Using CP antenna for receiving and LP for transmitting
A dipole with a gain of 5dBi might have an elevation radiation pattern quite similar to this Lower diagram: -



Note the lower of the diagrams - the beam width is quite tight and peaks at about 5dBi. Compare this with a regular dipole: -



Despite the peak elevation power only being around 2dBi (lower right hand diagram) there is good coverage over a broader angle compared with the higher gain dipole. This means that when there is significant differences in alignment between antennas (and the distance between them is short), the lower gain antenna is likely to outperform the higher gain antenna.

Pretty pictures taken from here