Even in post-frontal conditions, fish will bite. Modify locations, lures and presentations to turn neutral or negative fish into a connection. Simonson Photo.
By Nick Simonson
As shifty as the weather has been leading up to the official start of summer, it’s no surprise that recently rough conditions have seemingly targeted each weekend of this past month, throwing a bit of a monkey wrench into many anglers’ plans. Whether it’s a cold front bringing thunderstorms on a Thursday night and a plunge in temperatures on its backside for the weekend, or an extended all-day rain washing out a perfectly good Saturday, the only constant with weather is its variability. In other words, if you don’t like the conditions here in the upper Midwest, just wait five minutes and it’ll change. Then you’ll really hate it!
Adjusting to the conditions, however, is part of the angling experience and when things get tough, the tough get going on their back-up plans, modifications, and methodologies that they keep in reserve to still find success. What follows are a few quick tips to keep in mind if summer storms or a nasty front come through and add some of that extra challenge for your weekend outing or that long-planned summer adventure that takes on a bit of a chill.
Deep Thoughts
Oftentimes, fish will push deeper after a cold front. Ahead of it, say by a day or less, even right up to the impact of a summer storm line, they’ll usually be feeding and be very active. Whatever pattern was established will hold up to that point. However, when things get cool and those north winds come down the back side of the system and the skies get clear, fish will often head to the depths with the change in conditions. Thus, starting the search a little bit off from where the walleyes or bass were last week before the weather shift is a good idea if your trip coincides with the post-frontal blues. Use sonar to find and mark likely locations and adjust your tactics from there.
Go Slow
Post frontal fish are generally slower to react and lazier in their movements after a front or behind a series of storms. Slow your presentations down to connect with them. This means where crankbaits were working for walleyes during a hot and stable week, live bait rigs or slow death setups trolled at an easy pace, or maybe even switching to a jig and minnow combination after a weather event will help keep the offering in the strike zone and convince fish that are in a neutral-to-negative mood to bite. Also, the addition of live bait provides one more element of realism to help draw a take from fussy post-frontal fish.
Small Bites
Finally, offering up something a bit smaller in post-frontal conditions is often the way to entice a bass or walleye into biting. Downsizing a bass tube from four to three-and-a-half inches or slimming down a soft plastic stick can be just enough to trigger a bite, with the latter lure providing that extra slow presentation discussed above that even the most lethargic largemouth finds tough to turn down. For walleyes, the same principle apples. Smaller minnow options for dressing jigs, or half a crawler on a two-hook rig in place of a full one on a longer lure may be the right bite, as those fish coming off a feeding binge ahead of a weather change rest and recover in the depths following the front.
Depending on what follows a disruption in the summer pattern, the bite may return to normal in as little as a day or two, but when it falls on a day you had fishing plans, there’s no need to throw in the towel. The added challenge of finding fish and using modified techniques like these and others will help you learn more about the natural world, how fish respond to the changes in the weather, and ultimately make you a better angler. Use these tips and others you pick up along the way to get the most out of every trip, no matter what side of the weather it falls on…in our outdoors.