MinnKota's i-Pilot is a fantastic boat control tool for anglers fishing wingdams in rivers
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Wingdams are one type of structure that every card-carrying river angler eventually learns how to fish...for one reason. Wingdams are DYNAMITE locations to catch many varieties of pan- and gamefish, from bluegills and crappies to bass and walleyes. Wingdams provide habitat for prey, including crayfish and small minnows, cover for gamefish, and perhaps most importantly, a break from the current which allows fish to rest and/or feed in predictable locations.
Here's a quick look at the tip area of a wingdam, identified by Humminbird's Down Imaging (left) and Side Imaging (right), collected using my Humminbird 1197c. I collected this image while moving downstream over the tip of the dam, with the shore on my right and the tip of the dam just to the left of the boat's path. Down Imaging clearly shows the depression in front of the wingdam (to the left of the wingdam in the Down Image) where fish rest while waiting for prey to wash near or over the dam. It is this area, as well as the face and the top of the dam, that are common targets for walleye anglers.
Depending on water conditions, some wingdams (particularly those that sit in relatively shallow water) can be very easy to identify. For example, the left-hand photo below shows a shallow wingdam in winter, low-water conditions. About half of this dam now sits above the water and is therefore easy to find. However, many wingdams lie in deeper water and can be tough to find under certain water conditions. My 2010 Humminbird-compatible Lakemaster GPS map chip shows the locations of all wingdams on Pool 4 of the Mississippi RIver as dark lines extending from shore, as shown in the right-hand screen capture below.
Spot Lock automatically controls prop speed and motor direction to maintain the boat within a 5-foot circle around the GPS position established when the Spot Lock feature is activated. On a pair of recent trips to Pool 4 of the Mississippi River, my guests and I used Spot Lock to hold our position relative to several wingdams near Lock and Dam #3. We would position our boat using the main outboard, activate Spot Lock, turn the outboard off and begin fishing. As the current would move us downstream from our locked position, the i-Pilot would automatically engage the prop and motor steering to maintain our position within 5 feet of the initial, locked position. When we were ready to move to a new casting poisition on a particular wingdam, or move to a new wingdam altogether, we would simply turn Spot Lock off, move to our new position with the outboard, and then reactivate Spot Lock prior to fishing. It really is that simple! Moreover, our hands remained warm and dry, and all of our attention could be focused on the walleye and sauger that were using the wingdams to ambush prey.
Dr. Jason Halfen
Professional Walleye Angler
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Much of my wingdam fishing takes place from a stationary position, with the boat tethered in place by one or more anchors, and sometimes augmented by a drift sock off the stern when faced with an upstream wind. Keeping the boat in one position relative to the dam allows me to cast to the dam or the trench that lies in front of it, and to concentrate on my presentation rather than boat control. Using an anchor, or two anchors, can be a back-breaking experience, particularly when the fishing day involves moving from dam to dam, as well as regular position adjustments along an individual dam. When the water and/or the air is cold, repositioning is an even less comfortable experience, with wet, cold, numb hands becoming an issue as soon as the anchor is hoisted for the first time. All of those unpleasant experiences, and all of that wear-and-tear on backs and hands, is now a thing of the past. MinnKota's i-Pilot, and its Spot Lock feature, ensures that I can hold position relative to a productive wingdam without ever touching my traditional anchor.
How did the i-Pilot's Spot Lock feature perform for us on these trips? Great! MinnKota's i-Pilot did all the work for us, enabling us to focus on fishing rather than on boat control tasks. The results speak for themselves, as the images below demonstrate. By keeping the boat in one place, we could pay closer attention to selecting the correct jig weight and soft plastic baits to put quality fish in the boat. Dean Marshall, manager of Everts Resort on Pool 4, is shown at left with a quality mid-winter wingdam walleye, caught while i-Pilot's Spot Lock feature held us in position above a wingdam near his resort. Dean is a die-hard jig pitcher, and for many years, has used his anchor as a primary boat control tool for river walleye fishing. Dean was excited to see the i-Pilot in action, and believes that the Spot Lock feature will be a tremendous tool for all river anglers who prefer to fish from fixed positions. I agree with him, and an anxious for a break in the weather to put my i-Pilot and its Spot Lock feature back into action.
