wing dams

what is the easiest way to locate a wing dam?
I was told that as a ruel they are located adjasent to
chanel markers.

where are you looking?

Sometimes you can see them if the wind/current is right. Most of the times you need to move very slowly through an area that you think has them. There are some maps posted on here that mark some of them. Try using the search feature.

They are sometimes marked by buoys, but that isnt always the case. If you start to trust the buoys searching for wingdams, you can lose your lower unit pretty fast.

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what is the easiest way to locate a wing dam?

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By running into it

You can get 2 river guides for Minnesota free from here:
http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/rlp/regulations/boatwater/boatingguide.pdf (you have to page way down)

Hot Spots put out a river map at one time, not sure if it is still available.

Dang, Martin, you beat me to it. One of my tech located a wing dike yesterday with the lower unit of the Honda outboard. Honestly, though, if the water is over the dikes you really need to learn how to read the water and sometimes even the veterans screw up. We’ve got a lot more dikes down here than you guys have, and you just can’t always remember the exact positions of them all. And the L-head dikes don’t leave much of a ripple on the surface, where they run parallel to the water. I recommend getting a pair of brown lense polarized sunglasses. They really bring out the contrast and help to read the smallest ripple.

Carptracker,

As usual, your post is funny AND informative.

Put a little more info in your profile, please, so us newbies can bother you with unimportant queries.

Thx again.

twohorse,

Here is a good map put together by the US Army corp of Engineers. This covers a very big section of the starting above Pool 2, the St. Croix and even up the Mn river bit.

Here is the link to the map

I like this map because of the detail of the wingdam markings and backwaters. IT is in Adobe Acrobat format, so you can adjust your viewing scale and print them off for reference out in the boat. I have laminated these in 3mm thk clear laminate so I can take it out in the boat with me. Do not rely solelt on this map for navigation, but should be used as a general guide. This map marks about 75-80% of the wingdams that I have noticed on Pool 2, I am not sure on the other pools and their accuracy.
The channel markers (red and green buoys) at times mark most all of the wingdams or obstructions that protrude out in the river enough to mark for the barge navigators.

Hope this helps you out some!

That is the best map site that I have been able to find as well. It is not however completely up to date. There are wing dams not located on it. The fact is that until you know the body of water, when you stray from between the bouys, go slow and keep one eye glued to the water looking for ripples and the other glued to the locator. Don’t be afraid to ask others on the landing or on the water. Especially if they are wearing an in-depth angling or Fish the River hat.