Pools 11 & 12

I spent this past Saturday on lower pool 11 and yesterday (Monday) early morning and again in the evening on pool 12 fishing wingdams. The walleye bite on the dams is nothing short of fantastic. The river is falling and more wingdams are becoming fishable by the day. I fished one dam yesterday morning that I could only fish about half way out on but by yesterday evening about three quarters of the dam was fishable. The water at DBQ fell more than half a foot yesterday. I mainly fished the dams with a DBQ (3-way) Rig with a crawler on the long line and a drop jig with a sassy shad. I also caught a couple fish casting jointed Shad Raps. It was nice fishing dams I haven’t been able to fish yet this year. Every fish I caught was measured and released this weekend. I even managed to find a few bigger fish on one particular dam catching 3 fish between 21″ and 23″ and also getting broke off on a couple more. The ones that broke me off could have been big sheephead as I did catch a couple big ones on the Shad Rap. Those big drummers can really put your equipment to the test. I might have to get a dozen crawdads one of these evenings and go after some of the really big sheepheads. Lots of fun. Right now it is hard for me to target anything but walleyes when the wingdam bite is so good and should stay that way until mid-July.

Eyehunter

Thanks for the update. Sounds like fun, except for the boat traffic. Maybe you were off the water before that started.

Any particular color of Sassy shad?

I went panfishing on Fri morning in a backwater lake. It was real good. Anyway, caught a 20 inch walleye on a crappie jig in 3 foot of water. Nice bonus.

Thanks again for the update and keep em coming.

Mr Twister

I was using a blue/pearl shad on a fluorescent red/orange jig head. I think that about anything you throw at them will work right now.

I was on the water around 5am yesterday and off before 8:30 am. Yesterday afternoon I went out around 4pm and by 7pm most of the big boats were gone. There was a ton of pleasure boat traffic yesterday. I know that on Saturday up in lower pool 11 the baot traffic was not bad but down here at DBQ it was crazy. That is why I generally get off of the water by 9am on weekends and I go in the evenings when the traffic is lower.

Eyehunter

eyehunter, Great report as usuual .I’ve been watching the flow, waiting for the river to slow down enough for me.last night I was thinking 2-3 weeks but after reading your post that itch is getting worse.Thanks for keeping us guys informed on whats going on.I was wondering if you would answer a couple of questions for me?Will the wingdams on the lower end of the pool have less flow on them than the upper end of the pool,or is each and every wingdam different weather they are single or in a series,no matter if it is upper or lower end of the pool? And I was wondering if you could enlighten me just a little bit more on these sassy shad,it seems that you like to use them regularly.Do you use the 2.5 inch or 3 inch or does the length matter? And how do you rig them on a jig do you thread them on deep or real light just up threw the bottom jaw? Will a 3/4 or 1 ounce jig on the dropper work on the dams right now ? What would be your 3 summer go to colors? Sorry for all the Questions
Rick,

Rick,

The flow has diminished considerably and most dams are fishable right now. Some dams you may only be able to fish the inner half of due to the current. The rains the past couple of days have slowed the fall of the river level. I checked out the river level forecast for L&D 11 and it looks to stay fairly stable over the next few days with not much of a decrease or increase in level or flow but then it will continue it’s drop provided there isn’t more heavy rains to the north. As far as which wingdams to concentrate on depending on flow I have heard it said that the wingdams in the lower half of a pool are better with falling water and the wingdams in the upper half of a pool are better with rising water conditions. I honestly do not know if this is true or not but I will say that this past weekend the further down river from the main dam I went the better the bite seemed to be. There are no 2 wingdams the same and conditions on every one change depending on the flow of the river. Many people in this stretch of the river look for wingdams with 10′ plus of water in front of them but I believe that it isn’t the amount of water in front of a wingdam that holds fish nearly as much as the depth of water behind a wingdam. Some of my more productive wingdams may have only 4′ of water in front of them at certain times of the year but they have deep water behind them. These are great dams to toss crankbaits on. Most dams have some sort of a feature that makes them unique such as a break in the dam. Walleyes love to lay back in a break in the dam waiting to ambush anything that washes through. Breaks are fairly easy to detect as they make a V shape or irregularity on the surface. Right now I have been using a 1 oz drop jig. You might not need an ounce on the insides of some dams but the further you work out into the current you will need the once jig. I adjust my jig weight to the conditions. I want to use only as heavy a jig head as I need to stay in control. I carry drop jigs from 3/8 oz up to 1 oz. The Sassy Shad I use are only about 2″ or maybe 2-1/2″ long. In the fall when the baitfish are larger then I switch to bigger plastics. I thread the shad through the mouth, body and out the back where a dorsal fin might be. In the warm weather months I’m not one for switching jig colors much. The river is murkier this time of the year so you want to use something bright. In all the walleye/color studies I have read the results of the number one color they respond to the most was fluorescent red/orange followed by fluorescent orange. I used to use all kinds of colors but I found I catch more fish on the fluorescent red/orange probably because I’m not always tying on a different color jig which means I have my jig down where the fish are for longer periods of time. I have fished with guys that spend more time with their lines out of the water than they do with their lines in the water simply because they are always tying on something different. I found a productive combination that works well for me. Confidence in what you are using is huge. I do use other colors such as chartrusse, yellow, black, white and purple but this time of the year I primarily stick with the red/orange. I wouldn’t be waiting any longer if I were you as the bite is going strong and has been for several weeks now despite the higher water levels.

