River navigation

We are thinking of trying a Mississppi River trip this weekend.I am kind of concerned about wing dams and how to locate them.
Are they marked on lakemaster chips?
Any other navigation Tips?

I think Lakemaster has them. Someone else will chime in and confirm that. The channel edges are marked by the red and green buoys. Sometimes the wingdams are marked by the same buoys and sometimes not; but if you stay between the reds and greens you should be fine. Have fun!

dd

Where abouts are you going?
WKW

I think we will be going down to pool 4,and take a look around for a few hours.

And a simple rule to remember when going upstream is to keep the red (buoys) on the right and the green (buoys) on the left. And the reverse on the way down stream. Also sometimes the channel markers are on shore instead of in the water. Although some folks drive over the wingdams I recommend to never do it. Although the rocks may be deep enough you could find a tree lodged in them.

Stop in and talk to Dean at Evert’s before going out. He will get you going in the rite direction. I know he used to have some simple river maps to.

Here is a link to a web page showing Mississippi river maps with wing dams shown.

Link to web page with pool 4 maps

As others have advised, travel up and down the river passing between the buoys especially if going at higher speeds. You will begin noticing areas of the river that have surface motion due to the wing dams forcing water turbulence at the surface. These are not only along the main channel, but also exist in back waters. Some are concrete structures, but many are just rock piles deposited on the bottom. If fishing these, anchor above the wing dam and fish downstream. It is said that aggressive fish lie upstream from the structure, while less aggressive fish will lie on the downstream side, perhaps taking advantage of the slow water immediately behind the protection of the structure.

One of the best ways to know what to look for ON the water is best seen from a bridge before you even hit the drink. Wingdams, most of them anyway, will create a boil or riffle that extends from shore out into the river. The height of a bridge gives you a very clear idea of how this water looks and will often give you a view going in both directions. On pool 4 the Wabasha bridge is a dandy for seeing these structures. On the water things will appear somewhat different , but you’ll get the drift of things a bit better if you can see them from up high first.

The suggestion to not trusting the water over a wingie is good advice.

If you are thinking this end of the pool…very few to worry about. However several folks learn the hard way about a couple closing damns near the back channel landing.Be happy to mark a map for ya either way.

Generally speaking main channel wise, stay in between the cans & you will be fine.

Hey Dean

I,ll be down there Saturday afternoon, not the best time to be out I guess, but at least I am finally out from under the last honey do list.

Although I do have another list,
it’s alist of things to go through with you that Bk gave me!

What everyone said. Stay between the cans when hauling arse.
When in doubt go s l o w. And your graph is your friend. Pay close attention to it. Try to antcipate the next moment and for gods sake make sure you have enough gas…

And it should go without saying that you should wear you pfd and if you have one attach the kill switch to it as well. You can’t believe how far you can be launched if the boat suddenly stops. That goes for all passengers as well.

rumor has it Redneck knows the back channel quite well

I think he knows the prop repair guy better.