Wind Warriors

I grew up always being told that winds out of the East basically ruin fishing for the day. Some of the best old-school crappie fishermen I know flat out stay home if they wake up to an East wind. Here in 2025, with modern-day electronics and other forms of observation, we are told that those folks were just wrong. Although some wind directions may be tougher than others, fish still gotta eat!

With that being said, most of us know that our Corps of Engineer lakes are wide open. There aren’t many places to hide from the wind. Well, you can hide, but you probably won’t catch anything. That’s why if you’re a somewhat serious angler, you need to have spots picked out for each wind direction. For instance, on Carlyle, a great place during a strong South wind is Dam East. Scan the area, drop some waypoints, and you’ll never get shut down by a South wind again.

Even if you never plan on fishing some spots, it’s always good to have them in your back pocket. The last thing you want is to not go fishing because the wind is blowing a certain direction. I tell all of my clients that I will let them know which ramp to meet at a day or two before their trip because it is almost 100% based on the wind direction.

I’m willing to bet that most people reading this already know what I’m saying. But if you’re one of those folks who stays home because they don’t want to fish in the wind, I'm telling you, get out there and find just a handful of spots for those “bad” winds, and you will be just fine. I promise, there isn’t a wind out there that isn’t fishable.

I have trips on Rend and Carlyle this coming week, so watch for the reports!