I haven’t been out on the river now for almost 2 weeks but I talked to a friend today who has been hitting the river a few recent evenings and doing quite well with the walleyes in the L&D 11 tailwater area. I know from years past that when the water warms and the current is almost non-existant that the walleyes like to congregate in the tailwaters of the big dams. This is because the water is more oxygenated from flowing through the dam. The higher oxygen content draws the baitfish in and the walleyes follow the baitfish.
So many people fish the tailwaters in the late fall, winter and early spring but then forget about them come warm weather. I’ve caught walleye in August and September right below the dams right off of the heaviest current. I’ve caught them pitching jigs, casting cranks and working 3-way DBQ live bait rigs. My friend told me he has been getting them jigging One Eyes and pulling live bait rigs. I am a dedicated wingdam fisherman however this time of the year it can be difficult to find numbers of walleye feeding on the wingdams. Try some warm weather tailwater fishing and you might just find the walleye. You’ll no doubt catch a few other species such as white bass because they follow the baitfish just like the greenies do. I hope to make it out over the weekend if the rains hold off. The river at DBQ did come up over a foot in the past couple of days which is a good thing.
Eyehunter