Eyehunter

Eyehunter–just got done reading your last post. You hit the nail on the head as far as I am concerned, on fishing wingdams. Everything you said I have found to be true also. Now I use alot of live bait, cats and leeches mostly. But this year I plan to experiment with some cranks and plastic once the summer months get here and flow is lower.– just wanted to let ya know-very good post–good fishing–John

Wow great post Eyehunter, but I do have a question. When you use the jig on the bottom with the Sassy shad. Do you constanty work the jig while its in the water or do you just cast the line out and let it sit on the bottom.

If you do work the jig, do you cast and and work it up and down in the current or do you slowly work it back to the boat.

I am just used to using three way rigs with drop singers and casting and letting it sit. I suppose I am old school that need to go back and learn some new tricks

Thanks
Chandler

Chandler,

I slowly jig the 3-way rig lifting the jig off of the bottom a few inches and then I set it back down. I am not anchored but instead I am holding my boat above the wingdams working in and out along it with my bow mount trolling motor. I don’t really do any casting with a 3-way DBQ rig but instead let the current wash my jig to the base of the wingdam so that my long line washes up on the dam. Then I work the jig along the base of the dam. I very seldom will anchor above a dam. Some dams may have 3 or 4 areas that hold walleyes and when they are really schooled up the whole dam may be holding fish. I’ll work in and out along a dam a couple times and if I don’t have the bite to keep me there I will move on to the next wingdam. I tip my long line with an orange plastic bead and a nightcrawler. Since I do fish with crawlers it is important to keep the bait moving or else all you will end up catching are sheephead and catfish. Even when fishing with crawlers I would guess that a good 90% of the wingdam fish I end up catching are either walleyes or saugers. Once and a while I’ll catch a flathead, larger drum, white bass and mooneyes but walleyes make up the majority of the fish. I attribute this mainly to keeping my offering moving. Wingdam fishing for walleyes is a good 90% boat control. The other 10% is everything else from the bait you are using to how lucky you are.

Eyehunter

Eyehunter, you have nailed everything I know for pool 12 to a “T” in far less time than ever could. I would like to add just one little piece to assist in the wingdam hunt. While trying to establish a pattern for the day, I will almost always go to wingdams that have 2, 3 or 4 wing dams in a row. This allows me to cover ALOT of flow differences, depths, flats (between dams) and sometimes bottom structure (all dams are a little different) in a short period of time. Then, hopefully, as you pick up a few fish, you can start to establish a pattern. Once you have a basic pattern, rinse, lather, repeat on additional dams.

Establishing a pattern is important and it is something I never do much more unless I am prefishing for a tournament or working unfamiliar waters. With as much time as I have spent working many of the wingdams (especially on pool 12) a guy pretty much learns which dams tend to hold the toothy mouthed critters under certain conditions and at which times of the year some dams produce better than others. I do try to learn at least one or two new dams every year by spending as much time as possible fishing them. One or two new dams a year doesn’t sound like much but to really learn a structure one has to spend some serious time learning them. Fishing series of dams is a good way to begin. If the fish don’t seem to be on the first one then the next one down might be holding the fish. Time of day is also very critical. Early mornings and again in the eveings are obviously the best times to fish wingdams but fish can be caught on them at all times of the day. Even when they aren’t feeding agressively you can find one or two on each dam. I haven’t met a walleye yet that could resist a fat juicy nightcrawler. Walleye candy to be sure.

