Dealing with wind issues.....;-)

Seeing as the majority of us appear to be getting an unmerciful doing every time we set foot on a beach, maybe we should share our tips on fishing in high winds. As any SAI members can attest, returning from an SAI comp without a serious case of windburn is indeed a feat in itself. I have adapted my style slightly to help in these conditions and it certainly makes life more comfortable.

- Make sure you have enough clothing to keep both warm and dry.....simplistic enough I know but its amazing how miserable you can get when cold/damp.

- On setting up, all you need from your box is the rig for your rod and a spare, complete with leads, your knife, bait elastic and whatever disgorger you use. Close the lid and make sure the wind cant blow it open and in turn over and spread the contents aross the beach. (nice incident in Benone that....)

- Use a heavier weight than normal....6- 7ozs in parts, this will aid casting into a head wind and it also provides more resistance for you to tighten up to. It also, should spotting bites be a problem, provide more resistance for a fish to hook itself against.

- Multiplier novices, turn your mags to full or reach for your egg whisk. Headwinds in particular can make life hell for the newcomer to the Multiplier.

- I dont like using braid in strong winds, it just doesnt have enough give in it and the rod ends up bouncing all over the place to each gust of wind or brush of weed.

- When setting up your tripod, try and have it in a place where you wont have to move too often. I find it helps, no matter what way the wind is blowing to set it slightly lower than usual and facing at an angle rather than facing the sea straight on.

- When you set your rods on the Tripod, try and have them pointing sort of along the beach, dont set them in the butt cups but rather have maybe the top three feet or so supported by the clips, less if its really windy. Use a stone or your beta box or whatever to make sure your rod butt doesnt slide and really tighten in to your weight. Setting your rods into the rod cups is a sure fire recipe for a tossed over tripod.

- When dealing with annoying heavy crosswinds, point your rods away from the wind, this means you can sit with your back to it whilst watching your rodtips.

- I have found that heavy rods are not always the answer, if you use a heavy enough weight, you can tighten in with a more match style rod enough so the rod doesnt bounce in the breeze but still show the smallest bites. I do this with the match tip for a Grauvell Tektron which is super fine and with my Triplex, it works very well and means you can spot far more bites than if you were going down the broomstick route.

- Spectacle wearers, reach for the contact lenses. It makes such a difference. There is nothing worse than being on a beach getting battered with wind, rain, spray and sand and being unable to see properly.

- If you cant see any bites, adopt match fishing tactics and reel in every 15 to 20 mins regardless....you can be surprised... :D

- Always try and have yourself set up with your back to the wind, even if this means sitting under your rod tips facing away from the sea, it looks daft but it keeps the morale up so who cares!

- Keep all your bait in a bucket, a couple of rocks can be required at times. It stops it getting spread over the beach. Tupperware containers and the like are a recipe for disaster.

- Above all, try and enjoy it, you are out there pitting your wits against nature in more ways than one. I find a good battering exhilarating now rather than frustrating, must be a touch of the masochist in me :D Theres a serious satisfaction in taking fish from a spot in the teeth of a 40mph wind.




Anyone got anything else.....??

Its amazing how many fish you can catch when the weather is keeping any sane folk in the house. Do take care though and keep well out of reach of any nasty waves.

great advice pete!

I would always take a spare pair of socks, trackie bottoms,trainers and a top. just in case as after getting sand blasted and washed down its nice to go home in dry clothes

Coloured line can be helpful with a cross wind on rocky ground. When casting with cross wind a big loop of line can get wrapped up on rocks or barely submerged snags. With yellow or red line when in the cast and where this occurs is more visible.

I don't have contact lenses and I won't be getting any. A tightly fitting peaked cap can help in reducing the misting.

Only fishing one rod instead of two can help. With weed and stronger tide run lines are more likely to get crossed and the tripod won't be under the same pressure not to over turn.

Morale is important and as said wearing the proper gear is a must. A warm drink and a stashed bar of choclate can make all the difference.

Donagh

leave your mobile phone in the car.....learned that one the hard way :evil: other than that the main problem i get is keeping the tripod stable investing in a good one would help i suppose :roll:. i tend to use a lower diameter line this has less wind resistance,this helps when fishing from a height(De Wall etc)

good way to keep the tripod stable is to attach a big to the centre hook.

if the wind is bad i throw the bait in a plastic bag and put few rocks on it, Fill the bait bucket (5L average plastic bucket) with a good dose of water and hang from the hook, will take some force to push it over. if on sand also dig the legs well in.

If you set the Tripod up so the wind is mainly at its "back leg" and put a weight of some description, rock, tackle box etc against the "back leg its very rare it can be blown over as all the force is on the front two and if the back one cant lift up the tripod shouldnt move.

havin neoprene chesties is a great wind breaker...and keeps u dry...

my wife asked me what i was reading and i told her she gave some information, stay indoors like any sane person.

who said i was sane?

it is important to keep warm and focussed, petes guide will help towards that greatly!

Yip after 25yrs fishing id say pete has nailed it nicely for beach fishing. Great post mate.

Marty

just a wee thing on keeping warm, i would advise anybody fishing in cold conditions especially windy conditions to invest in a pair of thermals from lowe alpine, north face or one of these hill walking manufactures.i used to wear them under my breathable waders when early season trout fishing and the heat you retain with them has to be seen to be believed.really does make winter fishing more comfortable. i also got a pair of skin tight lowe alpine polartec gloves that i cut the fingers off and these have really made my fishing more comfortable, the fact that they are near shin tight means you hardly notice them, i find that neoprene or woll gloves are too bulky, i also wear a neck warmer (like a 1 piece scarf) again these all aid in heat retention with the aim in keeping bulk to a minimum

Spot on Pete....like Marty said "Great Post" 8)

Tom.

When fishing in strong winds I like to have a bucket with me.
Fill it with water and hang it from your tripod. It not only gives you a place to wash your hands and wash the sand form your leads so that the grip wires close easier but also anchors the whole lot down

same as coaster i use a £1 fold down camping bucket add a big rock and put in centre hook on tripod. or attach a bunge cord and bucket on the ground and fill same rock.

and for really bad wind i use rennie

Pete u have pretty much hit it on the head!

Would you use a beach buddy? At the Leinster League last weekend 90% of anglers had them and I will have one for my next outing that's for sure. They seemed to hold up well given the conditions.

Anyone recommend a good one?

Great Report Pete.

PS (Did you not wear your pretty little pink number on the beach to keep ye warm?)

the ron thompson is a good one and reasonably priced. good bless anyone that didn't have one at the Liensters!! it will keep your gear and bait dry too. u will fish better because your not worry about keepin dry and moreso about catchin fish.

I will only be wearing the pink number to put people off (their food) during competitions... :D

:cry: seriously Pete, the nightmares :? !