General guidelines for wind and weather…

So here are my general guidelines on what to expect out of the weather patterns and wind. Like most of you guys I fish whenever I can instead of whenever I should. Over the years you start to understand what to expect out of the weather cycles and wind.

Everyone has heard the saying “wind out of the East, fish bite the least!” This holds true 95% of the time. The barometric Pressure is often high, the sky is often clear, and the lake is often glass or barely a ripple. Bluebird days are usually pleasant to be out in but the fish lay down in the mud and barely want to bite. When they do it’s short strikes and fish lipping the baits instead of taking the bait down. On days like this I like to downsize at least half my baits and I move either shallow or to structure. Fish that are shallow are often feeding. Fish that are on structure are more prone to bite as well. I’ve had some epic trips on a bluebird day but it’s few and far between.

I’ve always heard that “wind out of the West, fish bite the best” but this is seldom true for Bluecats in my experience. If your in the right place at the right time then it can be really good but it’s usually only a very short window. The wind is changing directions and the barometric pressure is usually fluctuating and the fish don’t seem to like that very much.

Wind out of the North is usually tough on the first day but the longer the wind blows out of the north, the better the fishing gets. Usually the second or third day of north wind it gets really good.

South or SE wind is my favorite wind pattern. If you can locate a good group of fish, they will usually turn on when the wind starts blowing out of the south. The reason I say “if” is because south wind usually follows after bluebird sky which scatters fish but “if” you can find a good group they will usually turn on the minute that south wind starts blowing. After 2-3 days of South or SE wind the bait and fish are usually grouped up good and easy to pattern. If you can catch that south wind pre-front when it’s blowing 10-15 mph and there are clouds with a chance of rain then that is about the closest thing to a Bluecat guarantee as you can get. There are no guarantees but that’s pretty dang close.

The X factor is the moon phase. Fish bite during all moon phases but the time of day can very greatly. Full moon the fish will be up at night feeding. The morning bite is usually not very good around the full moon but they will often turn on between 11-1 pm. The new moon is usually pretty good bite in the morning and just before dark. I don’t pay much attention to the moon phases as I have caught fish way too many times going against the solunar tables or the catfish or fish calendars. The weather pattern plays a much greater roll on the Bluecat bite than the moon I can guarantee that.

None of this stuff will make me stay home as I will fish any chance I get. Any day on the water beats the heck out of staying home but having realistic expectations on what to expect will help eliminate some of the disappointment we get as anglers when we do poorly. If you are lucky enough to get to choose which days to fish then these guidelines will certainly help increase your success rate but don’t let a poor weather pattern keep you at home! Tight lines and hope this helps a few guys!

Very helpful , thanks Chris.

A question if I may around catching fresh bait. Having never used a cast net before it’s been a steep learning curve for me. That said I started to have some success, and with some coaching from Catfish Tim I was getting by and occasionally doing pretty good.

Now the weather has cooled off it’s getting more challenging. A couple of times this past week I have got up at i-dark-thirty to hit the ramps and nothing.

Do you have any general tips on where to target now it’s cooled off?

Tim had advised me to buy a taped net for use in deeper water, but holding off for now as I’m on my 4th cast net already and I can’t afford a divorce!

Thanks in advance.

PS I haven’t used chicken since I first started but that time may come…,

Bob I caught shad in 30' of water yesterday and the simple fact is if you don't have a taped net, you will not catch bait that deep. Heck most nets that are not taped don't even have a hand line that long. The cooler it gets the deeper they will be. When it gets cold, they go deep to stay alive and they school for the same reason. You can see schools of literally millions of shad when they are in tight schools to stay warm and stay alive.

Chris,

The fishing calendars and fish forecasts are a waste of time (sorry Catfish Lynn) nothing against your stuff. But in my experience I have had some of the best fishing days of my life when the fish were not supposed to be biting. Weather is everything. I was out yesterday afternoon and again this morning. Wind was out of the southwest and blowing pretty good today. Fish are schooling up. Seeing good groups and they are biting. I too have had a handful of good days with an east wind and bluebird sky. Unfortunately, Saturday was not one of them...

