WU-210: Wing Dams the Year Round Fishing Resource - Part 1

by Randy Tyler & Dave Truett

Wing Dams - Wing dams and walleyes really go together.  Did you know that walleyes usually hold upstream of a wing dam?  Current, when deflected off of a wing dam, creates a slack pocket on the upstream portion of the wing dam.  This creates an area for ambushing walleyes, to acquire an easy meal.

Wing dams are sometimes the forgotten resource on many river systems, yet they can produce walleye all year long.  They seem to consistently produce fish and can be fished with many different techniques and conditions.

Wing dams can be found in river systems, such as the Mississippi River and the Missouri River systems.  These wing dams are used to control silt and debris from building up in the barge channels.  They are man-made usually of rock and gravel, and run from shore to the edge of the channel.  They can be located by either using a navigational map of the system, or simply by sight. 

Knowing the location of wing dams at any water level is critical

While running down a river such as the Mississippi, you need to be especially careful, as the water level in river systems rises and lowers the tops of the dams.  They can either be completely submerged or completely exposed.  One thing for sure is that if you hit one with the lower unit of your motor, you will definitely regret it!  They can easily be identified by the change in the surface conditions of the water moving over them.  There is a tell-tale rippling that will show up on the surface just after the wing dam, and on the inside edge.  There is usually an eddy before it.

Current edges in rivers will hold walleyes in the areas between slack and fast moving currents.  Walleyes stage in this slack water area and will dart into the current for an easy meal.

Questions and Answers

1. Do walleyes usually hold upstream or downstream off of wing dams?  Walleyes usually hold upstream.
2. What are wing dams used for?  Wing dams are used to control silt and debris from building up in the barge channels.
3. What are wing dams made of? Wing dams are man-made, usually of rock and gravel, and run from shore to the edge of the river channel.
4. When wing dams are covered by water, how can an angler recognize their location so as not to hit one with their motor?  Wing dams can easily be identified by the change in the surface conditions of the water moving over them.. There is a tell-tale rippling that will show up on the surface, just after the wing dam and on the inside edge.  There is usually an eddy before it.