Newbie Question…

How is flow measured on the river and what is it’s impact on the bite? Does a faster current mean fish concentrate in slackwater areas?

Thanks!

The flow is measured in a discharge rate: the amount of water coming thru the dams. It is measured in cubic feet of water per second.

At times they concentrate in slack water areas. Other times they can seek out the faster current. Reading current comes with time spent on the water.

Remember, I don’t fish walleyes…

Flow is more important to me then the level (stage) although the higher the water, the faster the flow…normally.

Obviously if the river is flooding into the trees, this changes fish locations.

Level is important to know when a boat can safely make it over a closing dam, or into areas that are shallow with dropping levels.

If the rollers are open at the top and bottom end of a pool which happens in flooding conditions, the river is in control of level and flow. (Many people think the dams are there to prevent flooding. This is not true. They are there to keep a 9 foot commercial traffic channel)

If the lower dam rollers are raised, but the upper rollers are left down, the flow is higher, but the levels drop.

If the reverse happens, the upper rollers are up and the lower rollers are left down, the flow slows but the level rises.

This is an over simplified explanation. There are many many other scenarios including tributary flows and water going over the rollers to name a couple.

Maybe some of our lock operators can jump in here(?)

I got out recently for the first time and really enjoyed it! It’s a whole different beast to say the least. I feel kind of dumb for not taking advantage of this great way to extend the open water season sooner.
Like anything new, time spent doing it is the key and I have a couple trips lined up next week. I’m just trying to learn some of the technical aspects that will make understanding posts a little easier.
Thanks for the info!

If you are going next week on the river current levels are going to be up and those fish should be looking for spots out of the current. With more flow those current seams and slack water pockets should be setting up pretty nice. Its funny but at time you need more flow to create better slack water areas.

Large current seams are easy to spot. There are also some not so visible ones to. Take a rocky shoreline with larger boulders on it. Tons of small little current pockets for the fish to hide in. Or current running into a shoreline where the water hits it and stops. Here you might get a seam where the flow meats the stopped water that hit the shore. Trees, brush, above and below islands. No matter how high the water gets there are going to be current seams somewhere.

High water fishing on the river can be fantastic if you know what to look for.

be sure to bring heavier jigs. I fished last week, 3/32 was the biggest I had. It was tough with the stronger current to keep my jigs in the strike zone.

Most L&D measure flow by using the outflow of the dam and width and depth of the river at the dam. Its a unit of volume, cubic feet per second. Not many have an actual gauge that measures it.

Faster flow pushes fish off the main river channel and towards the slack(er) water where shad and bait congregate.

If your going to fish different pools, you will soon learn that flow at P4 is considerable different than looking at the flow of P7. I don’t follow the flow that much of P4, but when I tell guys that I’m fishing 60-65K CFS at Tremp, they have an intriguing look on their face.