Eyehunter

Ahhhh yes, the whole boat control thing. I need to work on that. I am typically a bass fisherman whom is reaching out trying new things and after reading this board from sometime these wingdams have caught my eye.

I was out this weekend on pool 10, and with the wind, boats, and a 28 week pregnant wife it made for practicing using my trolling motor near impossible so I was left with anchoring all the time. Though I did end up with 4 eyes, 6 Catfish and 4 Carp.

My Trolling motor is a 65 lb thrust 24 volts system, which at time makes me which I would have just forked over the dough and bought the 100 lb 36 volt system. Hopefully I will get a chance to work with normal water levels and boating conditions to see if my Trolling motor will be up to the task.

When using you three way how far behind the boat are you fishing your rig?

The distance I keep the boat above the wingdam varies depending on how much current there is and the weight of the drop jig I am using. I like to keep my jig at or near the base of the dam and I do not let out any more line than absolutely necessary to avoid snagging. If you think that you are too-close to the dam then try a lighter drop jig. Fishing with electric a person can get closer to the dams than one might think and not spook the fish. Getting too-close can spook the fish and you can get caught in the current going over the top of the dam which usually means firing up the outboard to get back above the dam. Many times the most actively feeding walleyes will be on the top or the face of the wingdam. Sometimes they congregate further out in front of a dam. In the not so active feeding hours I like to concentrate on breaks in the wingdams. Walleyes will hang just out of the current where the water pours through the dam ambushing the bait as it washes by. These fish aren’t necessarily aggressive but they just can’t seem to let an easy meal float by. This also holds true for the ends of wingdams especially in the late summer and into the fall.

The size of trolling motor you need all depends on the weight of your boat. My boat isn’t real heavy so I get by just fine with a 24 volt 65 Lbs Maxuum bow mount. Many walleye fishermen use a kicker motor to fish wingdams in the heavier current. If I can’t stay on a dam with my electric then there is too much current to be fishing it (at least that’s what I keep telling myself).

Eyehunter

Wow,Thanks for taking the time to answer my questins eyehunter!

These are just random questions that run through my mind. like this one.

Lets say you are fishing a wing dam with your trolling motor and wham you get a nice fish and this fish is going to take some fighting. How concerned are you of the current pushing you into the wing dam? While fighting the fish do you have to stay concerned with the position of your boat so you dont get pushed up on top of the wing dam, do you ever get stuck on top of them.

I know these are newbie questions, but I just dont see them answered anywhere

When I hook into a fish that takes a little extra effort and time to get into the net I will usually let the boat go over the top of the dam. Most of the wingdams in this stretch of the river have plenty of water going over the tops of them. The only time you really have to watch it is when the river is low. Most dams will have 3 to 6 feet of water going over the top but that can get down to less than a foot on some dams in low water. There are a few dams that do stick out of the water but they are few and far between. These dams usually don’t hold walleye because there is no current going over the dam. There is no need to be concerned about going over a wingdam outside of spooking the fish or maybe getting your fishing buddy all snagged up on the rocks.

Eyehunter

Thanks for the help eyehunter you answered all my Questions even read my mind about the question Iwas going to ask you if you used a bead in front of the crawler.
Rick,

Mr. Eyehunter, what speed are you running your trolling motor before you decide if the current is too heavy to fish?

Example would be my Trolling motor has speed settings 1-5 so would you fish a wing dam if you had to keep your trolling motor on 5?

I guess what I am getting at what is the best indicator that the current is too fast for fishing?

I’m one of those guys who almost always has the trolling motor set on the highest setting. I do not run it continuously but instead hit it on and off as needed. I don’t know what to tell you about when there is too-much current to fish a dam. Every dam is different. When the current is too-strong to hold your boat on one dam it doesn’t mean that another dam will have the same situation. The only way to figure some of this stuff out is to spend time on the water. There just is no substitute for time on the water. I’m planning on spending 3 or 4 hours on the water tonight if the rains hold off.

Eyehunter

Eyehunter, I love pool 12. I don’t get to fish it as much as I would like (who does?), but hopefully I will cross paths with you sometime. I like your style. I just enjoy meeting the great folks from this site, and giving them a when I am on the water.

