6-18-11 report and dumb sophmore questions

[SilverFox]

1. Boatside strikes: In my experience it seems with no line out, the fish basically hook themselves, more so than anything I do. I just make sure to give it some line to get it away from the boat when it's thrashing. I like the idea of setting up or back into it though, but things happen so fast sometimes it's hard to remember.

2. Had a few just like the previous post, bump it a couple times before it took it. I was fishing really clear water and watched the whole thing. Very Cool to see.

3. The only time I'll cast into the wind is if there is a "BIG" fish present and the boat needs to stay in one spot for an active fish. Otherwise I'm casting with the wind or on occasion crosswind (to cover the spot right).

Some very good points made on this post... I Enjoy reading about everyone's experiences.

[Ty Sennett]

One of my buddies had the same action at the same time. He said the fish were going nuts for an hour. We were walleye fishing and they were not going nuts. Congrats on the nice fish. I've had a lot of fish hit twice or miss and come back and hit. Really I don't think they miss much but rather are in play mode some times.

Congrats again,

[Clear Silver]

I usually DO cast into the wind and here is my thinking:
1. The fish are typically facing into the wind. By casting into the wind the lure is coming at the fish from the front and it can see the lure coming a longer distance away. By casting with the wind, the lure approaches the fish from behind which seems un-natural.
2. When casting with the wind, as soon as the lure hits the water the boat is drifting TOWARD the lure. So during the retrieve you have to crank the reel much FASTER just to get the lure to move with its normal action through the water. So if you're trying to burn in those DC10s in moderate to strong wind they really aren't moving through the water all that fast.
But on the other side of the coin, by casting into the wind from a boat drifting with the wind you are casting into water that the boat has drifted over already, potentially spooking fish. ( and of course you have potential for more backlashes too but with some practice and proper setting of the brake, things work well)

Ty, have you seen a difference in success in your boat with experienced fishermen based on casting into or against significant wind?? Thanks!
C.S.

[Ty Sennett]

Clear Silver, I totally aggree with you. I try to run the boat the same way you do. I can remember when I started doing that on Petes bar years ago and people thought I was insane. Corey Meyer and I were the only ones fishing that way while everyone else was drifting over the bar. We got our fair share of looks but we also caught a lot of fish because of it. I wouldn't say it's a cure all but for me it works. I think everyone is different. For some people it's too much work and for others it's nothing to run into the wind.