Spring dam fishing

[whitetail_freak]

how many of you guys hit the dams in the spring for walleyes or crappies or whatever? are there certain times that are better than others? what are the water levels like around the st cloud sartell area dams?

[wahoohendoo]

fishing below dams in the spring can be dynamite. the water is usually high and booking pretty good but that draws your walleyes in. good fishing usually equals a pretty good crowd thou.

[whitetail_freak]

when do the walleyes even move up to the dams? i live by sartell and usually do well below the verso paper mill dam if you know where that is.. or do they ever leave the dam?

[wahoohendoo]

in the spring they move up rivers for miles or until they cant go anymore (a dam) to spawn.around dams its perfect habitat for them to release their eggs and fertilize them. current,rocks and well oxygenated water. this happens around here about ice out or some say when you start to hear the frogs croaking.by the time opener rolls around in normal yrs. they done spawning and usually have their feedbags on. no i dont know where that paper mill is but the dam i fish (big sandy lake) the walleyes will hold there until the water drops big time and the current comes to a halt.

[Rick G]

I know here in st cloud the bulk of the walleyes in this section of river move up below the dam and spend all winter there and start to disperce after the spawn. Below the dam here in town provides one of the best areas for fish to spend the winter in this section of river. The sartell to st cloud strech is a bit diffarent as it has more deep water sections that the fish can winter in. The walleyes start to move up to spawn in this section when the water temp is right. Remember that everything a walleye does is for one of two reasons- -Food and spawn.

[river rat316]

Walleyes also spawn around natural riffles, they serve as sort of a natural dam, well oxygenated moving water.

[Stick in Mud]

I fish the dams all year round...I was just down there not catching any suckers and carp. Spring can be awesome for walleyes, but I'm not afraid to admit that I get a bit nervous fishing my little canoe and jon boat up there (we usually have the big boat up at Mille Lacs until July 4). The water can get pretty wild and the waves surprisingly big, especially if you're a foot off the water in a tin can of a canoe.