Happy fishing.

Eyehunter – As I always say. You are the MAN

Thanks for answering all the questions. I think I learn something everytime you post.

Anwyay, have you tried GULP yet? What do you think? I am Curious, but don’t want to waste time and money.

Thanks
Mr Twister

Mr. Twister,

I have not tried any gulp yet. I have a buddy who had some in my boat this winter and he left a couple laying out on the carpet and they dried hard as a rock. One must have been stepped on because it dried right into the fibers of the carpet. I guess the stuff is one use only unless you take it off of the hook every time because it not only dries up but it shrivels up as well. My friend did catch a nice walleye using it but I did just as well using soft plastics. I know lots of people like to use scented plastics and fish attractants. I’ve just never really used them enough to tell whether or not they work any better than plain soft plastics. I do have some Powerbait wax worms that I have used while ice fishing and trout fishing. I can tell you that live wax worms outfish the Powerbait wax worms many times over. I haven’t heard much about it outside of the commercials on the tube and the adds in the magazines. When my local bait shop owner starts to complain that Gulp is hurting his live bait sales I might be tempted to pick up a pack.

Eyehunter

An important reminder about fishing wingdams!!!!!!! Don’t forget to bring your crankbaits. Last night (Thursday 6-1) I hit the water around 5pm. I first went to a dam that I have been doing well on but only managed a small sauger and a short walleye. Since the current has dropped off considerably I figured I should try a couple of my “upsteam” dams that I haven’t yet fished because of the heavier current. I fished one and managed a couple more short fish but still found the current a little too-heavy on this dam for my liking (I was out of control more than in control) so I decided to try a nearby dam with less current on it. I caught 4 fish (1 small sauger and 3 legal walleyes) in my first 45 minutes on the dam. All fish took the crawler on the long line. I put my 3-way rig down and picked up my cranking pole with a jointed shad rap on it. I know it sounds stupid to put down a rig that I just caught 4 fish on but I assumed that I might do just as well casting a crankbait. My assumption was right. In less than 25 casts (Honestly) I caught 3 walleyes and lost another at the net. This particular closing dam is less than 75 yards wide and the fish were concentrated mostly on one end of the dam. One fish was just over 21″ and the rest were all between 18″ and 20″. It was the most fun I have had catching (and releasing) walleyes in a while despite getting eaten alive by the mosquitos (I’ve got to remember to put the bug spray in the boat). My point here is always have an alternative ready and don’t get stuck in a rut using what you “always” use. One never knows what might happen.

Eyehunter

Very good info Mr. Eyehunter. When I am Fishing bass on any lake if I have a hit or catch a fish I never leave the spot without throwing something else to offer. If you dont you might just move off a school of fish that just wanted something else to eat.

When fishing the wingdams are you using deep diving cranks?

Great Information Eyehunter. I feel like I may be able to fish some wingdams now! I really want to get over to the miss soon to get on this bite.

Thanks!

The crankbaits I use are generally deep diving ones although I have been known to tie on a shallow running crank when fishing for shallow water walleyes. We got into the walleyes again this past Saturday morning first casting crankbaits and then working DBQ 3-way rigs. Then I took my 14-year-old daughter out for an hour and a half on Saturday afternoon and we caught 4 more fish just anchoring and fishing with nightcrawlers in front of a wingdam. Actually 3 were caught on crawlers and I caught a 23″ fish on a crankbait. My daughter caught a 25-1/2″ fish which is her largest to date andthe largest to make it into my boat so far this year. I had the digital camera with but she refused to touch either of the fish she caught. She never used to think touching fish was “realy gross” when she was younger.

Eyehunter

The wife and I was out on the water in pool 10 this Saturday, but had a late start to the afternoon and didn’t see much action on the wingdams (Still learning) Ended up with one 17 inch Walleye and 2 dinks. The 17 incher was on crankbait and the dinks came on the 3 way rig with crawlers

Though on the way back to the dock I decided to see if the top water bass action was on and was it ever. I nailed 10 fish in a matter of 40 mins, ranging from 1 to 3 lbs. The bass were exploding on the bait which of course made it a blast and even the old lady caught her first bass on a buzz bait. It scared her so much I thought she was going to go into labor!

So over all it turned out not to be a bad outing.