[NymphoStage]

Was at the miracle mile this weekend. It was so windy I couldn't hear myself think. Couldn't cast either. Luckily my family was 15 minutes away at Seminoe with a boat so we got fish that way but man was I disappointed with the conditions up there. Any advice for fly fishing in high wind?

 

[fishslap]

Try to find a way to cast directly into it or away from it, otherwise risk getting hooked in the face from a cross wind. Away from it obviously helps with your distance, into it will load the rod up more on the backcast and you should be able to shoot through the head wind. I'll try to throw smaller, less wind resistant flies if I can. Not an expert, but that's my 2 cents.

 

[Pete-G]

A heavier rod like a 6wt helps. Double haul. If it's real bad i'll kneel down, and cast sidearm trying to get under the wind.

If none of that works. Get out the spinning rod. ;D

 

[golden rod]

Always on your knees , Pete ........smh.

 

[McMike]

Cast low and parallel to the water, keep line speed up

 

[Opry99er]

Use pointy end of rod to stab fish in the shallows.

 

[herefishy]

Shorten your casts and make your backcast more vertical if you can than horizontal.

 

[slayerfish]

Get out the spinning rod. ;D

X2-

It'll still suck but you might catch something.

 

[NymphoStage]

I worked out a little system where I would let the line run downstream below me and I would lift the line out of the water and toss it straight upstream. This allowed me to work straight upstream but I was very limited in what direction I could cast. It also meant that my fly would come straight down the river toward me and it ended up hooked in my waders more than once. I tried casting low to get under the wind but this wind was so strong that even down low it blew my rig all over the place and my cast was turned back on itself. I think there are some days where fly fishing just isn't in the cards. This was one of them.

 

[cast-a-way]

Practice, practice and more practice...
And having the patience to untangle the mess

 

[Pete-G]

I worked out a little system where I would let the line run downstream below me and I would lift the line out of the water and toss it straight upstream. This allowed me to work straight upstream but I was very limited in what direction I could cast. It also meant that my fly would come straight down the river toward me and it ended up hooked in my waders more than once. I tried casting low to get under the wind but this wind was so strong that even down low it blew my rig all over the place and my cast was turned back on itself. I think there are some days where fly fishing just isn't in the cards. This was one of them.

That's a very common method of fishing moving water. Especially, with a nymph setup, but dries too.

 

[Shoe]

If nymphing a river, I will remove my second fly because of tangles and go with one only. I shorten up my casts and use some of the other techniques already mentioned. If there are no obstructions the horizontal or sidearm cast is worth trying. I usually end up casting very vertical with as small of loops as possible. I fish mostly lakes. In a float tube, I can anchor and fish with the wind. I roll cast a nymph rig with the wind very successfully. Or, since I am left-handed, I cast diagonal to the wind to the right. Trust me, if there is no wind at all on the lake, it is the kiss of death.

s

 

[Luke the Dog]

Don't false cast...

 

[Falling apart]

Very good technique. The tighter your loop, more speed you can maintain, the better.

If nymphing, wade closer, fisher closer and water load. The advice on being either directly into or from behind is big too.

 

[red owl]

I'm probably going to give you bad advice but here it goes.... I have a lot of trouble with the wind. You can reposition yourself so the wind is at your back and do sort of a high back cast and then "let 'er rip" and you'll be casting out 100'. The wind may be blowing so that the only way you cast do that is with a downstream cast rather than the desired upstream cast, if that is the situation then use wet flies, etc and do a swing cast where the fly rises right where the trout is hopefully located.
The other option is just to forget the back cast. This is possible with a roll cast or tension cast, by tension I mean let the line float downstream and then you do a "lob" cast upstream in a pocket water situation.
But... you really should learn to cast in at least moderate wind, low and line speed (double haul).

 

[wishbonewsp]

Throwing a streamer is much easier in the wind as well, to avoid tangles, and at somewhere like the Mile, can often be more productive.

 

[mattyt]

throw an x-rap instead

 

[red owl]

What's an x rap?

 

[eastcoastangler]

Just drink beer.

 

[NymphoStage]

throw an x-rap instead

I would but I would like to catch a fish.