E - NE Wind Pattern

[Yooper]

How does a E-NE wind pattern change one's fishing strategy on the  W-SW shores of Lake Ontario?

 

Does warm surface water get pushed in changing the overall column of water for many miles?

 

Does the general outflow of the Big River change slightly?

 

Does the water become more turbid?

 

E-NE conditions are always a challenge to a fisher-person ... how should I best deal with it (without canceling) ?

[Sweet Caroline]

I can deal with a light NE. Generally pushes cold water in and warm water out. E winds suck all around and rarely have I done well even with light east winds. Not exactly sure why an east wind shuts the bite down but the fish definately turn negative. Even an SE can be bad. Would be interested to hear folks thoughts on why an east wind shuts the fishing down. Good example was this past weekend. Great fishing all week and then the winds start to change a bit from the east and the fishing slowed considerably.

[Sea-IV]

The east wind tends to run against the current which from my past on the lake almost creates a slack water situation and fish generally won't feed. As for the water temp it also rolls the surface water under and creates upwelling mixing he thermal line up. I have been on the lake catching Browns in 60' one day and 2 days later after a East blow had to chase them out to 200'. Fish bite the least when the wind is from the east and the best when it's from the west.

[DJ 17]

It seems many times that an East wind is accompanied by a pressure change that sometimes can shut the bite down?? Just a thought.  I am also very interested in other peoples thoughts on this, we have never done very well on any kind of East wind.

[cdq]

The east wind tends to run against the current which from my past on the lake almost creates a slack water situation and fish generally won't feed. As for the water temp it also rolls the surface water under and creates upwelling mixing he thermal line up. I have been on the lake catching Browns in 60' one day and 2 days later after a East blow had to chase them out to 200'. Fish bite the least when the wind is from the east and the best when it's from the west.

 

Winds out of the East fish hit the least, Winds out of the west fish hit the best! Not always true but majority of the time it is!

[Nontypical]

It seems many times that an East wind is accompanied by a pressure change that sometimes can shut the bite down?? Just a thought. I am also very interested in other peoples thoughts on this, we have never done very well on any kind of East wind.

Totally agree. Sometimes we get brief east winds here in the west end when the winds changing but any decent length of time with an east blow usually brings fronts in causing the pressure change.

We've done well pre east wind front but fishing during them makes for a slow bite.

A lengthy NE wind usually brings colder water which is because the east end is deeper than the west.

Edited May 12, 2015 by Nontypical

[Gill-T]

Current, water temp and therefore probably oxygen content from deeper water levels rolling up from mid-lake change during an East wind event.  The only tried and true tactic this time of year is if I HAVE to go fishing I will fish the Niagara Bar because the river negates the aforementioned changes to the water.  Water temp is stabilized and usually warmer water from the Niagara, O2 levels are better because of the high O2 water from Niagara falls and there is always current to keep fish active (H20 across gills). Add the structure of the drop off, shallow and deep  water nearby and .....there you have it.  Expect more neutral fish so more spoons than flashers, spread out in all zones.  Expect more lost fish due to fish being less committal or neutral resulting in more nipping at lures as opposed to slamming them and getting hooks buried in the corner of the mouth.  You are as likely to catch a fish on a surface line as you are on the bottom so flood the system but keep stuff spread out. (talking out my arse is fun).

[on the lam]

I completely agree with pressure change shutting it down, not water movement. Imo a northeast wind will flip the east end in summer, and thats a water temperature issue, but when trout shut down in 10, 20 feet of water in April/may during east wind conditions has nothing to do with water movement current H2O or water temp change. The water is basically homogenized then, so nothing is going to change very much, yet it's a tough bite.

[Gill-T]

Agree that fronts have a definite effect on feeding.  On the West end of the lake we have a significant escarpment that acts like a wind foil.  Combine the wind foil with the denser air mass over the lake due to the cold water and you can get a complete 180 degree wind direction reversal without any fronts pushing thru.  It can be blowing SW one mile south from the shore and coming out of the NE out on the water.  This can be very frustrating to the small boat angler as NOAA's models cannot predict this effect.  ALWAYS USE THE BUOY REALTIME DATA this time of year.  So in this example you can get crappy East wind fishing without a front.