thanks

Getting good bait is the first piece to the Bluecat puzzle Bob. Like Tim said, the cooler it gets, the deeper they go, and pretty soon you won’t be able to even get good bait unless you have a deep hole taped net or you go up into the creeks. To save yourself from continuing to destroy nets it’s best to start acquiring preferred areas to get your bait. These can be dock stalls under lights at the marina that you know are clear of snags, ledges, edges, and my favorite, the deep hole. Old submerged ponds are easy to locate with navionics and are excellent places to get bait! Why throw deep when there is bait up shallow? No searching necessary and no wondering if I’m going to lose a net on unfamiliar water. I can pull right up to my deep hole and drop my net right on em! 1-3 throws and your fishing. Occasionally the bait isn’t there and you gotta go searching and that is when I rip up my nets. Go early and it’s usually there. Wait until mid day or afternoon and the bait could be anywhere. I have around 10 areas I get bait from year round that I know are free of snags. Put in the work and find those holes and they will pay off for years to come. Spend the time patterning the mid depth and deep bait patterns now and you’ll save yourself a mountain of time down the road! This Bluecat game requires a ton of knowledge and trying to take shortcuts will only hurt you in the long run. If you want to build consistent success year round then get good at getting the right bait and focus your attention on learning to pattern Gizzard Shad. You can use chicken but it’s not gonna catch you very many big fish. Guys use chicken cuz they aren’t good at getting fresh bait. Learn to pattern Gizzard Shad and you’ll learn to pattern Bluecats.

Thanks for the advice guys, and yes taped net and try not to cry if I lose it.

I have to remind myself that starting out I had zero success, so I have come a long way. I remember my first big haul on Lavon, a perfect round cast not my usual ‘taco’, and so many good sized Shad I half filled my bucket.

I was as shocked as those fish - lol

Also any recommendations on taped nets, brands and sizing???

(I will shut up now……promise)

Asking questions is the only way to get answers Bob…I like the Fitec 11970. Let’s most threadfin pass through.

Think I'm going to stay off Lake Worth until we get firmly in the winter pattern. May go back to Eagle Mountain. Worth is so shallow, and small, in a week the surface temp dropped 11 degrees, and the fish were everywhere, really scattered. Now it will climb back up a little. bait was still relatively shallow, with most around 6 to 8 feet. But didn't mark hardly any fish where the bait was. Went to where I marked fish, and almost no bait to be found.

I think the fish were on crack.

Just picked up the one El Gato Azul recommended (Fitec 11970) at Academy...............with my account discount and free shipping $120.31.I've been trying to get a Lee Fisher for the last couple month's to no avail and more pricey than the Filtec.Thanks El Gato...........much appreciated Brother

Bob, I'll be glad to meet up with you one afternoon and practice throwing that net with you until our arms hurt. It took me a really long time to figure it out. I will say this, the biggest net you can handle is the best option for catching bait. I started with a 4 footer and threw it until I got it figured out. I moved up to a 6 footer and there's very little difference between the two as far as how they throw. When you move up to a ten or twelve footer it's like walking into another dimension. When you find bait, one throw with a ten or twelve footer and you're done for the day. That being said, you gotta find bait. Yesterday afternoon I went out for a couple of hours. This is where I found bait.

This is the bait I got.

I usually find gizzard shad here. I think it's because the creek channel swings in pretty close to the bank. In the picture there shows to be a boat ramp right in the center. The small pocket to the right of that is around 6-8 feet deep up pretty close to the shore. Yesterday, if I didn't throw my net almost on the bank, I wouldn't catch a shad. The wind was blowing from the south so it was pushing them up on that bank. I only got to do a couple of drifts but caught a few dinks including this one.

I'll be hunting all next week but PM me and we'll meet up after that. I can't help you as much as Tim or Chris, but I can get you headed in the right direction.

It’s changes dramatically from day to day this time of year buddy! My buddy Mike has been smashing the big fish on Worth. You probably went post front when just about everyone I know took a beating!

Your gonna love that net Amigo! Great price too and much smoother than a Lee Fisher!

Careful throwing those big nets in Texas buddy! 7ft is biggest allowed but only time I’ve ever been checked was down at the coast…

Literally pays to know the law. Gato, you may have just saved me a bunch of money! Don't know why I never thought to check that. The tools in my shed need some sharpening...

It’s safe to say we all break a few laws from time to time and you’d most likely never get checked but I thought I would at least let ya know buddy!

Hey guys,

I'm a n00b at this but soaking up new knowledge like a sponge!

Local member Gophish put me onto an app he uses for local wind forecasts, and he swears by it.

It's Windfinder PRO and its available in your App Store, and its a pay service at $7.99



He tells me it's pretty accurate, and the data when you search by location (this example RayBob) is very comprehensive and by the hour.



Now I know it's only a forecast, but today's forecast proved to accurate and was better than the sites I have been using.