East Wind

[Royal Coachman]

Was is the reason behind the old saying, Fish bite the least when the wind is from the east? How does an east wind affect fishing? When deciding to go fishing do you guys skip an east wind? Not a hard blow but like 5-15 Knots. Or do you fish when you can and deal with conditions?

[Duffman]

Working 70+ hours a week I’m fishing every day off regardless of conditions.

That being said , if I had my choice West is best. Light East doesn’t bother me as much as a NE blow does.

[1captainron]

Light Easterly 5-10 with an incoming current should not be a problem, depends where you are fishing, you might have to get the lead out if in deeper water....15-20 all bet's are off especially if it's against the current!

A huge swell doesn't help either this time of year. (Fishing for Fluke) that is.

[bigfishy]

I thought it was a gr8 question and well worded!!!
Yet the answers were vague? is it a secret that sharpies hold close? If ever there was a gr8 topic this would be IT

[Gerry Zagorski]

Our predominant winds are south or west this time of year anything other than that usually means unsettled weather and fishing.

[Duffman]

I thought it was a gr8 question and well worded!!!
Yet the answers were vague? is it a secret that sharpies hold close? If ever there was a gr8 topic this would be IT

Totally agree. I didn't mean to be vague. I’m a hack anyway so don’t know what I can provide as far as info.

Coming out of SHB, SRI ,MI, BI and all points further south are all different animals.

Wind speed and direction is all relative. What’s good for me is not necessarily good for you.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Fishing in an E light wind less than 10 knots is fine.. Fishing in a hard east wind anything above 10 knots will be tough since it's coming from the east and has all that exposed ocean to our east to build the seas. Same holds true with any hard wind with an E.

NE even at a slight at 7-10 is going to be messy no matter how you cut it because it definitely is the worst wind direction here in the Northeast and means unsettled weather and water. If you think about it, it makes total sense.... Over the years our shoreline, inlets, shoals have been formed with predominant S and W winds. The opposite of that is N and E and the combination of NE being the worst.

In contrast West is best because it's a predominant wind direction and since it's coming from the west, the land buffers the effects of it. This is why when the wind is out of the west the ocean flattens out... Even in a very strong west wind of 15 to 25 if you stay tight into the beach it will be flat but further off the beach the rougher it will become. Some people see a hard west they stay home but I've fished in 25 out of the west many times and as long as you can get to the beach, you'll be fine but remember you have to get there and come back... As an example if your are in the Raritan Bay which has a long western exposure, it will be rough in the bay but once you round the corner of the hook it will flatten out. The tide stage plays an important roll in sea state as well.. If you have an outgoing tide and strong west, since they are in the same direction it tends to be fine. If however you have strong west against an incoming tide in the Raritan Bay, all bets are off because it gets really ugly... We fished a strong 25 west one day coming from inside Sandy hook.. We left during slack high tide because we knew we'd have outgoing water for a while making it safe to come back in. This one day we were on the fish and overstayed our welcome and headed back just after the tide turned to incoming. Although it was fine on the ocean, once I rounded the hook I encountered the worst conditions I've ever been out in... 4 and 5 foot steep chop that made you feel like you were in a washing machine. I had to pull back the throttles and trudge though it taking water over the top the rest of the way home. This also happens in inlets so if you plan to fish a hard west make sure you leave and come back during the outgoing tide. If not, the entrance to the inlet will be really nasty!

As far a South winds if they are light you're fine if however they get over 10 or 15 the seas will build and nothing kills a good day of fishing like hard South wind. It's pretty typical here in NJ to have light winds first thing in the morning and once 2 or 3 o'clock rolls around, it usually starts kicking from the south. I can't tell you how many times we've been out and had great fishing all day and once the wind shifts from the south the fishing turns off like someone hit a light switch... For this reason it's best to go out in the morning and head for the barn once the south wind kicks up. It not only kills the fishing, it can also get uncomfortable.

Be safe and know what wind and tide conditions to avoid in the areas you'll be fishing and transiting.

Hope this helps some of you new to boating and fishing and always remember, you maybe be able to get out but the most important part is making it back in :cool:

[Skolmann]

East wind has a longer fetch over the open ocean thus creating more turbulence on the surface.