Tailwater Fluctuation and Scouting

Scouting is an important part of fishing tailwaters. When the dams are not releasing water into the river, low-water conditions occur. This is a good time to scout a tailwater. Scouting on low water will help an angler find specific points of interest for future fishing and – when water levels permit it – can present great opportunities to observe fishing moving into pods. This is also a good time to carefully watch fish behavior and to determine where fish might be when water is released. The amount of water being pulled through the dam and/or significant rainfall events can make changes in the river bottom, which can effect where fish will hold after a significant rain event. Observations from the Tailwaters:

Scouting will be very important after the tailwaters recede from the recent rains. The river bottom should be very different. The inlets may have changed and certainly there will be some structure that was not in the river just a few weeks ago. In short, what better reason to be on the river than to learn the changes Mother Nature has made to the rivers...