitfish are literally jumping out of the water onto the bank to get away from the stripers. The rougher the water/weather the bigger fish will be out prowling in. It's tough to control the boat, especially if you're by yourself and have a fish on. You will need someone to stay on the electric motor to keep from washing up on the bank.

The give away will be the large number of shore birds congregated along the shoreline baitfishing.

I never thought about the plankton and smaller stuff, that makes sense.

Well lets hope after yesterday and all day today that 15-20mph south wind will have them all bunched up at the dam waiting for me and my father-in-law.

-thanks

Went to the Benbrook Dam, fished by the pumping station on the north east side of the Dam. After 2 days of strong south winds, the bait fish where stacked up in there. Tons of small minnows all along the shore. Unfortunately, we didn't get out until late in the morning 10am. According to a fisherman that was leaving, he caught tons of sand bass and a few under sized hybrids. Best action was at dawn 5-6am he said.

I had a few small sandies take a small spinner, and I could see them chase it many times to the bank.

I did manage 1 LMB, 24" and 5.8Lbs very fat. he inhaled a minnow crankbait. I also got 2 small mouths on a texas rigged twin tail mister twister black/silver. All fish returned for others to catch. I was fishing under the bridge that goes south out from the Dam.

We tried fishing bait off the bottom but the bottom is so rocky we always got our weights hung up, or the bait got the line wrapped around something. It seems like a tough spot to fish. The bridge from the east to the building, as tons of floating black cables and such, so almost impossible to fish under there.

-later

Went to benbrook this morning sandies and wipers stopped hitting by 7:30. And yes at Texoma when I bank fish I have way better luck when the wind is heading straight at me. Can suck if its strong winds from my kayak but I believe in this theory.

Smallmouths? Really? Never seen one from Benbrook. Cool!

Thanks for following up. I was curious how it went. Nice bass

Hi anton,

truth be told, I can only say they were not large mouth, jaw didn't go back past eye and they were not sandies, so I assumed it was a small mouth bass.

-rob

That is correct!