How the weather determines your success:

Living in Minnesota and fishing my entire life, there is one guarantee that will change the course of your day which is the weather. We have all types of extremes in this state- high heat indexes, heavy rain, cold spells, high winds, and temperature changes of sometimes 30+ degrees in a matter of 24 hours. You never know what might happen day to day. A lot of weathermen (and women) can’t predict what’s going to happen sometimes, which is par for the course in the Midwest. What does this have to do with fishing? Fish behavior tends to change just like we do depending on the type of weather we’re going to have. Pure sun, overcast, light rain, high winds, we just adapt to the situation at hand. Here are some tips on how to combat the weather and make the most of your time on the water to get bites!

High heat and lots of sun

Just like people, fish want to find shade during the hottest times of day. They will instinctively head towards deeper water to cool off, but they will also utilize structures above the water such as low hanging trees, bridges, aerators on reservoirs, and take advantage of the sun casting shadows on the water. This is the perfect time to pitch docks, stumps, floating rafts, piers, anything that allows them to get away from the heat. With the intensity of the sun, water becomes more navigable for fish as the light can penetrate farther down and bounce off the bottom depending on depth, which opens up for predators to easily see more prey, but bass prefer to not expend a ton of energy. Fish fast, often, and repeat casts if you see them on sonar. Bass will tend to not feed as much when it’s warm out and will try to hold out until dusk. Your best bet is to get a reaction strike from them as most will not want to go for something that takes work to catch.

Fish shallow with something such as a buzz bait or a fluke and try to rip it along as fast as you can to get those strikes. If you want to fish deeper, tie on a jig and let it hit the bottom and slowly move it along. Sometimes, it has to be right in front of a fish’s face in order for them to want it. If there is any wind or current present, attempt to sit in that current or watch for any wind moving the surface of water. Moving water of any kind is a green flag to head in that direction. Highly oxygenated, moving water is a fish’s best friend to keep cool and catch bait fish at their leisure. Toss a Wacky Rig into the current and let it drift.

Cloudy/Overcast conditions

If you look back on days you have fished and have had a lot of success, do you remember it being cloudy? If not, more than likely it was. A lot of anglers consider those dense and cloudy days with the slightest chill in the air as the best you get on the boat. Low light daytime conditions are when bass becomes more aggressive. They do not have to rely on shade, the sun is not making them easily seen by other predators, and they are actively looking for prey. Cloudy days are also when a lot of aquatic species come to life especially if there was dew on the ground from the night before. Frogs, worms, insects, you name it. Bass are hungry by nature, and everything seems to be on the menu. Moving baits are going to be the best choice in these conditions.

Buzz baits, spinner baits, crankbaits, ploppers, chatter baits, anything you have in your tackle that is actively moving, there is a higher chance something will hit it. This is because fish are now out looking for food. Low light conditions allow them to stalk more prey who might not otherwise see them coming. It’s a strategic way that these fish hunt, but they can slowly become ‘the hunted’ with the right tools on the end of your line. If all else fails, find some structure like down trees or stumps and toss right at the base with your favorite stick bait. They can’t resist!

Rainy days

No one actually enjoys fishing in the rain, do they? Maybe. I for one loathe the days where the clouds come in and it starts to downpour. It all goes back to the news station saying, “It’s supposed to be a nice day out there today!” Although, rain is always a good thing when it comes to fishing, patterns in the water, and stirring up life beneath the surface. Rain drastically cools the water down and fish become more active. If you’re close to a stream, drainage culvert into a reservoir, or any lake that has an inlet and an outlet, head to those spots. Small bait fish will get pushed by moving water into these channels and that will attract the bluegill and other smaller fish to feed, which in turn produces bass which are not too far behind. It’s the perfect symbiotic relationship!

When it rains, the water surface is going to be disrupted with the sound of droplets, so one of my favorite baits to toss would be anything that makes noise on the top of the water. These fish are distracted by everything abruptly coming to life and your goal is to make them choose what you’re throwing. A few hours before the rain comes is the prime time to head out, where barometric pressure changes and the fish can sense something is about to happen, so their instincts for food amplify. Toss a top water lure, or throw on a worm and work it really slow. Sometimes, the bite can be very unnoticeable, so be ready to set the hook hard.

Cold spells

For those of us up north, cold weather is the start of the end of open water season. Leaves are changing, the water is still, conditions are mostly dry, and the bite tends to slow down from the spring and summer feeding schedule. It’s cold, but not miserable. Some mornings can get into the 40’s depending on the time of month and all signs may point to an early winter. I am not particularly fond of, nor do I have the patience to ice fish, but some anglers are looking forward to it. I love to cover water, work the edges, flip docks and structure, make tons of casts, and find out where the schools are. Either way, the end of the season can be very touchy if you don’t play your cards right.

Reduce your bait size. Smaller baits will be hit more than your larger summertime baits because the activity of these fish slows way down along with their metabolism. Something smaller that moves slower will always get you bites. One of my favorites to throw is the 2-3 inch swim shad by Berkley. It has an amazing tail action which consistently moves and a single hook that is sharp and doesn’t lose form on larger fish. Live bait is also good because once they’re in the cooler water, they’ll move at the speed bass are used to. Try a Mepps spinner which uses real squirrel hair and can better keep its shape and movement in cold water, just reel it slowly. Some plastics will stiffen or have reduced action due to the cold, so if you insist on using artificial bait, go smaller, have a life-like appearance, and work it slower than you would during the warmer months.

Do you have any tips I may have missed? What is your favorite technique for weather-related fishing in certain conditions? Please leave us a comment .Thank you for reading!