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Posts: 2691
Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin | There is plenty of people who run their boats into the wind all the time for the best boat control.
I have always worked my boat with the wind when ever I can to keep the stealth approach. Trolling motor noise is something I try to keep down if possible.
I know most times it will not matter but I have watched plenty of muskies bolt as I kicked on the motor for boat control. Heavy fished lakes seem to condition fish. Muskies Inc radio tracking showed that Pewaukee Lake muskies would keep away from the boat as it approached while tracking the fish. Once we found a fish Ralph would move in using the trolling motor and the fish would keep a distance. It seemed like gas motors would not spook them as much. Conditioned fish? Who knows.
Are you a into the wind boat control person?
I know it's great boat control and great to run structure. What are some other reasons to run the boat into the wind?
Do you use the wind to your advantage?
Other than a quiet approach why else would you cover water on a drift or with the wind?
Plenty of good reasons to do both. I will always use the wind when ever possible. Some times you just can't if the wind is too strong or a bad direction for the zones you are going to fish.
Into the wind for spots on the spots and with the wind for weed flats and weed lines when possible would be some of my choices. |
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Location: Athens, Ohio | Perhaps you hit on it: "Ralph would move in using the trolling motor and the fish would keep a distance" - could it be the on/off of the troller that gets them spooky? If you were working into the wind with the troller constantly on, does that help? m |
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Posts: 2691
Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin | Mikie, it was crazy how we would follow them around. It seemed like they would not react until the trolling motor would be used and we got about 20 to 30 ft from the muskies. Then the games would begin. Most of the water depths would be in the 5 to 10ft range. That could have been a issue also. |
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Posts: 2754
Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | Extreme One- This may be crazy idea. Perhap's the trolling motor is triggering a escape response via the lateral line. We know the lateral line is important to location & capture of prey. But it also has to play a major role while they are growing up, i.e., to avoid being eaten. Perhaps the reponse you saw is a automatic escape response. For a 4' fish at 20-30' you'd be ~ 5 to 8 body lengths away. The pulse of the trolling motor probably said "whoa! something big & bad is to close, move away.
Boat motor's are pretty noisey (acoustically) - whereas trolling motors are deliberately designed for silence. My guess is that it was predator avoidance, they moved to to avoid get eaten.
Mikie- I also use the wind, i.e., work with the wind and try to not turn the trolling motor on & off- I started this after listening to Dick Pearson talking about releasing fish, i.e., he said "if the fish seemed to not want to swim away, just take her up to the front by the trolling motor & pulse it on. But, watch out you're probably going to get a faceful of water"
Have fun! |
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Posts: 147
Location: Leech Lake, Walker, MN. | Mike, great topic and one discussed a lot at my seminars. I too think the trolling motor effects fish negativly.
When possible I like to make controled drifts, that's if the wind is not too strong. When strong I do work into the wind to allow for more casts to a structure. I am a strong believer of staying a long distance from the structure I am fishing and not spooking fish, especially big fish. Trolling into the wind towards the structure will keep you off by just shutting down and drifting away. I also like to anchor in strong winds, the best boat control there is. Heavy anchor, long rope, and buoy are great tools. If you hook up throw line in water and retreive later, or you know where that fish will end up. I also like to use my kicker, I think fish are used to the vibration and sound of outboard motors and are not spooked as much.
Good luck, Murph |
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Posts: 2515
Location: Waukesha & Land O Lakes, WI | I was taught that fish will always face into the wind when on structure....I'd rather pull a bait to thier face than pull it away from them. Its also more stealthy to come from their back side. I try, when I can, to toss baits upwind on structure. |
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Posts: 148
Location: Milwaukee, WI | Conditioning due to pressure may be a factor.
Once on LOTW, I had a 40 inch plus follow my Jackpot towards the boat. I was so excited & focused on this fish, who was following about 6 inches under my Jackpot, that I forgot I had my foot on the trolling motor pedal until I realized she was swimming parallel with the boat, while the it was going forward !!
I think we went forward together like this about 10 yards before I realized what was happening and I released the pedal. Then, when I tried to do a figure 8, the fish turned away and we never raised it again.
