If anyone is qualified to offer that kind of advice, it's none other than Kalamazoo, Michigan's own Kevin VanDam. He has fished some of the roughest waters a bass angler ever has had to fish.
"When you're fishing in very rough weather, with lots of wind and possibly rain," said VanDam, "the bass will feed actively. The way to solve the problems associated with this kind of fishing is to have all your equipment ready for fishing a bad storm. That kind of water can be very dangerous."
One of the things he does is add an extra bilge pump to his boat when he knows he'll be fighting that type of weather.
"I use a Minn Kota Ultrex trolling motor that features Spot-Lock," VanDam explained. "That feature holds the boat exactly where I want it to be when I find the bass. It allows me to keep both feet planted firmly on the deck, instead of having to keep one on the trolling motor. I usually position my boat so that I'm fishing with the wind...not fighting it.
"If you're fishing shallow flats," continued VanDam, "fish a spinnerbait or crankbait, since the bass will be very aggressive during bad weather and windy conditions. Try to use a lure that's efficient for the depth zone where you're at. For instance, when I'm fishing the Great Lakes in windy conditions, a heavy drop-shot rig is hard to beat. It gets down to the bottom quickly, and I can stay in contact with my line and the bait, provided that I'm fishing with the wind. On days when I have to face into the wind, I present a bait that I'm confident the bass will eat in the depth zone where they're feeding."
Bad-weather days may not be the most fun days to be on the water, but, as VanDam noted, "you can catch fish if you'll work with the wind, instead of fighting it."
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