Northwest Fishing Reports

Been looking at ways to keep the boat on a steady heading in gusty/windy conditions on lakes. A lot of the time I will just power upwind then drift with the wind but it is pretty hit and miss as far as fish goes.
I will set out my bumpers so they hang in the water, drop my forward anchor ten feet and drop both downrigger's about the same if I am trolling. It helps but not all that much.
I have a big drift sock but I have not tried it yet. I have visions of everything getting hung up on it... Have seen discussions about using two drift socks on the front, one off of each side tied fairly close to the boat but I think that is approaching too much crap. If it becomes more like work I am not interested...
I thought about making a keel arrangement for the front of my boat that I could remove but I am not sure it would be worth the effort. I think it would have to be fairly large to make much difference.
What say you? Just fight and put up with the constant changing course? Maybe that is a good thing? Free zig zagging!

I don't fight the wind, I use it and call it "drift trolling". If the wind is too strong for you to control your boat that's an indicator you may want to pick a different day.

I have seen guys use an I pilot trolling motor on the front of the boat to troll straighter. They drop the trolling motor and pick a direction. They use their kicker for power and let the I pilot automatically do the steering. It's not perfect but I have heard a few guys swear by it. That said, I pilots are pretty spendy, if you don't already have one.

hewesfisher wrote:I don't fight the wind, I use it and call it "drift trolling". If the wind is too strong for you to control your boat that's an indicator you may want to pick a different day.

That's pretty much my plan for wind but it never seems to last long. I usually start heading for the different day.

When I upgraded my electrics the I Pilot Link system with other stuff was going to be my pick but dropped that in favor of better electrics instead. If I am getting really pushed around I am not sure the better electronics are usefull but it is not that often I go out when it is blowing that hard. Sure am looking forward to hitting the lake(s) hard this year and putting the new stuff to the test!

The two drift socks off the bow has worked well for me in the past but as others have said I don't last too long past the giving it a try. Mainly my hope is the wind dies down. I normally just bag it if the wind gets to the point I need all that junk. The "I'm enjoying myself" factor quickly declines as the wind increases

A lot depends on the size and design of the boat you are in when deploying drift socks. I have deep vee style boat and the two drift sock method works for me quite well. The trick for me is to tie them off at the windshield/end of the forward hand rail, with just enough line so that they stay in the water. This keeps them out of the downriggers in the back and out of the way when landing a fish. Also, if it is just windy, ie no rain, the top comes down, as it just acts like a sail and makes life more difficult. In some lakes high winds don't necessarily mean big waves, but other lakes get real hairy quickly and you need to know when to call it quits. When fishing during high winds, you need to stay sharp and take precuations like wearing a life vest if you don't normally do so. Furhter, don't reach overboard under these conditions and it's best to fish with someone, so the boat can be kept on a straight path while fighiting a fish, if you don't have some sort of autopilot.

There are some benefits to fishing in these conditions, namely the erratic action that is imparted to your lure due to the constant bobbing and speed changes of the boat. We try to mimic this under calm conditions by changing speeds, making turns and raising and lowering our gear so as to draw as strike.

Good luck and above all, be safe.