Northwest Fishing Reports

"Winds from the east, fish bite least.....winds from the west, fish bite best....winds from the south blows it in their mouth......winds from the north, makes the fish hoarse (or the variation "don't set forth"). This is an old anglers saying that some "experts" say is dead bang on the money, and I'm with them! Anybody else see this trend or have experiences? I've seen this saying prove true on dozens of occasions and am about to incorporate it into my planning!

Two days ago a partner and I did real well on West Medical, about 30 fish while fishing chironomids. The wind was from the south and west. The next day (yesterday) the wind was pretty stout, about 15-20 MPH and had completely reversed, coming from the north and east. I started at Medical and got only 2 hits and 2 browns in 2 hours of fishing. I decided to head to West Medical and "repeat the feat" from the previous day. NOT! I only fished for 90 minutes but did not catch a fish. Used the same technique as the previous day. Got only a half dozen bumps and taps. Congratulations, West Medical, you threw a skunk on me.......but today the wind is out of the south and you will not "repeat the feat". Will follow this up later today.......

There is logic behind your finding is Eastern Washington. I graduated from USC (university of spokane/cheney) aka Eastern with a geograhpy degree although I majored in a float tube/fly rod at Amber Lake. I did a lot of weather and climate feild work there.

The East wind at least here on the upper columbia plauteu only happens 5-10% of the time and means warmer temps and gusty winds. Air warms as it falls from the Selkirks, typically this is bad news (think firestorm 15 years ago.) Trout are not going to like the warmer surface temps those winds make and the assoicated gusty winds are mixing the water colum is short order.

75-80% our winds are from the West/southwest as most of our weather comes from the coast. This is normal and the fish in my mind are used to this it is a normal part of their life.

North winds normally only happen 15% of the time, and are most likely in Jan/Feb. Typically this is your artic blast and single digit temps high pressure and ultra clear sky's in the winter for Spokane. In sping/summer the North wind is also normally cooler air but are caused by low pressure systems. Most are the fish are very pressure sensitive.

I don't think that the wind has much to do with it...Usually the direction of the wind can be the telltale for either a rising or falling barometric pressure...So I think that's what does a bigger impact then the wind...Sometimes the wind is just hard to fish in, so 25 mph wind is tough to keep your boat in one place..

It might me interesting to keep track of the effect of wind and barometric pressure on your fishing success (or lack there of) for a season or two. Without systematically recording your results, it'll be hard to really get a feel for whether or not there's merit to those theories. Confirmation bias (human's natural tendency to accept new information in a way that confirms their preconceptions and avoid information which contradicts them) tends to reduce the value of anecdotal evidence.

I've considered creating a nice big spreadsheet documenting where I fish, the lures used, weather conditions, etc. But I never get around to it. Actually, if the fishing reports on this website were altered a bit, you could create a pretty nice set of data from which to due these types of studies (assuming respondents reported information correctly).

I have experienced this on Amber. Many times the fish will follow the food as it is carried by the wave action. A north wind on Amber has a tendency to pack food and flying insects on the south end, especially adult damselflies. There have been times that the fishing is slow on the south end with a strong wind out of the s.w. and on the north end, which will be rough in those conditions, the fish will be stacked in and feeding heavily.

Well, went back to W. Medical armed with the weatherman's forecast of winds from the SW and guess what...the bite was on! Same sunny skies and temps as yesterday, the only difference being the wind. The weather forecast was right, the wind was alternating between out of the south and west, and many of the strikes I got were of the crushing type, as compared to the taps and bumps I got yesterday while the wind was from the north and east. My partners were catching fish, too. So were most other boaters and the bank anglers. Yesterday, this just wasn't happening! Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not. And although I haven't kept a log, I've seen this too many times to discount. I'm inclined to believe there's something to it, whether barometric pressure or otherwise.

Marc made mention of Amber, and Amber's the lake that I've noticed this on the most. He's correct about the wind stacking food against the banks or certain ends when it is strong enough. However there are times when a gentle wind from north or east will put the fish down. And due to the sheer numbers of other anglers that frequent Amber, I'm always able to get a good feel for that day's success. Many "old-timers" (as I call them) have attributed many a slow days, and good day, too, on the wind, and these folks have been fishing E. Washington much longer than I have.

Anyways, just something to think about the next time you are having a banner or super-slow day! Good luck to all.

This is the first time Iv ever heard of it. Ill have to start paying more attention to the wind direction

I met some scuba divers out at Amber one afternoon. They had been swimming around the launch area and along the shore to the left of the launch. I asked them what they were seeing as they cruised the shoreline. He pointed to the left of the launch and told me that there was all kinds of food floating in the water, basically stacked up on the bank just before the point. It was a windy day with foam on the water.
On rivers, the outside bend of a turn in the river will also hold food. Browns are know for laying in bank undercuts of streams waiting for food to come by.
Now, on a different note, a friend of mine,Dennis Wallingford believes that color also changes during the period of a day. He says that wine works better in the morning and evening, olive, brown and black during the day. This is often the case on Amber. We don't know why.
Half of the fun of fishing is trying to figure out their feeding cycles.

Marc Martyn wrote:I have experienced this on Amber. Many times the fish will follow the food as it is carried by the wave action. A north wind on Amber has a tendency to pack food and flying insects on the south end, especially adult damselflies. There have been times that the fishing is slow on the south end with a strong wind out of the s.w. and on the north end, which will be rough in those conditions, the fish will be stacked in and feeding heavily.

I've noticed this affect on Lake Washington. The wind will blow surface bait into the bridges or a bay. I've had luck fishing the winds this way.

I don't fish a whole lot in the winter but in the summer a North wind means dry hot temps and the fish go deeper. An East wind means beautiful weather and a high pressure system. Some years we get locked into this high pressure system and that means a great sunny summer for as long as it lasts because it blocks the wet weather out in the Pacific. The down side of this weather pattern is Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish warm up and the salmon fishing is poor.

Im not doubting this theory by any means but what happens when the wind blows from the north west? Does this mean that it cancels each other out and the fishing is the same as a calm day, or what?

gpc wrote:Im not doubting this theory by any means but what happens when the wind blows from the north west? Does this mean that it cancels each other out and the fishing is the same as a calm day, or what?

Lol. I guess fishing is all about analysing every possible situation every day.:bounce: