I have done well trolling in about 8-12ft of water. Yellow divers have done the best. Good Luck.
We did well on the flats above the power lines and Bungee grain dock about 2 weeks back; just vertically jigging there in the Albany area, but I had heard from a couple of different little birds that the bite down there had slowed big time 
in the last week or so, maybe its pickin’ up again? 
Regards,
Joe Jiacinto
Rick,
I spoke to a friend who was out on pool 14 this past Wednesday and they kept a 2 man limit of legal sized fish. They released several fish in the protected slot (over 20″) but only caught one or two short walleye. All the fish they caught came off of wingdams. I was told that almost every dam they stopped at had fish on it from the dams up just below the dam at Clinton to the dams below Albany. That is as far down as they went. My buddy did not specifically tell me which dams but I have a good idea which ones they fished. There are several good wingdams in that stretch of river. I have had really good luck on the wingdams just across the river from the Albany boat ramp. There are 3 dams in a row there that have produced many walleyes in years past. I have not fished pool 14 yet this year but would love to get down there as it is one of my favorite pools on the river. Lots of big fish on that pool and usually good numbers of keeper size fish as well. One tournament a couple years ago my partner and I boated 38 legal walleyes in 8 hours of fishing. By far the most legal walleye I have ever caught in a tourney. Trouble was that every boat in the tourney saw similar numbers of fish. We were very lucky to have a couple fish over 4 Lbs that day to help us place 2nd in the tourney. Weigh-ins are nerve racking when every boat in the tournament brings in a limit. I believe that the numbers of fish in pool 14 are because of the stocking program that the nuclear plant has. They raise their own fingerlings and stock most of those fish in pool 14. Some of the fish go up in pool 13 and the Mississippi Walleye Club began to stock a few of them in pool 12 this past year. I have caught a couple of the branded fish in the Dubuque pool this year which is a good sign that a few of the stocked fish survived the first year. They have been stocking pool 14 for many years now. When the numbers of fish were down in years past on other pools, you could go to pool 14 and find fish. The DNR says that the impact of stocking isn’t as great as one would think but I really think it has helped. I caught my limit of eaters at Bellevue last year and 4 of the 6 fish I caught were branded fish. The DNR told me that it was just a coincidence that I caught so many branded fish in one outing. Their creel counts in pool 13 showed less than 3% of the walleye brought in were stocked fish.
Anyway, there are lots of walleye in pool 14. If you are not getting a bite, slow down your presentation or change what you are using. Sooner or later you will find out what is working. It may take you a few outings to figure out the fish. Just don’t give up on them. Best of luck.
Eyehunter
Drive safe and watch for deer.
I’ve not been out the last couple weeks on 14, but would bet that eyehunter is right on the money. The wingdams tend to slow some this time of year, but still a lot of fish to be had. I would recommend fishing the dams across from the gambling boat in Clinton, and maybe long lining cranks up through the mouth of Willow slough. Also worth a look would be the wings farther up, in front of Fulton. Albany area has been pounded this year, but is still producing fish as well.
Good luck, let us know how you do!
John
Hey guys that was alot more help than I ever thought I would get.now I have some areas to try out some of these different techniques I always here about on this site,besides vertically jigging at the dam that is about all the technique I have.I know how to troll a crankbait around but I really don’t know how you guys fish these crank baits on the wingdams, I really don’t want to get to close to the dam and hit it with my motor,How do you guys get set-up to troll these wing dams? And will casting jigs and crawlers/leeches to the front of these wingdams produce now,I can do that!!!!!! Just want to thank EVERYONE for there help , you are a great bunch of guys. Also congratulations Rooster on your new field staffposition 
I sure will let you guys know how I did. Oh 1-more thing Rooster is Willow slough in between Willow island and Joyce island?
If you can see the water coming over the wingdam, anchor up a full cast-length above the boil. Remember that the boil is downstream from the dam itself, so don’t get too close. I usually use a trick I learned from Jon Jordan: Pull in front of the dam, anchor already tied off to your boat’s nose. Point the front of the boat into the current and slip the current back until your transom depth-finder starts showing the front slope. Kick it in forward enough to account for your anchor rope, and drop it overboard. Kill the motor and start casting.
You could also hold in the current with your trolling motor a cast length off the dam, I’ve only done this when the dam is too long to reach when casting from one spot, and for some reason the whole thing seems equally appealing to the fish. If I’m doing this, I tend to work a live-bait rig across the face of the dam. It’s a lot like vertical jigging, only you’re jigging horizontally. If the current is good enough, you can definitely fell the face of the rocks.
Oh 1-more thing Rooster is Willow slough in between Willow island and Joyce island?
Yup, that’s the place.
I had a great day on pool 14 today We left about 5:00 A.M and was on the water by 6:30 by 7:00 we had our first walleye,we were anchored on the upstream side of the wingdam casting 1/4 ounce jigs tipped with leaches and crawlers.We fished wingdams all day catching a fish here and there on different dams,we also tried casting cranks to the dams but we didn’t have any luck that way,we tried a splitshot with a gold hook and crawler on a dead stick with no takers,the crawlers out fished the leeches on the jigs by far.We didn’t cover alot of water but we covered the areas real good that we did fish at.We ended up catching 7- legal eyes,4-short eyes,4-stripers,3-catfish,and a few sheepies,and 1 sauger.It was a very fun day for us on the water.I hope to try some trolling the next time I can get out.Thanks for sharing some of your areas and techniques with me it has already began to help.
SEE YA ON THE WATER!!!!!! Rick,
Rick,
Do you ever use your trolling motor to work back and forth in front of the wingdams? If you have a trolling motor or a kicker motor give it a try. You will increase your coverage of the area that active walleye feed in and should put many more fish in your boat. It takes a while to learn but it is well worth the effort. By working slowly back and forth in front of a wingdam you can cover the entire dam rather than the small area one can fish when you anchor. Some of the longer dams can hold active fish in several different areas. Just keep your line taught and lift your jig as soon as it hits bottom and you won’t snag as much. I use a 3-way rig with a drop jig and a crawler or leach on the long line. The jig will work the base or trough of the dam while the crawler works the face/top of the dam. I have been known to anchor above a wingdam but only when my batteries run low on my trolling motor. An old walleye fisherman once told me to use as light of a drop jig as possible and still be in control. Adjust the weight of your jig to the conditions. As long as you can feel the bottom and are not getting washed over the top of the dam you are in control. Moving back and forth in front of the dams is another good way to cast deep divers.
Glad that you got onto the fish. I have noticed when fishing on pool 14 that very few people work wingdams. Most of them tend to anchor above them or right on top of them.
eyehunter, I have never tried to fish a wingdam other than anchoring,but when Ithought about fishing on those same wingdams the next day I wondered why I didn’t use my troller and slip back and forth to the dam I could have like you said covered more of that wingdam.But I sure didn’t think about using a dubuque rig while I was doing it that really does make sense using 2-different baits in 2 different strike zones. What do you prefer using on the dropper jig,and do you use a plain jig or hair jig? I will have to try this my next trip out,many thanks to you eyehunter. Rick>>
Eyehunter:
In another post, I described “crabbin” across the face of the dam; that’s exactly what I am trying to learn to perfect, using my electric to sweep the face of the dam, as you have detailed in your post. I got lots of good advice from the folks on here back in early spring when I was rigging my boat. Everyone said to get the most powerful troller I could afford and I don’t regret it. I have an 82# thrust motorguide with the digital control system, and its got plenty of power to spare. Since I run a flat-bottom, I have it mounted in the front and I sit on my pedestal seat and let my jigs drag out the side as we “sweep” or “crab” along the face of the dam. I wish I had spent more time doing this on Saturday up near Clayton, but somehow we ended up anchoring in front and trolling leadcore along rip-rap instead of sweeping the dams with Dubuque rigs; talking to the guys at work this morning, it seems those that worked the dams with lindys and Dubuques got their limit, when all we had to show was a short smallie and a large carp.
There is a post in this forum all about the little things. Two of the “little” things I need to learn are:
1. Stick with a plan
2. Don’t stay on a dam too long
With so many wingdams in the area I was in, I should have quit the one we were on after 20-30 minutes, but the sight of a large fish chasing my crankbait clouded my better judgement, and we stayed there probably close to an hour and a half. By then, we were getting anxious, so we decided to drift jig between dams and then troll leadcore, when we probably could have effectively worked 3-4 dams in that same hour and a half period. I guess part of my problem is that I am so new to all this that if one method breaks down, we kind panic in a way and lose focus. I guess its all part of learning and paying your dues being new in the neighborhood… 
Regards,
Joe Jiacinto
P.S.-In your Dubuque rigs, is there any special type of jig that you use for the dropper, or is it just a tear-drop river style head that you tip with the plastic?
