walleye fishing below dams....

[TBone2983]

I am fairly new to walleye fishing and was thinking about fishing for walleye below a dam on a small river nearby. i know they are in there but really not sure how to go about catching them. minnows or plastics? crankbaits? near the rocks on the shore? down about 150 yards near the bridge pillars? what color of baits? any help would be appreciated. thank you

[gloomiseye]

Welcome to the world of river eyes! I'll give you some brief tips. First spots to try are any kind of eddy or slack water and if it has rocks or sand all the better. I personally like using plastics better but jig and minnows can be very good as well. My favorite plastics are ringworms and 3" twister tails. Best colors are chartreuse, orange, pink, purple, and natural colors. What river is it btw? Good luck!

[EBass]

Depending on the amount of current. Use a 1-2oz no roll weight, swivel and about a foot leader and a hook and minnow/crawler. Cast it out in a fishy area and let it sit. If no bites, pop the weight free and reel as fast as you can with the rod tip up high to avoid snags.

Plastics can be good if you're into casting and not afraid of loosing some jigs.

Only way to know is to try. Good luck out there

[TBone2983]

thanks or the tips. the river i will be fishing is the little sioux at the linn grove dam. there is rocks along the edges and a few sandbars that jet out from the edges. i was leaning towards a jig and twistertails. but what size jig head would u reccomend? 3/8oz? i was thinkin of using a white twister tail cuz i do remember fishing below a dam before from a boat and we used those. what do u think? i will be fishing from shore this time. what are ring worms?

thanks again.

[TBone2983]

also if i do try a crawler rig what is a no roll weight? is that the flat weights? now am i reeling fast to avoid snags after i pop it up. or will it trigger a bite as it goes by. i heard slow presentations work better. thanks to you to for your tips too.

[gloomiseye]

These are ringworms.

http://www.bfishntackle.com/4inch_ringworm.html

[gloomiseye]

I would recommend using the lightest jig you can and still be able to feel the bottom with.

[delmuts]

T bone; Jigs are a great bait,but! If there are rocks, expect to loose jigs. What weight depends on current and depth. Where i fish it's mostly a 1/16 unless i'm fishing the deeper part, then i step up to an 1/8. Fishing the rocks from shore you will want to tick the rocks and TRY not to get snagged! It takes practice, and you will always loose some. Twister tails and paddle tails are a good bait to start with.