kinzu dam

my best advice would be hatchey side closest to the wall husky jerks black/silver black/gold blue/silver, 1/2 ounce black jig head white mister twister tipped with leech, shiner, crawler, or my favorite thread a 5'' chub with no weight and let him do the rest pull up on your rod tip every few minutes so he dont snag u up, im by far no pro but either of those rigs should produse

Yeah on the hatchery side, The pier is an obvious starting point.  I like husky jerk, but smithwick's super rogue is an awesome lure.  The chrome colors do produce. 

Don't be afraid to wander around a bit.  A lot of times I see walleyes tucked in the slack water of eddies just a few feet away from heavy current.  Other times they tucked into to cracks and breaks caused by the boulders.   Look at the Surface of the water for clues about rocks and eddies. 

oh and I should add, that me and my friends almost always fish at night.  I hardly hear of walleyes caught in the day and suspect, that if you CAN catch walleyes during day consistently its not in during August.

Truth is its pretty hard to catch a walleye this time of year at the tailwaters.  There's something about the warmth that really dampens the bite.  I figure too, that walleye can scatter over the entire tailwaters during these low flows.  On the flip side, any reasonable approach to catching walleye MIGHT yield trophy trout.   My friend who's really avid about walleye (and maybe he'll post a bit), has caught heaps of big 20+ browns and rainbows since June.  I'd almost certain he's caught more trout than walleye this summer.

which is cool when its a 24" brown.  but flaming annoying when its an 8" rainbow that snarfed down your 4" plug


good luck and you might want to say hello when you come up.  between me and a couple friends we're up at the tail-waters nearly every night of the year. 

As a local I can tell you, that there is really only so much that I can say.  To consistently catch walleyes you've got to constantly be guessing.  I fish a bit with terry who is far better at this game than me,and it seems that the guy is always on the move.

there's no real secret spots guys, I think there just is a really long and evolving list of places we've tried and caught walleyes.

moreover although you've got to start on one side, more than one time we have switch sides in the middle of our trip.
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the hard thing is that as a local, I can fish  about every other night up at the tailwaters .  This experience is not just something you can "give" to a visiting tourist.  after a little while, you know every rock and every little current.  Not only do you get a lot of hotspots you also get a sense about what catches fish. You learn alittle how walleye and other predators handle changing conditions and changing seasons.

One of the real "experts" that has helped me is a friend called Terry.  sometimes I think terry is 'Evolved' into something a little more than a normal fishermen.  When he suddenly stops midstreams, changes lures a couple times then confidently switches to a spot that suddenly produces 3-4 slamming bites in 6 casts (and brings in a 2X" walleye).  Its more than amazing.  How do you explain THAT online???
but to be fair.  He's Here night after night.  I wouldn't be surprised if his has put in more than 300 nights (either after sunset or before sunrise) in the last year. 

now maybe he'll come up here and add a few thoughts himself. but I'm speaking for him, a little cuz I know its awkward for him to say that he has walleye figured out.  And my big point is , "What could he say?  "..  The reason that he catches so much, is that he was there last night (and the night before that); and he's always trying things.  Looking for some pattern that works.

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If you're visiting from pittsburgh, you obviously can't easily be here night after night.  but you can resist the urge to stick to one spot, one approach whipping the water into foam for three hours.  If it aint working. move.  move somewhere and drift back.

walleyes aren't hard to figure out.  they want Near the current but not in it.  they will resist being in shallow water during low water.  They chase the hordes of fingerlings the commission stocks in the river.  and they will spend a good bit of time inactive.  its not a bad idea at the end of the night to scan the shore with a headlamp looking for gleaming walleye eyes in the river. 

eyeassassin,
Tough time of year for the eyes. I have been catching one here and one there, but with the water as warm as it is, and as much bait that is swimming around, right now is a pretty tough time to expect to be successful at catching them. If you can plan your trip in another month, you might have a better shot. Jolie has given pretty good advise, and just like Lunker49 said, sometimes you leave the river feeling like a pro, and the next night you feel like you need to learn how to fish all over again. This river is a tough one. This year has had some pretty steady levels of water, but this river can change in a heartbeat with water level and temperature, all those things factor in and can change things dramatically.
The Eyes in this river are a different animal then those in lakes or reservoirs so tips and tactics you read in magazines don't necessarily translate to the river. Some tactics can be implemented but some things you just have to make up as you go along. I don't have a preference as to what side of the river I fish. I like both, Hemlock I have caught my biggest Walleye, on 59 I caught my biggest Pike, Musky, Trout and Catfish. Does that mean the 59 side is better? No, I have just had better luck on 59.
As far as tips.. If you read Jolie's book he wrote, that's pretty much the gist of it. Don't be afraid to move and explore and be prepared to lose lure or hooks or whatever you use. I personally use minnow type lures. I would suggest a floater if you in shallower water 5 feet or less, if you are fishing deeper water, i would go with a suspending lure. Good luck.

I've found a couple of guys who live in Warren, one in particular, that have been extremely friendly and helpful. I am not mentioning names because I don't want them to be bombarded with requests for information.

The tailwaters are tough...really tough. The guys that figure it out are the ones that that fish there A LOT. Don't go up there expecting to catch a pile of fish because it very likely will not happen. However, if you do catch a fish it may be the fish of a lifetime.

My personal goal has been a big Brown trout. I've been fishing up there the last two years, probably about ten trips in total now. I have yet to catch a single Brown. I've caught a few decent Rainbows. I think on my best day I caught two and lost one. I'm heading up this weekend to give it another try. I don't fish for Walleye but I've caught a couple small ones while fishing for trout.

Best place to fish below the dam is in the water. Hands down!