Fishing in Various Weather

Catching a fish isn’t always a given because the weather is constantly changing, which means the fish will have different behavior. The focus of these behavioral changes will be mainly on bass. Starting off with the most common weather, usually during the middle of the season, sunny and warm. The water is a lot clearer because of the sun reflection, so fish will be easier to see. Most bass will find cover that gives them shade because they don’t want to be out in the open. They want to stay away from predators, so they will retreat to brush, rocks, and/or docks. If you want to try and catch a bass in sunny weather, you want to cast your bait near the vegetation or rocks. Bass will most likely bite more natural colors, which imitate live bait. When it is sunny, Gavin Leahy said he will throw out a “football jig with a googan squad trailer”. This bait usually has lots of natural colors on it, which works best in the sunny weather. 

Now, if you want to catch fish when it is cloudy or rainy, that is a whole different story. Rain will cause the water to move around a lot, which then leaves mud as the result. Since there is less visibility in mud, the bass will travel out farther from their normal cover. Since this is the case, you want to use more bright baits that have very contrasting colors. This will easily attract the fish and they will leave their cover, if they didn’t do so already. Just like when it’s rainy, clouds will cause more shade and less visibility in the body of water. This will then allow the fish to travel around more and care less about watching out for predators. Use bright, contrasting colors again and this will taunt the fish, making them leave cover or the shade. You also may want to try more topwater lures, along with spinner baits and swim jigs. Steve Hockel, a bass fisherman, said “cloudy weather during this time of the year” is the best weather to fish in. For some people they get lots of bites, since the fish travel more and are spawning. 

The last type of fishing weather there could be is windy. The wind usually causes a lot of issues for most people, not just with catching the fish. Your line will move a lot, making you think you have a fish, so make sure to keep the tip of your fishing rod down low, it will help. Wind also causes the water to move around a lot, which creates a lot of mud. You can compare wind with rain because you will want to use the same tactics. You want to use more muddy water tips, which include using bright colored baits, vibrating baits, and contrasting colored baits. You want to make sure you cast these lures near brush and rocks first, always worth a try. You also want to follow the wind direction because sometimes fish will be pushed to the shallow, in the same direction the wind is blowing. You also have a lot more stealth overall, when the weather is not perfectly sunny, this is because the fish can’t see you as well. There is more water disturbance on the surface, so sight and sound is limited for the fish. There are times when the weather conditions could be mixed together, so I would say to use a mix of the tactics that apply to each one. Don’t let the weather stop you from going out, keep fishing!