Windage.

We've been pretty lucky to fish some pretty spectacular places over the seasons. Atlantic and pacific salmon rivers, numerous trout rivers big and small and a few salt trips. One thing all these places have in common is the wind. It's a weekly event on some of the waters we guide on. The Kennebec is a prime example. If you were out today like we were, you either called it or dealt with it. We prefer to deal with it. Here are a few tricks to overcome the blow and stay in the game.

• Tighten Up: Tight strokes keep that rod at the same plane. Think of your rod as knife cutting through the wind. Keep that elbow close to your torso.

• Move The Body: Use your upper body when single or double hauling. Increasing line speed helps cut through the wind.

• Seek Shelter: If you can, find a place that's sheltered from the wind. Back channels, tails of islands and bends all offer some blockage.

• Tail Wind: The easiest to work with. Make a high angled back cast and ease up on the forward stroke. 

• Head Wind: Again back cast high and then power your forward cast low. Apply a short, hard haul on the forward stroke to really cut the wind.

• Spey Casts: Learn the single and double spey, snap C and T. These casts are under the rod tip, away from the wind.

• Shorten Up: Cut back your leader and add a larger diameter, stiffer tippet. 

• Wade Closer: If your lucky enough to happen upon rising fish count yourself lucky. Their view is broken and you have the upper hand. You can get much closer to surface feeders under these conditions. Knocked down cripples patterns work wonders in this situation. Don't forget that the wind blows terrestrials in the drink. A drown ant pattern is a go to fly in this situation.

The wind isn't a death knell. The Madison, Kenai, Cisnes, Dean and Kennebec all have windy days. Most solid fisheries do, it's a part of the game. Learning to adapt to current conditions is one of the greatest skills you can have.

Savoir those blue bird days and live for the shitty weather ones.