Rick & Joe,
You guys had asked what I use for a jig on my drop line. I use a standard round fireball type jig with a plastic sassy shad on it. Weight is determined by the current and how fast I am working the dams. As I have mentioned before, I try to stay as light as possible and still be in control. If I am getting washed over the top of the dam I will go to a little heavier jig. If I find that I am fishing too-close to a dam then I will use a lighter weight jig so that I am not right on top of the fish. Thre jig weights I use run from 3/8 oz for very low current to 1 oz and up for heavier current. The fish seem to have no problem hitting 1 oz jigs. I use a foot or less of a drop line off of my 3-way swivel. As far as color goes I stay with fluorescent red/orange or fluorescent orange. Over the years this color has produced consistantly for me. Plus every study that I have ever read on walleyes and color has fluorescent red/orange as the color walleyes respond to the best. During the cold weather months I use no color at all on my jig heads. Just a plain leadhead with plastic of choice but that is another story for another time of the year. I tip my 3-way jigs with a plastic sassy shad. Usually pearl-blue or pearl-black in about a 3″ size. Later in the season I go to larger sassy shads because the baitfish in the river have also grown to a larger size. You want to try to match the size of your jig to the size of the baitfish the walleye are feeding on. I sometimes will also put half a crawler on my jig but try not to this time of the year. I find that the bluegills and little fish tend to nibble at the half a crawler and it doesn’t make much of a difference on walleyes. If they get a shot a the jig they will inhale it whether or not it is tipped with a crawler. I would say that I catch around a third of my fish on the drop jig. Usually they are bigger fish on average than those caught on the long line. Besides using a 3-way swivel I also use snap swivels to keep my lines from twisting. I know this sounds like alot of hardware but it is worth it. Plus you will have the ability to change jig weights without having to retie your rig. Just have several weights tied to drop lines with snap swivels.
I am not big on colors for walleye during the warm weather months as much as the cold weather months. During the summer when the water clarity is low you want to use a color that the fish can see the best and for me that is fluorescent red/orange. I also will use a red/orange bead on my longline in front of a #2 octopus hook. Working the wingdams means that you will snag more often no matter how careful you are sometimes. That is another plus for having extra drop lines tied up and ready to go. It is usually the jig that gets snagged. At first working above a dam may be frustrating but give it time. Best of luck to you.
Eyehunter
Drive safe and watch for deer!
Eyehunter:
You have shared much knowledge with us. If it wasn’t for guys like you who have the desire and willingness to share your experience, it would be a much steeper learning curve for us newcomers to this game.
Thanks,
Joe Jiacinto
When working these wingdam with your boat are you parallel to the dam or are you pointing up stream and working side ways. i have tried to work my boat paralleel to the dam and it works, but my three way always seems to be back behind the boat a ways instead of downstream from me on the face of the dam. hope someone can help, I even have this problem with a heavy jig. THANKS\
Nose pointed into the current. If you’re able to go parallel sideways to the dam, I would question whether there was enough current. During the summer low-water period, I tend to think the more the better.
If comming down from Thomson is the Albany ramp a good choice the fish Fulton/Camanche area. How much parking is there at Albany? I’ve heard it is right in the main channel. Any bait or 
near by?
The ramp in Albany is fine. It’s on the channel but there are good docks and the ramps are good. Lots of parking. The fishing has been excellent right in the area of the ramp. You won’t have to travel too far. I’m not sure about a bait shop. There is one right at the ramp but I have no idea on their selection of bait.
Hope this helps.
Great info eyehunter. It is good to see lots of area guys posting here . Lots of good ideas for wings and rigs. Have you ever tried the Zone-R jigs advertised here for a dropper? I like to use them, although they are a little pricey, on my dropper. I also like the Flourescent Red. I think these jigs snag less and cut the current a little easier than traditional round jigs, and the stand up style seems to snag a little less too. The down side is they only come in three weights , so when fine tuning I still use round head or large stand up jigs for my dropper.
DMan, as aabfeh says, Albany is a great launch. It is on the channel, but there is a current break dam just upstream which makes launching and retreiving much easier. Just make sure to swing well wide of it when going upstream from the launch! Kelly’s conveinence store in Albany sells crawlers, and are open at 5 a.m. They also sell , but not until 7a.m. If you want a full service bait shop, the nearest and best in the area is R & R Sports in Clinton. They have a good selection of most anything you may need, including BFIshN ring worms!