My partner could have snapped a beautiful photo of this fish, swimming 6 inches the water, right next to the boat, if she had a camera, rather than a rod, in her hands when it happened.
Perhaps its just the intensity or the mood of the fish we witness that is truly affecting these scenarios, and then we want to apply it to other situations ? |
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Posts: 4266
| I'll work into the wind as long as it is feasable. Following weedlines and other structure, I'll work into a slight to moderate wind. I'm not going to try to power into strong winds. When the wind becomes a deterrent, I opt for a controlled drift. I also think that a controlled drift is usually beneficial to the backseat angler.
Beav
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Location: The Yahara Chain | Mike here is my BST on why the fish move away from the trolling motor....it is a conditioned responce. The fish was caught and released by an angler who had their trolling motor on...the fish now moves away from that noise because it relates it to their bad experience of getting caught.
Boat control...I like to be stealth so I go with the wind when I can....When using my trolling motor I usually work into the wind. |
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Posts: 32957
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Sorry guys, but strictly by definition of conditioning.... I don't think the fish are negatively 'conditioned' to a trolling motor. They may shy away from bursts of sound or the approach of ANY boat, but the idea they are conditioned to run from a trolling motor because of an association between a capture and the trolling motor sound as a threat is too much of a stretch for me. One would NEVER catch a fish in the Propwash if that were the case, and fyke netting muskies more than one time would be impossible; let alone recapturing ANY muskie by angling. I think fish DO move when a boat enters an area, I've seen it spotlight spearing carp years ago when it was legal, and have heard about it from boom shocking crews. That is a response to the boat in general, not an association to the boat being 'dangerous'.
I see it on camera under the ice when a snowmobile goes by, too. That being said, I use the controlled drift when I'm guiding if possible, and control into the wind when I'm not. Why? Into the wind, I can hit the spot on the spot exactly and repeatedly, and from the location on the front deck, and if I pop a fish, I drift back where I was instead of over water I haven't covered yet. Fishing a jig is an example, I have the other angler if there's one in the boat join me on the front deck so he/she can hit the spots as I pull into the wind so I can see my jig hit the bottom and hold the boat in place, otherwise I'd personally be out of position too often. If I'm guiding jig fishermen, I control the boat tansom to the structure in a 'sailing' move that can only be described as a controlled drift on steroids. This year I'll be using a remote, and will just sit in the back and place the clients in the nose of the rig.
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Posts: 2691
Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin | Come one people, I know there is plenty of good info out there to be shared with others as to why one way might be better for you and another might be better for the other guy.
Into the wind or with the wind?
Why do you choose to do it that way?
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Posts: 2427
Location: Ft. Wayne Indiana | I always go into the wind.
I fish very slowly, and creep my boat across structure, in front of weed edges, etc....
I want to hit each spot with every angle and not leave much water unfished.
Going into the wind helps me fish as as slow as I wish. |
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Posts: 2754
Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | Mike- I think I've given my main reason. But also fishing with the wind has two other practical benifits, i.e., 1.) It let's me focus 100% on the task at hand-> fishing. 2.) It also conserves the battery power. Batteries do have a cycle life and the typical cycle life is ~100 - 150 deep discharges to~10.5V. The less a battery is cycled the longer it will last.
I also have a drift sock and a anchor. I would encourage anyone to learn to fish with the wind, if for no other reason than it's another form of boat control that you can use, i.e., a tool that can help you catch more fish. I can state unequivically that there will be time when you are on the water and your trolling motor will fail. Just like your car never breaks down when it's not being used. Your trolling motor will fail while you are using it. What are you going to do then- quit fishing?
Besides there is also a limit as to how much wind you can fight with any given boat and trolling motor setup. The higher the wind the more time you are spending fighting it. Relax & work with it! 
Have fun!
Al |
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Posts: 122
Location: Pittsburgh, PA | Honestly, I fish with the wind as much as possible because boat control is my weak spot when fishing. When I am fighting the wind, I am not getting as many casts out because I am concentrating too much on the trolling motor. When I go with the wind, often a little tweak gets you back on course and casting again.
Rich D |
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Boat Control-Into the wind or with the wind?