Poll: What wind hunts best--and why?

Jeff Reardon

Jeff Reardon

Well-known member
Supporter
Two conversations today have me thinking about this.

One duck hunting buddy called me up to cancel plans to hunt tomorrow. "It's going to blow NW tomorrow. Pretty much any wind is good down here, except NW. We might as well rake leaves."

Not an hour later I got a call from another friend telling me we had to go out tomorrow morning, to a very similar spot. "It's going to blow NW tomorrow. We have to hunt Such and Such lake; it's always great on a north wind."

So, please expound on your wind and duck theories. I don't really have any, except I'd rather have some wind than no wind, and I don't like too much.

I have much more developed theories about wind and trout fishing, planted long ago by my grandfather:

"When the wind is in the east, fish bite least. When the wind is in the west, fish bite best." That seems to be generally true for fish, and I also have a slight preference for south winds over north winds on my trout ponds, but I don't know about the ducks.
 
What wind hunts best--and why?
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I have different locations I hunt based on wind direction. Even different spots at each location for different wind directions. I actually like a South or Southwest wind just because I can set up so I am never facing the sun. Ducks in my area will usually be more inclined to migrate when a strong Northwest wind is blowing but I don't let this affect my decision to hunt. I hunt at every available opportunity and even sometimes when I should be doing something else!
 
The wind direction will determine what side of the lake/marsh that you will want to hunt but not IF you will hunt...unless you can't hunt the area that will give you the best hunting with that particular wind. Around here, we hunt all winds but the EAst wind beats up our Western Shoreline on LSC and the South Wind beats up our Northern Shore where we have a hunting lodge (my wife doesn't like it called that but "cottage" just doesn't sound as good). ;)

From a fishing standpoint, the idiom states: West is Best, East is Least.
 
"The wind direction will determine what side of the lake/marsh that you will want to hunt but not IF you will hunt..."



Perfect Lou !
 
Down here it doesn't blow much. Very seldom do we get a good stiff wind out of the north but when we do I know right where to sit to pass shoot snows.
Every morning we always get a slight breeze out of the north as the winds come down out of the mountains and fills in the Rio Grande valley heading south. I can always set up my spread for that almost religiously. When I hunt my beaver pond, I need to use a jerk string to create some activity within my spread. That is about the only way they look alive because it almost never gets any breeze there.
When I hunted in Alaska, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, I made sure I had a spot ready to go to depending on where the wind was coming from.
Al
 
North, whether NW, N or NE. Hands down.
And the best north wind is a screaming north wind the day after a front blows through because it means 3 things: cold weather (can actually get into the teens for lows, for down here, that is cold), very low water cause the north wind blows it out of the bay (which means limited areas to feed) and new ducks down from up north. So, cold weather plus new birds with limited areas to feed. Can make for some great hunts.

A southeast or south wind pushes a pile of water up into our area and makes most of our open water area too rough/unsafe to hunt. Plus its usually in the mid 60's to low 70's on a south wind. Better to wait a day or so until the front pushes through rather than hunt a south wind.
 
Well now heres a good poll if i ever seen one;

In my best Bubba Gump voice "I likes it when its itty bitty wind ,and when its big big winds.but i like the itty bitty sideways rain with a realy big sideways wind"

I grew up hunting with out a dawg!! for shame i know..But it learned me to be responsible so as the wind would bring the bird to shore for me..so with out a dawg i would hunt with wind blowing to shore nearby..

Now adays i have my trusty pooch Daisy and she loves to do the fetching so i let her in most cases except sometimes on the bay o fundy with a big swell on no matter the wind we dont go a hunting there..the tides rip bad enough..

up here i imagine its the same in Maine Jeff a nor easter and any typical stormy day when its fairly safe to be in aboat we like the winds and storms..You see an ol`ducker said once to me "son how the hell can them ducks see when its blowing a gale with the stinging rain in there beady little eyes !" "When they cant see good is a good day to hunt...." and those days come with winds...of any direction ..

personaly no wind foggy means roll over in bed and snuggle up for browny points...

but a day of rain or snow and wind lets go...

nor westers, sou westers, sou easters, nor easters are all gonna bring luck it just has to,
as where else can you have winds from 2 directions blowing them to ya...right ?

take care out there
shermie...
 
Shermie,
interesting take. I have always tried to set up with the wind at our backs to get that LZ where the birds are feet down into the wind right in front. But you have a lot of time under your belt without the dog and getting the birds to decoy in front with the wind blowing into you must have worked.
last weekend we hunted a NW forecast that ended up being a N wind. The birds quartered into the pocket like a string. I think that was a case of they wanted the spot, the decoys were just icing on the cake.
 
Winds are ok. If it's too strong it just makes everything a pain in the butt. Boat is all over the place, hard to get the decoys out, decoys break loose, affects the tide. I hunt tides which makes rigging the decoys a chore if the tide is going one way and the wind is blowing the other (rig them from the rear). If the wind is in your face it's harder to see when your eyes keep watering, etc. On heavy wind days, the ducks are either running (screaming) with the wind, or hovering for an easy shot. I am not complaining, being out there is better than anything......I will take whatever it gives me. I do like calm days where I can get a leg "shakin" in the water which makes the corks dance and gets the birds attention. I have hunted fowl for almost 30 years and have hunted the greatest "duck weather" and never seen a bird and hunted "bluebird days" and limited out in twenty minutes. The fun for me is taking people out who have never waterfowled before and I can act like an expert............only to have the ducks make me look like a beginner. dc
 
A strong NW wind = No water even at high tide in some places.

A strong Nor East look for a secluded marsh spot and bring extra shells.
 
I would say a brisk (15-20mph) N NW wind... or snow (wind or no wind)... but I hate W or NW winds cuz I have to look into the rising sun if there aren't any clouds....
 
Anything over 15 and the hunting on the marsh I frequent slows way down. The birds tend to sit all day out there. NW wind is even worse, we lose water too and its easy to get stuck when creeks that normally hold water at low tide go dry a couple hours before. Sunny and 40 with a light breeze are my favorite conditions in my neck of the woods. I will say that there are definitely other places in the area can be hunted on windy days that are sheltered, but I like hunting out of a sneak on the marsh.
 
for water hunting, wind hunts doesn't matter what direction. As other have said I have different places depending on direction and how much wind. To much wind can be a pain with getting to spots picking up decoys and what not, but I would still take it over no wind.
 
In my neck of the woods it's nearly always a northwest wind, especially come November, so I don't have much choice in the matter. Which is unfortunate, because at my two favorite spots that usually has me facing the sunrise. The two best hunts I've had this season were on south winds though. Many of the spots I hunt are so sheltered though that I pray for a moderate wind just get the decoys moving, from any direction!
 
Best wind here is west, n/w or north.
It blows the ducks off Lake Erie and makes them available.
I hunt most any wind but get more rest or hunt inland when it's mild.
John
 
around here having wind is good. Direction isn't a big deal, just shift to the other side of the lake/marsh. I'd prefer southwest, south or east just to keep the sun out of my eyes (I almost always try to set up with the wind from behind or quartering). Having the sun behind me also keeps the shadows hiding me and the dog better. While N-NW winds do tend to indicate new ducks moving into the area, it also means facing the sun while hunting which is a pain.
 
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