Sand

I have been digging through the ido archives researching the bite in March for big walleyes on P4 and possibly P2. It sounds like the sand is a common theme… I have a few questions:

-How do you look for a sand spot? Look for a flat? Inside half of a river bend? It seems like so much of the river could be sand!

– Do you prefer to anchor when you pitch these areas, or drift by with the trolling motor down?

I have had luck in one area by the dam, but am looking to expand my knowledge and find some areas away from the crowds. Any input is appreciated and feel free to send a PM!

Side imaging will spot sand/mud/gravel/rocks/etc with ease. I often mark transitions or simply become familiar with bottom composition in the areas i fish. So, it’s best to scout in the summer with your boat.

Otherwise, river fishing and structure can be quite predictable. Softer bottoms will be found in slower stretches, faster stretches will have sand. Many areas will be entirely sand and often shorelines can give this away. Nothing concrete, but a river consists of riffles, holes, and runs …to some extent.

If you watch the lx9 video I put in the icefishing forum last year Feb, you’ll see why pockets in the sand can be so effective. As for presentation, every day is a little different. I like to slip and drag first.

Seeing this post, then driving into work and passing some open fields with blowing snow makes a guy understand perfectly why fish like sand this time of year. The hundreds, thousands of riffles, pockets that Randy eluded to just comes to light just sitting back and observing mother nature do her thing. Shoveling out the driveway last night with the strong winds would have been not fun, but watching how the snow wraps around the snow banks, flows over edges, funnels through the trees to hit the embankememt and cause mini snow-nados, paying attention to where the snow does pile up, BC underwater that could be an ambush or slack water spot to me.

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Seeing this post, then driving into work and passing some open fields with blowing snow makes a guy understand perfectly why fish like sand this time of year. The hundreds, thousands of riffles, pockets that Randy eluded to just comes to light just sitting back and observing mother nature do her thing. Shoveling out the driveway last night with the strong winds would have been not fun, but watching how the snow wraps around the snow banks, flows over edges, funnels through the trees to hit the embankememt and cause mini snow-nados, paying attention to where the snow does pile up, BC underwater that could be an ambush or slack water spot to me.

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Exactly!

Nick, I think I see the glow of the light bulb from here Now apply what you saw, to what you can’t see…but know is happening

Great info guys! Thanks!

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-How do you look for a sand spot? Look for a flat? Inside half of a river bend? It seems like so much of the river could be sand!

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After reading back through, I see we didn’t exact answer your question. The key isn’t to find “sand”; the goal is to find sand/pea-gravel in relationship to more suitable structure. Example – You idle pass a wing dam and find that it has the typical trough in the front, moderate current compared to the channel, and instead of it dropping to a 30′ scour hole behind it, you find a stretch of sand deposited for a few hundred feet running 12 to 20′ deep. Same is true for a closing dam or any other structure that predators would frequent when the dinner bell rings.

These are some great ideas, thanks all for the insight!

Here is a link to the LX-9 vid I did last year. Skip around in it and look at the bottom content. This would be what your targeting.
http://youtu.be/vyQPLqWZICA

that is a neat video and a great idea.