Fish Beneath Small-River Dams for Mixed-Bag Success

Without question, my favorite light-tackle freshwater pursuit involves hitting small Northern tailraces for smallmouth bass, along with rock bass, creek chubs and various panfish. While an occasional “big” fish may drop in to capitalize on the current-born food washed through the tumbling, crashing water, most of what I expect to catch wouldn’t even sniff the pound mark.Important point: Size is not the only measure of accomplishment and certainly not the criteria for enjoyment.

To this point, I’ve found a handful of small tailrace opportunities in Upstate New York, not far from the mighty St. Lawrence River, where anglers regularly catch smallmouth big enough to eat my targets for breakfast. For these modest, yet incredibly intriguing sites, I’ll break out my telescoping Daiwa travel rods and have a blast casting micro-sized lures for maximum fun.

My main deal is the Madrid Dam on the Grass River in the hamlet of Madrid. A concrete water-control structure with two spillways sits on the north side, with the rest of the structure comprising an overflow edge. 

The smoothly winding river suddenly turns into white water percussion, as it drops 12 feet into a pummeling basement with scattered rocky ledges and high spots. Drawing from a heavily vegetated upstream section, this tailrace abounds with a diverse forage menu.

The west side of the Highway 345 bridge crossing of the Grass River offers a soul-stirring view of this tailrace, but the only viable access point is a small park on the northwest bank. Here, an observation deck with railing and benches provides a roughly perpendicular position, so attention to the key tenants of tailrace fishing is critical.

Go With the Flow: Downstream casts to the bridge pilings and particular current breaks offer brief potential, but I’ve consistently fared best by firing my baits directly into the falls. Maintaining a taut line, I’ll work with the current to walk my bait past the various ambush spots.

The main overflow tailrace typically delivers most of the action, but I’ve also caught smallmouth and others on short casts to the dam adjacent to the observation deck. The fish tend to favor the corners of those spillways, but I’ve also hooked up by tossing a bait directly into the nearest spillway for a controlled downstream drift.

Remember, it’s all about the feeding, so with any tailrace, be it a dam, waterfall, or the downstream flow from a prominent river break, you’ll do best by presenting your bait the way predators are accustomed to finding their food. 

“Seams” Logical: In the main flow, frothy borders clearly indicate current seams when water breaking around large and small deflectors create distinct edges between faster and slower water. Predators instinctively utilize these boundaries to duck out and grab passing meals, so present your baits accordingly.

Even absent of the white bubbly stuff, pay attention to the difference between flat water and rippling water. The former is the restaurant table, while the latter is the waiter that brings the entrees.

Beware the Unseen: Rivers often send logs, limbs and entire trees over their falls (especially during flood events). Expect snags. Watch for tiny limb tips breaking the surface, as well as streaky current flow that forms with water weaving through a tree limb’s fingers.

If the snag “gives” a little, or moves toward you, it’s likely some type of wood debris, as opposed to the unyielding rocks. I’ve occasionally utilized the bow-and-arrow snapping technique to free snagged baits, but I cringe to calculate the cost of tackle confiscated by the tailrace guardians.

In any case, I take note of where different bumps, snags and entanglements occur. I won’t necessarily avoid these spots, as fish will utilize any type of current break. However, I’ll adjust angles and bait elevation accordingly.

Best Baits: Considering how tailrace predators largely focus on vulnerable baitfish, moving presentations with baits that match this profile produce best. I like walking a Heddon Zara Puppy and mixing up the subsurface looks with a Rebel Raider and a Rebel LIVEflex Shore Shiner rigged on a KEG Head Jig.

You could certainly use a small swimbait or ball head here, but I like the KEG Head’s diversity. With a high rod posture and steady reeling, I can mimic a struggling baitfish, while that wider head offers more deflection when I bump into obstructions.

The biggest advantage I’ve found is the KEG Head’s ability to immediately transition from a swimming presentation to a bottom hopping, downward feeding minnow look. Once my bait exits the swift water, I’ll let it hop and scamper across the shoreward shallows — a ruse that has fooled rock bass and green sunfish within eyesight.

During a late-July visit, I found the Grass River’s extremely low water level had left several of the Madrid Dam’s typically submerged tailrace features exposed. Principally, I learned that the most prominent break that I always target is actually a large slab-like section of river ledge angled slightly toward the dam.

When the water is at normal level, smallmouth cluster around this hard spot, with the most aggressive fish posting on the upcurrent face and blasting baitfish in the frothy water. Consistently, my biggest smallmouth have come from this area, so seeing it exposed proved very enlightening.

My plan to pick off the eager ones with a Zara Puppy in the Flitter Shad color nearly worked, but the lower water greatly diminished the active zone and brought the many subsurface timber jams dangerously close to those passing trebles.

Before an unseen object claimed my bait, I drew two big-time bites from the kind of fish I sought. One boiled like a toilet flush, the other pushed two handfuls of water. Both fish missed the bait — a common vexation in the roiling water. 

Frustrating, but all part of the learning process. Seeing the major current break exposed gives me a clearer understanding of how/where those fish relate. Next time I fish there on full water, I’ll know “the cast.”

A few thoughts came to mind while enjoying my recent outings.

Find Your Spots: Another of my tailrace treasures is Fall Island Park in downtown Potsdam, N.Y., about 20 minutes southeast of Madrid. Here, the Raquette River splits around the island, with hydroelectric structures — East Dam and West Dam — on either side.

The smaller East Dam tailrace is more directly accessible, although a little precarious footwork will get you close enough to the West Dam tailrace. Both are riddled with rocks, so foretold is forewarned. 

At the island’s southeast side, a break in the heavy shoreline vegetation leads to a narrow alcove, from which I can hit a slack water pool on the down-current side of a prominent rock point. Nearly every presentation yields a bite, and I’ve watched smallmouth chase my bait 20 feet downstream and bite nearly at my feet.

With tall bushes and overhanging trees, this spot exemplifies a key tailrace principle: Dial in “the cast.” Whether that means hitting a particular current seam just right, or threading a cast through gaps in the greenery, take time to figure out your angles and precisely repeat them.

Recon Rules: I’ve spent countless hours on Google Earth studying current and potential tailrace targets to understand access and positioning strategies. Also, YouTube vacation/sightseeing videos often reveal key features. 

Show up blind, and you’ll burn a lot of fishing time trying to learn the spot from ground level. Pre-trip satellite study readies you for immediate action. Complement your satellite and video recon with local photos during low- and high-water periods. Combine both perspectives, and you’ll develop a clear understanding of where the sweet spots occur and how to best target them. 

Stay Sharp: One unavoidable truth of tailrace fishing is that snagging rocks dulls hooks, so when you’re able to pop one loose, hit that point with a hook file. When I found myself lacking such a tool after freeing my KEG Head from a snag, I picked up a silver dollar sized river rock and used its smooth surface to rehab my recently liberated jig head’s hook.

It kind of felt like revenge.