My Friend The Wind 

"I would have done better with a little breeze."   I bet I have heard this a hundred times at bass tournaments. Pro after pro will tell you that a good breeze will improve fishing just about every time. What do these guys know that the average rental boat angler doesn't? Why, when most of the inexperienced anglers are coming off the lake on a windy afternoon is the seasoned veteran easing his or her boat into the water with high expectations? The answer is quite simply that wind can do some magical things to typical lake. 

First, lets take a look at some rather obvious effects of wind: 

*The added chop on the lake tends to stir up the shore exposing creatures like crawdads which bass love to eat. 

*Wind also activates the food chain. Micro organisms are swished about which activates bait fish, and when bait fish get active, bass, which are always near by become active and suddenly, the lake is alive with activity. 

*Perhaps most important, particularly in clear water, is the fact that wind causes chop on the lake surface. Sight underwater, as it is above water, depends on the reflection of light. Under water when the surface is flat, everything is rather easy to see. Shapes are pronounced, colors are easily identified and while I cannot speak for a bass, I know that with a diving mask, I can see things quite clearly, including the hooks on a crank bait, the heavy line tied to a jig that is being pitched to heavy cover and the wire and blades on a spinner bait. If I can see the flaws in a bait or presentation with a diving mask, perhaps the bass, which is much more in tune with the underwater world will notice them also. 

Adding wind to the mix changes things. Light on a choppy surface becomes fragmented down below. Light reflection that is bent and twisted tends to distort images below the surface. Now that red and black crank bait with the large treble hooks could be a crawdad shooting from rock to rock. That dark colored jig tied to battleship chain becomes a unfortunate critter that fell into the water,

Wind also goes a long way in determining the positioning of bass. In clear, shallow water bright sun on a calm windless day will send even the bravest bass deep into cover, as these are creatures who really don't crave the spotlight. Bass up under heavy cover can be caught, but it is some of the most difficult fishing an angler has to deal with. 

Wind on the other hand tends to position bass on the edge of cover. With direct light being broken up by chop on the surface, bass will come to edge of cover and they are then reachable by many more of the lures in your tackle box. Make no mistake about it, I am not asking for a hurricane! Too much wind, especially cold wind, can really destroy the fishing. This tends to happen early in the Spring when the water is warming, however, from late spring through the fall, falling water temperature is not as much of a problem. 

When I go fishing I am looking for a partner that will help me hide my flaws as an angler, I need something that will cover my mistakes. The wind can do just that and for that assistance I do declare, that the wind …..is my friend.

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