Drought and drawdown-plagued waterways present obstacles to finding and catching fish. Whether due to drought or it’s the annual fall drawdown, many anglers fishing rivers and reservoirs for smallmouth are challenged by these situations. Anglers fishing these waterways on a regular basis don’t always pay attention to drawdowns, and fail to really notice them. On Wisconsin’s flowages and river systems, water level fluctuations are common throughout the year. During the summer months, they could recede as a result of drought. Meanwhile in September and October, they could recede up to several feet due to drawdown. Most of Wisconsin’s flowages are water retention reservoirs. They were formed during the 1920’s and 1930’s when dams were constructed on the state’s largest river systems to help control water levels and prevent flooding. During the fall months their water gets released downstream, freeing reservoir retention space to accommodate for the winter and spring seasons. In spring, these flowages fill with runoff, which is then released downstream throughout summer and fall to help augment flows on the river systems. The drawdown process takes up