I fished Dubuque the other day for the first time and was surprised that some guys only fish the deep washout in front and never in back or on top it seemed.
Also, when using cranks on wingdams does anyone ever troll the length of them or just cast?
i fish the wingdams on pool 3 alot. all i do is troll the length of them. and i alwas fish the front.
Not saying you will never catch a fish on the back side of a wing dam, just you will catch more on the front side. Generally fish sitting on the back side are neutral, not looking to feed. Fish on the front are in ambush mode looking for a meal.
You can certainly troll the front/tops. It’s a great way to learn how each one is laid out. But once you got that figured out, you may find yourself anchoring on high percentage spots. You figure these spot out over time and base those decisions on water flow, temp, clarity and so on.
Cranks are a great search weapon and you usually pick off the more aggressive fish in that area. You may find that you can pull into a spot, pop 2-3 fish on cranks then change to plastics or meat to get another few of the less aggressive fish. All from the same anchor position.
-J.
The best way to fish wing dams is by watching other people and putting your time in. It takes years to get good at holding above the trough. There is about 3′ in front of the dam to the top of the dam where 90% of the fish are laying. High water walleye well hold behind a dam to break the current but normal levels walleye well not be behind it unless they are laying dormant. Feeding walleye well be in the trough or on top. Put your time in a fish well come. Keep at it!!!
Quote:
Not saying you will never catch a fish on the back side of a wing dam, just you will catch more on the front side. Generally fish sitting on the back side are neutral, not looking to feed. Fish on the front are in ambush mode looking for a meal.
You can certainly troll the front/tops. It’s a great way to learn how each one is laid out. But once you got that figured out, you may find yourself anchoring on high percentage spots. You figure these spot out over time and base those decisions on water flow, temp, clarity and so on.
Cranks are a great search weapon and you usually pick off the more aggressive fish in that area. You may find that you can pull into a spot, pop 2-3 fish on cranks then change to plastics or meat to get another few of the less aggressive fish. All from the same anchor position.
-J.
Right on. Sometimes out on the end of them is the sweet spot too. As stated, each one is unique and after repeatedly fishing them you get an idea how to work each one. Often overlooked is running 3-ways with Rapalas or Phelps floaters-n-meat. 
It seems in high water they are closer to the bank (less current) and in low water out more towards the channel. You will learn the right speed and adjust accordingly. I’ve never had much luck fishing below, always above.
Thanks for the ideas everybody. Are the Bombers used all the same model and run the same depth and casted to the top face?
Typically the Bomber 6A is what I use; but 5’s 7’s and sometimes even 8’s have their moments. It depends on how deep you need to get on a particular wingdam.
dd
how do you guys target the right wingdams? i’ve heard to hit the up front ones in a series when the water is low, and the back ones in a series when its high.
current flow plays a huge factor so yes, when the water is high, the 3rd or 4th in a series is best, and the first one in the series when the water is low.
but maybe the biggest thing is to find dams that are not all silted in and have good exposed rock on them. That takes some time. Just start hopping around. You’ll know right away when fishing a crank, which dams are rocky and which aren’t.
Good luck!
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
