Cade Laufenberg Posted November 20, 2007 Posted November 20, 2007 Here is an article that I just wrote on Late Fall River Smallmouth Bass fishing. For those unfamiliar with the terms used in the article such as "Wing Dams" or the "main channel" let me just give you some imagery on what these things are. Wingdams are submerged (or in some cases out of the water) rock structures that are put in place to regulate the current into a controled area which controls sediment deposit, depth, etc. in a river system. The main channel is a set of bouys (red on right going north, green on left) where barges and other comercial boat traffic travel. It is the safest place to travel the river, and is garunteed to be 9 feet deep. I hope this clarifies things for some that may be unfamilar to fishing on a very large river system. The one that is refered to in this article is the Mississippi River. As you may know, this is my home water. I fish on pool 8, and pools are defined as the sections of water between two dams. Here is a link to the article, enjoy the read, and please let me know what you think!!! http://www.futurebass.com/articles/artmisssmalie.htm Thanks, Cade Laufenberg Quote
Super User roadwarrior Posted November 21, 2007 Super User Posted November 21, 2007 ;D ;D ;D OUTSTANDING! ;D ;D ;D 8-) Quote
Super User roadwarrior Posted November 21, 2007 Super User Posted November 21, 2007 Regarding buoys: Red warn of danger (shallow water). Green buoys mark the channel. When motoring downstream, stay to the left (buoys to starboard); moving upstream, green buoys to port. Quote
Super User Tin Posted November 21, 2007 Super User Posted November 21, 2007 Wow, amazing info! Definatley have to keep it in mind, have a couple of October tourney's on the Connecticut River next year. Quote
Tokyo Tony Posted November 21, 2007 Posted November 21, 2007 Great article, and well-written! Makes me wish I knew of wingdams to fish - but when I do find some, I'll be sure to heed your advice. Thanks! Quote
TuscarawasRiverRat Posted November 22, 2007 Posted November 22, 2007 Very nicely written article! Quote
fishnaddiction Posted November 22, 2007 Posted November 22, 2007 very nice info too bad non of the places i fish have wingdams i keep this info handy in case i find some Quote
Cade Laufenberg Posted November 22, 2007 Author Posted November 22, 2007 one thing to keep in mind is that these fish are naturally attracted to the wingdams because they create a habbitat that is ideal for the smallmouth. However, there are other alternatives. The main idea is that these structures block current. Sharp breaks and humps will create the same effect in rivers that don't have wingdams. Lake smallmouth, now I'm not exactly sure how that would be, but I would imagine that they are going to use similar structures that funnel them into the deep water. in earlier fall they will sit on humps that come up into shallower water and sit on top of them. Later in the fall they are going to move off the sides and fall back into that deeper water and likely suspend too. wood or gravel/rock is going to be a big plus. They don't often suspend in the river because of the current factor. Quote
Low_Budget_Hooker Posted November 23, 2007 Posted November 23, 2007 Regarding buoys: Red warn of danger (shallow water). Green buoys mark the channel. When motoring downstream, stay to the left (buoys to starboard); moving upstream, green buoys to port. Channel Buoys are different. A simple way to remember them is "red on right-return" 2 colors, red and green mark each side of a channel. Heading towards shore, you keep the red on your right. Leaving shore, green is on your right. Quote
Cade Laufenberg Posted November 23, 2007 Author Posted November 23, 2007 That is correct Russ. I was thinking the same thing..RW must have been describing a lake with a channel that runs through it maybe? But yeah on the river there is no difference between the two, they are just for navigational purposes..They can mark hazzards though, as most wing dams have a buoy on the tip so barges are in no danger of running into them. Even though many of the wingdams can be run over with an outboard (not all!) a barge would be in a MESS of trouble if it crashed into one. Personally I could almost wish that would happen. We need more wingdams with holes in them! ;D I only know of one wingdam with a hole in it, and it is the best wingdam I have ever fished, the fish position themselves on that current edge. Well enough of me rambling... Quote
Ryan_Johnson Posted November 27, 2007 Posted November 27, 2007 Nice article Cade! It looks like you're on some nice fish. Where will there be open water on the river this winter to get onto to get those Dec,Jan, Feb bass? Quote
Cade Laufenberg Posted November 28, 2007 Author Posted November 28, 2007 Well The only way I'm going to make that work is with the help of a warm spell. I'm obsessed with ice fishing so in a lot of ways I hope that that doesn't happen. Last December into January we had a lot of open water on pool 8, and I chose to take the boat to get on some secluded ice areas. I should have fished smallies, I know they would have been biting, but at the time I did not. if we get another warm up like that, I'm hoping to knock it out of the way. Otherwise, pool 4 usually has open water throughout winter because of a power plant that is north of the dam. Quote
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