In The Storm, Stay Close

We are FINALLY getting some storm action this week, and I am so freaking excited.

While fishing the other night (in calm conditions), I was thinking about all the various different topics I could cover on this blog about fishing storms, big water, large waves, wicked sweep, etc. It could be hours and hours worth of content- and I’ve done whole seminars on it. Today, I’m just going to keep it simple: in big storms, one way to be effective while battling the conditions is to find, learn, and fish spots that the fish are close.

It seems like a silly statement, but ask yourself: do you have a spot where the fish are really close? In a big storm with ripping wind and waves, having a spot where the fish will sit so close you can underhand to them in “regular” conditions can be important. I’ve been criticized in the past for claiming I’ve fished- and caught- in 40-plus-knot winds. For some reason, people think I’m lying- which, by extension, means they also believe Bill Wetzel is a liar. I believe this is because the haters are imaging their surf spots which require at least a 50-yard cast. New flash, even in a 25- to 30-knot sustained directly in you face with a heavy jig, you aren’t casting 50-yards most of the time. Therefore, you need a spot where the fish are close (or don’t fish with the wind in your face, of course).

Now, casting in close in big waves is also tricky. If they’re pounding the beach, the fish aren’t going to be in the melee. They’re incredible at cutting giant waves, but they can’t survive having a six-footer sledgehammer them on the spine. So now, you need a place that 1) either the waves break further out and are broken up, 2) the waves break VERY close so you can cast behind them, or 3) you don’t have breaking surf at all. One of those components for me is the key- you simply cannot often fish the “regular” spots you might otherwise. There are tons and tons of ways to accomplish this, but that’s enough to get you started.

So this week- and into next week- as you’re thinking about where you might catch fish in this weird, not really a nor’easter, not a hurricane, wind event thingy, I might consider: where are the fish REALLY close? And if you don’t have one, go find a place where fish are close, that meets one of those qualifications above. This is the perfect time to learn something new- if you can’t fish your “normal” spots anyway, you’re not even missing anything.

And if you’re like…nah, this ain’t for me. Then just fish the post storm- go listen to Season 1, Episode 45, Post Storm Fishing!