(Editor's note: The following is the latest installment in a series of fishing tips presented by The Bass University. Check back each Friday for a new tip.)
Competing and guiding on the big waters of the northeast, Pete Gluszek has no choice but to fish when it’s windy. If he stayed home every time the flags stood straight out from their poles, he’d rarely be on the water. But unlike most anglers who see a glass-calm day and get excited, Gluszek looks forward to the days when it’s a bit gusty.
“That wind will drive the bite,” he said. “Things get easier.” He can get closer to his targets, cover water more quickly and experience brutal strikes, all because that breeze is driving the food chain and widening the strike zone.
In fact, he likes the wind so much that on dead-calm days he’ll try to find any bank with a little bit of surface disruption.
Of course, before you even think about attacking that widened strike zone, you have to be sure that you can make it there and back safely. Gluszek runs a Bass Cat Cougar FTD, which he likes because it maintains a nose-up attitude in all conditions. He outfits it with an Atlas Jackplate to maximize the bite that his prop will get, and typically uses a four-blade prop for added security in the rough stuff. Perhaps most importantly, he attaches his PFD to a kill switch and then takes his time getting places. He’ll put his sonar and rods in dry storage and carefully pick his way to his next spot, thereby ensuring that not only does he make it in one piece, but also that an uncomfortable ride doesn’t become an expensive one.
Once he’s at his chosen spot, he’ll use Power Poles, drift paddles and even a drift sock to hold his position or slow his drift, as appropriate. With new tools like the Minn Kota Ultrex, it’s even easier to deal with whatever Mother Nature throws at him and fish effectively. He’ll use a 52-inch shaft on his trolling motor in rough water to keep it buried, and adds a G Force Eliminator to maintain stealth, because even when he’s riding the waves like a bucking bronco, he’s convinced that fish can still sense anything that’s unnatural.
Just because he can get to a spot and hold on it doesn’t mean he’ll stay there. “Wind is your friend as long as it’s not muddying the water,” he said. When that happens on clear, deep-water fisheries, he’ll often just slide out to the next depth zone, following the baitfish that don’t care for the mud, either. Even if the fish are there, he’ll still stay attuned to the conditions, whether that means a change in wind direction or a change in speed. “Change is key,” he advised, noting that each minor alteration can help you get more bites if you notice it.
The wind can wreak havoc with your casts, but since most windy-day fishing involves power techniques, Gluszek said that makes it a bit easier. He prefers to fish into the wind if he can. If you fish with it, by the time you get a strike, you’ll be out of position to set the hook and corral the fish. Practically, this means that most of his casts are at a 45 to 90 degree angle, to avoid horrific backlashes, and he tries to keep the bait low to the water, avoiding “lollipop casts.”
If you want to learn some of Gluszek’s other tips for making the most of windy days, including his thoughts on rod length and the new B.A.S.S. rule allowing rods longer than 8 feet, check out his full video, available only by subscribing to The Bass University TV.
