[TIPS] How to make the most of a rainy day

Clark Wendlandt November 17, 2016 by Jody White If you like fishing enough, you’ll eventually end up on the water when it’s raining. If you make the right moves, you can be rewarded with a really good day, even if you do get a bit wet. “I’ve always liked fishing in the rain. I think it’s a cool time,” says three-time FLW Tour AOY Clark Wendlandt. “There’s some kind of change that happens. It’s like you’re up to something and everybody else has got to be inside. As bass fishermen, we’ve got good rain gear, and I just like getting out and fishing.”   THE STRATEGY Wendlandt is a fan of the rain in part because it can make the fishing better. “A lot of the reason is that fish tend to get more active in the rain,” says the Texas pro. “They just will chase a lure farther. Because of that, I start thinking about baits that will cover some water. I’m looking for that aggressive fish and making a lot of presentations and moving fast.” For that, Wendlandt likes a variety of shallow baits, such as a buzz, a spinnerbait, a topwater and a variety of shallow-running crankbaits. With rain comes the opportunity to move faster than usual, and that can be helpful when practicing for a tournament. In particular, Wendlandt likes to use the Swinging Sugar Buzz buzzbait to cover water and locate populations of fish that he can circle back to in competition and catch some other way. “It’s all about stuff that’s shallow that you can cover water with,” says Wendlandt, regarding his lure selection. “It depends on the areas you’re fishing, but it’s all about covering water.”  

MAKING THE ADJUSTMENT Even when dialed in on something else, Wendlandt recommends at least thinking about a change when the rain rolls in. “A lot of times you might be flipping and you think it’s time to be flipping, and then rain will come in and that flipping bite won’t be as good because the fish won’t want to be tucked up in that tight stuff as much,” says Wendlandt. “They might be on docks, and all of a sudden they’ll move around and be chasing a lot more. To me, fishing a moving bait and fishing fast is the way to go.” Wendlandt says that no matter how strong an offshore bite is, there’s usually something going shallow when it’s raining. “I had a tournament on Kentucky Lake where there were no fish shallow at all,” says Wendlandt. “A huge storm came in, and I got under a dock to take shelter. When it kind of broke off a little bit and I wasn’t sure about going back out I started throwing a frog and caught a 5-pounder. Fish just get more aggressive; it doesn’t matter if there are not very many of them up there, but the ones that are will eat.” So the next time the weather gets nasty, put on your rain gear, turn the trolling motor up a little and get moving.   Via: https://www.flwfishing.com/