A little wing dam info

  • jld
    Holmen
    Posts: 813
    #1330606

    When you guys are fishing wingdams this time of year are you anchored above them and casting towards the dam or do you work the trolling motor? How about the back side of the wingdams? Do you work those also? I am an absolute novice to this way of fishing but little by little my success is improving here and there. Any tips or info you guys can offer I would appreciate.

    redneckjr
    Rosemount, MN
    Posts: 1037
    #505957

    The first thing that I would do if you haven’t already is invest in the video available Here This will give you the best start on how to fish plastics. It also has some information on wingdams if I remember correctly.
    In most currents the fronts seem to be the best for us, even in high current there is a pocket of slack current right in the face of the dam. This is where the fish are sitting. We anchor up, mostly because our trolling motor isn’t powerful enough to control our boat all day. But anchoring also allows you to concentrate more on fishing and less on boat control. jig size is also important. You want to go as light as possible, but still have control It’s amazing how much an eighth of an ounce can make, it could mean the difference between catching a trophy or going home empty handed.

    dustin_stewart
    Rochester, MN
    Posts: 1402
    #505958

    When in search of fish, with the low flows we have on the river right now, I will use my bow mount to cover the dam from the tip to shore. If I have fish located and pinpointed I will throw the hook in a low flow situation.

    In a situation with higher flow I always throw the hook. I would much rather fish from and anchored boat in both situations but you have to know where the fish are at before setting up camp in one spot

    I will focus on the backside of a shallow dam with some flow on it. By shallow I mean less than 3′ of water on top. The reason I will fish the back side of a shallow dam is with the low flows most of the current is diverted right out to the tip. Fish will hold right off the tip on the backside in the scour hole waiting for an easy meal to wash around the end of the dam. Boat positioning is key to targeting this area of a wing dam. Deeper dams will hold fish in this same sense as well but it is much more complicated to get your jig in the strike zone with out getting hung up.

    tom_gursky
    Michigan's Upper Peninsula(Iron Mountain)
    Posts: 4751
    #505989

    Not much to add as those were great replies. The heavier the flow the more upstream you may have to cast to allow the light jig to sink to the proper depth in time to work across the front of the wing dam.

    No better teacher than getting out there with someone that “knows the drill”.

    WingDam and riprap can give up some awesome fish but can also be extremely discouraging to the novice. Those rocks will eat up dozens of rigs in a short amount of time unless you set up just right for the depth and the flow speed…not to mention learning the angles…

    IDA Guides and/or,Jarrad Fluekiger, Steve Dezurik, Vandy etc… are a very cheap way to get about 20 years of experience into your hair covered PC…or in my case bald headed PC.

    rogan
    Posts: 60
    #509080

    Dustin, could you explain how you are located and pinpointed these fish? I bought the video a while back and have had some sucess, but catching bass instead of eyes. If a guy was able to get this type of fishing down a bit better it would be a blast.

    fireflick
    Alma WI
    Posts: 875
    #509404

    The only thing I can add is this. During this time of the year the river temps are extremely low. That being said, make sure you are working your baits the slowest you can. I actually will let the bait sit in one location and just hold it. I will then drop it back just a few inches and hold it again. I think this time of the year this is one of the most crucial things you can do. Most baitfish are moving at a snails pace this time of year so fishing slowly will keep that bait in the strike zone longer and give a fish longer time to decide to eat it. If you start popping it around I think it will just turn the fish off. Try it some time. Have one guy just hold the bait and the other jig it back. I bet I can tell you which one will hook up more…

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