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Are bass easily swept away when water goes over the spillway?
#12278114
06/04/17 05:52 PM
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Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 271
perrypogue
OP
Angler
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Posts: 271 |
I'm very curious about the damage to a small lake when a heavy rain leads to water going over the spillway at a depth of 5'. I'd like to think most of the bass stay in the heavy buck brush that surrounds this lake but I have to guess that some go over the spillway with the flood water.
Does anyone have experience with what happens to a great lake when a flood like this happens?
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Re: Are bass easily swept away when water goes over the spillway?
[Re: perrypogue]
#12278127
06/04/17 06:04 PM
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Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 582
FXfromTx
Pro Angler
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Pro Angler
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Posts: 582 |
I'm not sure about largemouth, but have personally seen schools of hybrids and striper staying in front of the murky water as it comes into the lake from the river and they eventually end up at the spillway and over the spillway they went. Wild to see.
"The fishing was good; it was the catching that was bad."
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Re: Are bass easily swept away when water goes over the spillway?
[Re: perrypogue]
#12278148
06/04/17 06:13 PM
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Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 30,321
RedRanger
burro desagradable
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burro desagradable
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 30,321 |
I'm very curious about the damage to a small lake when a heavy rain leads to water going over the spillway at a depth of 5'. I'd like to think most of the bass stay in the heavy buck brush that surrounds this lake but I have to guess that some go over the spillway with the flood water.
Does anyone have experience with what happens to a great lake when a flood like this happens? Look at Texoma, after all the rains and flooding over the spillways a few years ago, a lot of the Stripers guide quit or moved to Tawakoni. Stripers made a mass exodus over the spillways.
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Re: Are bass easily swept away when water goes over the spillway?
[Re: perrypogue]
#12278169
06/04/17 06:42 PM
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Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 271
perrypogue
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Angler
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OP
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Posts: 271 |
This lake only has black bass. Could there be a difference in the two species?
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Re: Are bass easily swept away when water goes over the spillway?
[Re: perrypogue]
#12278288
06/04/17 08:24 PM
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Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 23,439
SteezMacQueen
TFF Guru
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TFF Guru
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 23,439 |
I'm sure some go.....I remember back in the 80's a friend and I walked out onto Lewisvilles spillway and netted some giant cats as they were washing over. Fun times.
Eat. Sleep. Fish.
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Re: Are bass easily swept away when water goes over the spillway?
[Re: perrypogue]
#12278447
06/04/17 11:13 PM
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 6,103
Billy Blazer 300 HPDI
TFF Celebrity
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TFF Celebrity
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 6,103 |
I Think they do and I think they tavel a long ways.
Many of us though then Choke filled up and they opened the spill way back in the day, it was the reason the fishing in Lake Mathis (Lake Corpus Christi) improved.
It went from no fish to one of the better lake in the state for a few years.
Thanks, Billy
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Re: Are bass easily swept away when water goes over the spillway?
[Re: perrypogue]
#12280509
06/06/17 11:09 AM
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Joined: May 2003
Posts: 11,586
gary purdy
TFF Guru
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TFF Guru
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 11,586 |
When Lake Alan Henry was flowing over the spillway for 3 months we lost a lot of fish. I have seen pictures of 2 to 4 fish going over the spillway in each and every picture.
The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything. Remember what He has done and remember that He is not done yet!-- GOD IS GOOD
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Re: Are bass easily swept away when water goes over the spillway?
[Re: perrypogue]
#12280556
06/06/17 11:47 AM
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 39,381
Dan90210 ☮
Jr Deputy Dan
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Jr Deputy Dan
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 39,381 |
I dont think they get swept over unless they want to.
There is a little creek near my house that usually is very shallow and very clear. Moves very slow. It has small bass and bluegills in it and even a few catfish. When we get 4+ inches of rain like we did the last few days that sucker turns into a raging river. Like it would wash a man away no problem...
But, when the water resides, the same fish, are in the same pools. In some cases I can tell its the same fish based on an odd deformity one of the bass has in a particular pool.
So if in a rushing creek, a fish can decide I am going to hunker down and not leave this stretch of the creek...and hold against that current for a few days to remain in that pool... I just dont see how a bass in a lake who is not wanting to explore the spillway would end up there.
Stripers and white bass I could see. They seem to like to mess with current. Going up it, down it, into it. I have seen white bass running up spillways in the Trinity during high water, seemingly just because. Its not the place they were going was any better; those striped fish just like to get up in currents.
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Re: Are bass easily swept away when water goes over the spillway?
[Re: perrypogue]
#12280802
06/06/17 02:08 PM
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Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 435
Fisherdad58
Angler
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Angler
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 435 |
I've seen times when it looks to me like they went out of their way to get into the rushing water and the fish numbers decrease after a big flood. Seems like a lot of them are bigger fish too. All you can hope is that you get some replacements from up the creek.
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Re: Are bass easily swept away when water goes over the spillway?
[Re: perrypogue]
#12280903
06/06/17 03:03 PM
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Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 687
Big1Bass
Pro Angler
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Pro Angler
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 687 |
I don't think anything can hold against the power of the water.. Mother Nature is too powerful..
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Re: Are bass easily swept away when water goes over the spillway?
[Re: perrypogue]
#12280979
06/06/17 03:55 PM
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Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 629
furim2
Pro Angler
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Pro Angler
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They may be swept away, but it ain't easily. When we used to put on Wednesday night tournaments on Ray Roberts, we had a 500 gallon weigh in tank. It had a trap door that dumped the water within seconds. The bass in that tank would face the current and swim as hard as they could until there was no water left to swim in. We would have to get in the tank with dip nets to get the last fish out that were flopping in the empty tank.
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Re: Are bass easily swept away when water goes over the spillway?
[Re: perrypogue]
#12281177
06/06/17 05:17 PM
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Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 271
perrypogue
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Posts: 271 |
A couple of you have given me hope....Thanks! This body of water is surrounded by buck brush and that's where the bass live. The lake had all the silt removed in 2014 by a $250,000 anonymous donation as the lake had completely dried up. Then the drought ended and the P&WL dept restocked the lake with 18,000 florida bass. The fish were doing extremely well and it was easy to catch like 10/hour and they weighed 3-4 lbs. I could only imagine what it would be like in another year. Then a week ago a freak storm dumped 8" of water in a short time resulting in water going over the spillway at a depth of 5'. It's going to be another couple of weeks before I'll be able to put my boat in and give it a check.
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Re: Are bass easily swept away when water goes over the spillway?
[Re: perrypogue]
#12302340
06/20/17 01:42 PM
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Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 20
tminc
Outdoorsman
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Outdoorsman
Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 20 |
not sure about largemouths, but the hybrids and the stripers go over the buchanan dam in droves when they release water out of the flood gates here
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Re: Are bass easily swept away when water goes over the spillway?
[Re: perrypogue]
#12302349
06/20/17 01:50 PM
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Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 271
perrypogue
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Angler
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Posts: 271 |
I've fished the lake 3 times now since the flood and although there are some bass left, many were washed away. It makes me sick as the lake had lots of Tiger bass. I wonder why there isn't more talk about the Tigers? They are awesome! They fight lots harder than regular bass and jump 2' out of the water. I guess they're just too expensive. Because of the expense I don't think TP&W would stock them.
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