Bass Fishing Tip of the Week 08/26/08: Fishing for Bass in the Rain

How many times have you anticipated and planned a nice bass fishing weekend or even had a tournament scheduled only to find out that the forecast called for rain? If you are like me, you didn't cancel your trip unless there was a hurricane in the forecast and still went fishing.

So, now that you made your decision what will be your approach to fishing in the rain. Let's look at the negatives and positives of fishing in the rain:

Negatives

a- You are going to get wet! If the rain is any more than a drizzle, the nylon or PVC rain suits will not keep you dry unless you spend big bucks on some raingear. Just plan on getting damp and have a change of clothes handy in your dry storage.

b- A hard driving rain reduces visibility while driving your boat and really stings when you go any faster than 30 mph. Either buy a motorcycle helmet with goggles or if you have a tight budget like me, buy an inexpensive paintball facemask/goggle set found in many Wal Marts or even at my fishing gear site www.floridabassfishing.us/fishinggear (search for paintball mask).

c- Driving rain can make it very difficult to feel the soft plastic bite while Carolina rigging or Texas rigging. Heavier weights can offset this a little, but switching to a topwater buzzbait, a crankbait or spinnerbait will give you better feel or visual cues when a bass strikes your lure.

d- Lightning strikes will definitely hamper your fishing. I remember occasions where the lightning was striking 2-3 miles away and my rod tip started to glow due to the build up of static charges. I have also seen my line floating in the air i.e. taking a long time to reach the water's surface after a cast due to the charges. When this happens it is definitely time to head in.

Here's a method to determine how far the lightning strike is from where you are. As soon as you see a bolt of lightning start counting one one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand until you here the thunder. Divide your count (seconds) by 5 and this is the number of miles away the lightning is. For example, you see lightning and you count 10 seconds by the method I described 10/5= 2 miles. This is due to the fact that the speed of sound is much slower than the speed of light and both a well documented constants and through math, the divisor becomes 5 when using seconds.

Positives

a- If you are fishing in the heat of the summer a cloudy rainy day is often welcome due to the cooler temperatures.

b- Rain provides oxygen to the water. This results in greater bass feeding activity and often the fish will go on a feeding binge. If you get in the right spot get ready to fill the boat with bass in a hurry!

c- Feeder creeks and rivers into main lakes and reservoirs often have greater flow or current. This creates feeding opportunities for bass due to the forage being washed into the lake such as worms, insects and minnows.

d- Topwater action is greatly enhanced due to the the overcast skies, cooler surface temperatures and greater oxygenation. Try a buzzbait or prop bait like a Devils Horse around weed clumps both offshore and around weedlines near shore.

e- Reeds and bulrush are magnets for bass during rain. The fish move in from deeper water to feed due to the overcast conditions. Try topwaters, spinnerbaits and Texas rigged craws or worms in pockets and by points. Rattling crankbaits are very effective when worked parallel to the reeds.

f- Offshore hydrilla patches are great in these conditions. You can catch fish with almost any lure with the overcast skies.

If you need a rain suit, check out my fishing gear store here:

Rain Suits

So the next time when the forecast calls for rain, don't get discouraged but think "the glass is half full" and go out and slay 'em! As always, come back to Florida Bass Fishing for some more great bass fishing advice and do more catching with less fishing!

Largemouth Herald