When People Think Like Fish
Fishing Ahead of Bad Weather
Ever notice how alike people and fish are in high stress situations? Over the years I observed how forecasts of bad weather stir up folks. We crowd into grocery stores and emerge with stockpiles of toilet paper, bread and canned goods that will do for months. Entire aisles are picked clean of food in just hours. Something about imminent bad weather throws people into a grocery shopping frenzy.
Approaching storms stir up fish, too. Long before a strong cold front rolls in, they’re aware of it, and if they had one thought it would probably be “Groceries!” They pile into areas that hold baitfish to chow down before bad weather pulls all the vittles off the shelves, sending their food supply into hiding. For fishermen, a bad forecast can be good news.
Although we are naturally inclined to judge weather by our personal comfort, the blue skies and gentle breezes that add up to a fine day for boating often make for a poor day angling. Gathering clouds, rising wind, and a rapidly dropping barometer that signal the approach of inclement weather, on the other hand, can produce some outstanding catches.
A major reason that early summer earned a reputation as the best fishing season is because of all the strong fronts that roll through one after another. They turn the fish on. When you recognize what’s generating the bites, then you can adjust your strategy to take advantage of it.
Fish quick, move fast, and cover a lot of water. As the weather deteriorates, set aside your slow-poke baits for a little while and switch to fast-running lures. You’ll find the fish aren’t just lollygagging around; they’re trying to fill their gut and are more inclined to jump on your lure as it flashes by.
Swim jigs or spoons are good choices at such times. Lipless crankbaits are excellent as well. Anglers who relegate them primarily to springtime are missing the boat; they produce year-round ahead of cold fronts. Make sure you throw the smaller sizes. Time after time I’ve witnessed quarter ounce ’Traps out-catch three-eighths and half-ounce lures, both in quantity and size of fish.
Spinnerbaits are ideal for pre-front fishing, too, but make sure you throw something like a Secret Weapon Quickstrike spinnerbait that won’t roll over as you burn it back to the boat.
I’ll pick up my tempo a few notches with my BoJoLe Flutter Spoon as the front looms. Feeding bass, stripers, and walleye really hammer those spoons as they flutter by, surpassing even crankbaits.
BASS elite angler Steve Daniel discovered this when he joined me on Chickamauga Lake recently. When not on the tour, Steve guides on Okeechobee, so after loading the boat on pre-front smallmouth, he stocked up on BoJoLe spoons for next hurricane season. You’ll find him throwing Flutter Spoons along weed lines and boat lanes and over grass beds as storm clouds pile up.
Where will you find the fish? In advance of late spring storms, concentrate on shallow feeding flats and long, tapering points, especially where there is vegetation or other cover to hold baitfish. Shallow water offers plentiful plankton, algae, insects and other food for forage species. When storm clouds gather, this is where the prey and predators gather.
Pay close attention to water temperature. By summer the shallows get a little too hot for comfort and fish will move out into deeper patterns. You can still reach them around off-shore humps and deep ledges with fast-moving Carolina-rigs or deep-diving crankbaits. Heavy spinnerbaits with smaller willowleaf blades can scoot right along deeper structure, too, and will help you load the boat in a hurry.
One last word of caution; enjoy the game fish feeding frenzy that often precedes bad weather, but keep a weather eye cocked and seek shelter from lightning, squalls, and downpours before they hit. Don’t be seduced by fast action and linger too long or you’ll get caught by the fury of the storm.
Benny Hull
“The Ol’ Stump Bumper”
