Areas below dams or other water controls make great fishing areas.
One of the best locations to fish in streams or rivers is where water control valves are positioned in the stream. These can vary from simple stop log structures or where culverts funnel water in small streams to giant locks and dams in major flows built to facilitate commercial shipping. The turbulence, deep holes, ready food supply, oxygenated water and upstream migration blockage all team up to make these areas fishing hot spots. Fishing them properly is simply a method of getting the bait down to where the fish are holding.
Instructions
Three-Way Rig
1. Tie a three-way swivel onto the main line of your rod and reel.
2. Tie a leader of the same strength as your main line to one of the lines tied on the three-way swivel.
3. Tie a fish hook to the end of the leader line, making the leader approximately a foot long.
4. Tie a short piece of line, half the strength as the main line, to the remaining tie-loop on the three-way swivel. The sinker will get hung up on the bottom frequently so using a light line will allow you to break it off, losing the sinker but salvaging the rest of the rig.
5. Tie an appropriately sized sinker to the light line, adjusting the length of this line so there's about 8 inches between the swivel and the sinker. The size of the sinker depends on the power of the current and water depth. Slow current and water only 10 feet deep or so can be fished with a 1-oz. sinker, while you may need to tie on a 4- or 6-oz. weight to fish deeper or in a strong current.
Test the Waters
6. Motor into the current created where the water is shunted through the control valve while you are watching the depth finder on your boat.
7. Cut the motor and let the boat drift downstream with the current, again while monitoring your depth finder.
8. Repeat this motoring up and drifting back several times, each time trying to take a slightly different paths.
9. Look for sharp drop-offs, underwater humps and channels under the surface, and monitor how your boat drifts in the main current or along the edges of the current. You are making a mental map of where the best locations or drifts to make as well as places to avoid to keep from getting hung up or endangering your boat or yourself.
Lowering the Bait
10. Put your bait on the hook and set your rod and reel where it's close at hand.
11. Power the boat up through the current, cut the motor, then quickly lower the bait straight down over the side of the boat, letting out line until the sinker hits the bottom.
12. Allow the boat to drift downstream while you raise and lower your rod, bouncing the sinker on the bottom. The fish below the control valves always stick close to the stream's bottom; being able to feel the sinker hitting the bottom ensures your bait is down where the fish live.
13. Set the hook when you feel the strike of a fish and allow the boat to float on downstream while you do battle.
14. Make repeated drifts, adjusting the location of each until you determine the path that results in the best success.
Tags: main line, three-way swivel, your boat, bait down, bait down where