I also like to use plastic without bait on the dropper, but I like to play around with bodies and colors. I like ring worms, K-Grubs, shad bodies, WalleyeKiller “Thumper Tails”, and even plastic craws from time to time. I agree color is not a big thing in muddy summer water, but have a personal preference for chartruese, red, orange, purple, blue and black. I almost always use a Flourescent red or glow white head.
Slipping wings is also my favorite way to fish them, although there are certain spots on certain wings where I like to anchor and work thouroughly if I believe conditions are right for fish to concentrate in those areas. That is something that comes with fishing the dams a lot and having confindence that those spots will be holding several fish. I will not generally anchor more than 10 minutes unless I am consistently catching fish.
During high flow times, I like to add a transom mount 12 volt electric which I set straight forward and at a thrust which does not quite hold against the current. I then use the bow mount to pull forward and then drift slowly back, and to slide side to side. I like this better than using a kicker, as I believe even a very quite 4 stroke will spook fish from the top of the dam if I drift back a little too far while fighting a fish, rebaiting, or otherwise not paying close enough attention. I also don’t have to worry about dinging up my kicker prop if I happen to drift back too far over shallow rocks 
. (Not that I have ever done that 
).
Hey walleyefarm, lets get together some time this summer and hit some wing dams! I quite often have an open seat when I go out, and I’d be glad to show you some of the tricks to fishing these dams. That goes for the anyone else who does not mind listening to a lot of fish stories as well! Drop me a p.m. with the “when” and if I’m not working I’ll try to get a kitchen pass from the boss and go hit ’em. I work swing shifts, and have lots of days off during the week too, which is nice to avoid the weekend masses!
Good fishin!
John
Rooster,
I’ve been gone on vacation the last few days. I have not been out walleye fishing for a while so I don’t know what the bite is like. I did take my youngest daughter and a couple of her 12 yr. old friends out to catch a mess of bluegills. The girls had a blast. We got into a mess of bull-gills. I did hear that the walleye bite had died over the past week. Someone told me the river temp dropped 10 degrees which would be what shut them off. I might get out tonight to try it for a while.
In answer to your question about Zone-R jigs. No, I don’t use them but I have them in the boat. They seem like they would work best in a heavy current. The shape of them allows for them to cut through the current better than a round jig head. In low current you would want a jig head that is carried a little more by the current so that you are not right on top of the fish? I don’t know if this makes any sense at all. I bought a bunch of the Zone-R’s at an outdoor show this past winter but have not yet tried any. All the ones I bought are heavy jigs. I do use a stand-up (Erie jig) jig for vertical jigging in the cold weather months. I have poured this type of jig for years. I do not paint them as I seem to have better luck in the winter with the plain lead head. These are the shovel-shaped jigs that will stand-up and hold the plastic up off of the bottom. I have tried them as a jig on my drop line on a 3-way rig. They are great for verticle jigging where you are moving very slowly but they absolutely suck for working a 3-way rig. When you pull them in the current their shape makes them dig in and you end up snagging more than usual. 
I am anxious to try the Zone-R jigs but they are too-heavy for the low current right now. I think the ones I have are 3/4 and 1 ounce but I could be wrong. I bought them in January and I’m not even sure where I put them. Someday I’ll run into all the tackle I have bought and then lost before getting a chance to use it.
Eyehunter
Drive safe and watch for deer.
Great info guys thanks, I’ll be out on 13 + 14 in a couple of weeks through ice up. Hope to meet you out on the water or at a watering hole.
There’s some chance I’ll head down Monday afternoon, but not sure. Need to be in LA on Tuesday, so we’ll see what wifey needs me to do before I go.
Record cold the next few days may also kabosh the fishing. I suppose I’ll just keep and eye on the board and see if things pick back up.
I know just what you mean about the tackle eyehunter. I run across stuff often that I buy in the winter that I have absolutely forgotten about!
On the jigs, I have Zonar’s in 5/8, but, you are right, they are too heavy for droppers right now, just not much water moving. I think it’s time to break out some new techniques and see what happens!
DMan, hope to see you out there in a couple weeks. What kind of rig are you running? I’m in 19′ Starcraft, Blue n White. 150 Merc. Give me a shout if you see me!
Gianni, I have not heard much good about the bite the last few days, and won’t be able to get out for a while, but I’ll keep my ears open and let you know if I hear anything!
John
Rooster I’m in a 1775 lund blk/gray w/150 Rude. It would be great to hook up and meet.
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