Ok, here we go, i'll try to explain this technique in word and drawings. I'm not an artist, sorry.

It is quite a complex thing to describe but in practice, its actually quite simple yet, its something you never see people do. Why ?, well, i believe people simply don't think about such things. Coming from a multi angling background I've been in situations where I've had to think about such things and so, on that note, here we go..

Scenario:

You are standing at the sea front, you have current running from one side and heads in front of you just at, or well inside casting range. The ground is clean bottomed but goes from light to dark as you approach the heads in front of you. There is a considerable wind blowing from the side.

Ok, let me tell you. First of all, many plug or lure anglers would simply walk away from this situation and yet, with the right techniques, its got catch Bass written all over it.

Above diagram depicts left---> right wind and current. Angler is shorebound 'X', red spots are fish. As you can see, multiple casts to the head in the submerged bubbleweed cover only covers single fish for a sort period of time.

The general approach would be to hammer casts out towards the heads and then retrieve. You may catch a fish but you may not. Why ?, well, you might only have your plug in the zone for a fraction of the time its in the water. You are making it harder than it needs to be. In fact, all those multiple splashdowns may eventually spook away any fish in the immediate area.

Solutions:

You go upwind of the heads and make long casts with the wind down and across the cover. This may work but..IF the wind is running with the current it won't be very successful as small bait don't generally swim well against both the wind and the current. There is always current, no matter how small.  Look for it, and even if its barely discernable,  or its seems dead slack, what i will suggest still works.

So, I'm suggesting there is a better way. What way is that you say. Well,  you shouldn't under most circumstances cast straight at structure anyway, its a classic way to spook laid up Bass as i mentioned already but still, its the classic way to approach Bass lure fishing. In many circumstances, it just happens to be simply, the wrong thing to do.

So, I want you to visualise this situation.

Cast across, at a diagonal, INTO and across the wind, Splashdown the plug then,  immediately hold the rod up high and swirl out some braid DOWN WIND. Effectively make a high circular motion with the rod tip, down wind of where you are standing whilst making the braid catch the wind like a dapping line.  Not tons of braid, but enough to form a bow. Then,  when its laid down, any available current, or surface wind drift will place your plug in the classic uptiders position. Fish against this bow, not against the plug. This will do a few things. The bow, and the fact you are fishing against it will make the plug run or work more 'parallel' to the structure. I often use a ZClaw or a propbait and just tap against the bow in situations like this as its often possible to run the plug along the structure or over it for extended periods. If you get a hit, again, strike AGAINST the bow. Trust me, the bow of braid and you lifting against it is enough to hook any Bass.

So, in this diagram, we've cast 'upwind and across'. Yes, its harder but actually better. the green line is the casting angle, immediately on splashdown, pay out braid, or mono (not so good) and let it fall to the water in the 'bow shape' shown in red. This bow will vary dependant upon wind etc. However: This 1 cast covers 3 fish in this diagram AND your plug is running with wind and current just like a small baitfish would be forced to do in many circumstances. The 2 fish right in the diagram would  have been previously covered with a bowed cast if possible. An upwind, close to shore parallel cast would be made, perhaps covering the fish 'left' before you moved upwind & upcurrent. These are ideal scenario's so use your imagination.

Just remember, the trick here is to swirl line HIGH, up INTO the wind immediately the plug splashes down. What else happens here is that the time it takes you to throw the line bow is often longer than many will wait at plug splashdown anyway. This in turn allows more time for any curious Bass to approach your lure before you twitch it close to cover.

So, I hope that explains this first 'using the wind' article in a way that understandable.

I'll add some pics and photo's to hopefully clarify this later this week.

Thanks..

--

Keith (Jersey Bass Guides)