Using The Wind As Your Friend

It has been a windy, blustery Spring (if you can call it that...) to this very day. I fished Lake Davis last Tuesday, the 15th of June. After a delightful launch at Camp 5 with a single pram guy in the whole facility, I went north to the bays and buckets between Jenkins and Cow Creek. As I settled in for a perfect morning of fishing for risers I knew the damn wind was gonna blow at 15-24mph - But When? NOAA does a great job with local wind forecasts, but even they can't give it a game time. This is often the guessing game at Lake Davis, but it depends on the game you play if the wind will help, or hurt you. The wind can help ripple a lake with a very slight breeze to give the fish more security and feed more actively. It can also help distribute food like blood midge, and snails. There was a time from 1998-2,000 when I would anchor my jonboat sideways to the wind with an anchor on the stern, and one on the bow, and the wind to my back. This would create a "soft window" in the water in front of the boat that entices fish to come up and feed. All I fished was a brown Jay Fair snail that takes under a minute to tie. Just cast out to rising fish, feed the line out, and hang on!. Times have changed, and things are not good with the local snail population ( I could rant on this for a good three days...).

I fished hard for about 15 minutes when out of the west - BAM! Big Wind (again...). I fumbled a bit then made a good decision to harness the wind to my favor. I set my rod up with a camo int. line and a full dressed damsel. I then motored up a cove to the very west edge shallows I could go, cutting the motor I steered the boat sideways to the wind and let out the Drift Sock! If you make a good drift you can cover so much water that it makes this technique highly effective. Once the boat is in drift I cast sideways to the wind so that the line is off to my right , and let it rip. Once the line settles in the water I let it sink and feed out additional line, sometimes up to 20 feet. As you drift your fly it will settle in to the port or starbird side of the boat beyond the wind sock at x amount of feet. You can strip and cast, or twitch/pause your fly. The wind can effect your depth of line as well with the speed of the drift - The heavier the wind the faster sinking line you need to keep your fly in the strike zone. It is a great way to fish and worry free, the wind is your team mate and powers your drift. This technique brought 5 fish to the boat when all other hope was lost. When it comes to wind on a productive trout lake, it pays to adjust, and adapt.