Tailwater Walleyes Today

Slip downstream through holes or along current breaks, using a subtle lift-drop motion to maintain frequent bottom contact and keep the lure or bait near bottom. Anglers fishing key spots, confident that passing fish will come to them, often anchor or hover in place, allowing the current to present their offering.

Moving upstream with three-ways is effective, providing you use a heavy enough bell sinker to maintain proximity to the bottom. Avoid moving too fast, however; keep lures or baits in the strike zone long enough for fish to react. Wobbling lures (crankbaits) often become even more effective when presented upstream, since trolling against the current increases lure action, even though the boat is barely moving.

Anglers in Iowa fishing the Mississippi River often substitute a heavy jig for the drop sinker to simultaneously fish two lures at different levels—on bottom and higher. The upper leader may feature a twister tail on a plain hook, or a minnow, or a floating jighead. Sometimes, a double header occurs.

The relatively heavy weight of three-way rigs demands beefier tackle. Most anglers prefer about 10-pound-test mono and a 6-foot medium-action casting rod.

Blades & Spoons

Bladebaits and jigging spoons work equally well as jigs for vertical jigging presentations in rivers. Drift downcurrent, move slowly upcurrent, hover in place. Both have the weight required to stay down in current—typically 3/4- to 1 ounce.

Wing Dams and Pilings

Wing dams are prime structures on larger rivers. These manmade equivalents of Mother Nature’s rock points project from shore, deflecting current back into midriver to prevent erosion. Constructed primarily from boulders, they gather tangles of brush and logs, forming perfect hideouts for walleyes and smallmouth bass. Swirling water and downstream eddies betray their locations to the trained eye.

During high water associated with late spring, fish often move atop a wing dam, close to shore. Pitch small jigs or crankbaits across the top, retrieving them through pockets of calm water formed by the structure. During low water, more typical of summer, fish concentrate in the deep hole formed at the tip, though active fish may lie in the cushion of calm water formed on the front face where current deflects up and over the wing dam. Resting, inactive walleyes may lie in the eddy formed on the downstream side.

React to conditions. Fire crankbaits along the front face for active fish. Jig or three-way rig deeper adjacent pockets of calmer water for less aggressive walleyes, following the current break downstream until it dissipates. At times, move up close to the rocks, though you risk snags by touching them too frequently.

Bridge pilings are another prominent structure in tailwater areas. Highway or railway bridges crossing the river feature numerous concrete, wooden, or steel pillars that break the force of current.

For deep pilings, vertically jig the front face of the pillar for aggressive fish lying against the base. Then quickly move downstream, generally ignoring the sides where current is strong, repositioning in the slack water pocket behind the abutment. Once again, use a vertical presentation, this time for resting fish. If the river’s shallow, however, you may encounter broken rock stacked around the base of the pillars. Apply similar boat positioning, and switch to casting jigs or crankbaits into pockets of calm water above or adjacent to the rocks.