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Re: Current Choke Canyon Report? [Re: Bulletman99] #12293962 06/14/17 06:34 PM
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One thing I also was kind of shocked to see were all the largemouths that had been filleted in the fish buckets at the cleaning stations. There were some nice 3-4 pounders in there! Oh well to each there own I guess.

Re: Current Choke Canyon Report? [Re: rob valle] #12294445 06/14/17 10:24 PM
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Originally Posted By: rob valle
One thing I also was kind of shocked to see were all the largemouths that had been filleted in the fish buckets at the cleaning stations. There were some nice 3-4 pounders in there! Oh well to each there own I guess.


It happens and as long as they were abiding the law not much can be said.

Re: Current Choke Canyon Report? [Re: grout-scout] #12301890 06/20/17 02:08 AM
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Originally Posted By: grout-scout
thumb I imagine the evaporation loss is huge. Sure do wish the lake were in a better recharge zone.


And Parttime, to answer your question. Most use minnows.


I had a water engineer tell me a few years ago that they could not have possibly put the lake in a worse spot for runoff or recharge. Must've been some money and a politicians family's land involved.


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Re: Current Choke Canyon Report? [Re: Chad Miller] #12304812 06/21/17 06:44 PM
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Originally Posted By: Chad Miller
Originally Posted By: grout-scout
thumb I imagine the evaporation loss is huge. Sure do wish the lake were in a better recharge zone.


And Parttime, to answer your question. Most use minnows.


I had a water engineer tell me a few years ago that they could not have possibly put the lake in a worse spot for runoff or recharge. Must've been some money and a politicians family's land involved.


Back when they were building the lake my brother had bought a lot near what is now Calliham and we would go there on weekends clearing the land and putting in fence post.
We were right next to the proposed park at that time and we got to know the TPWD biologist who was in charge of the area.
He took us for a guided tour of the lake bed and showed us the rearing ponds and showed us the river channel.
At that time I thought WTH! The river was just a trickle and hardly anything you could even imagine as flow. It looked just like it was, a shallow stagnant creek.....I thought at that time, "good luck filling up this lake with that!"


Just one more cast!

Re: Current Choke Canyon Report? [Re: Bulletman99] #12305728 06/22/17 03:44 AM
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Jimbo, you have any pics of that sucker before it filled?


I was sure hoping this little tropical depression was gonna head Choke's direction, as usual, not happening.

Re: Current Choke Canyon Report? [Re: grout-scout] #12305901 06/22/17 12:28 PM
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Originally Posted By: grout-scout
Jimbo, you have any pics of that sucker before it filled?


No, that day we met up with that biologist we were taking a break from working, and being before iphones and such we didn't have a camera.
He saw us working and stopped by to shoot the bull, and he then asked if we'd like to see the lake? We jumped into his truck and he took us for a long ride and showed off his living quarters, which was a house where the main park is located.
He then drove us around what was then just roads going through pastures, so not a lot to see actually if you know what south Texas brush country looks like, it's all pretty much the same.
Down by the dam you could see the big earth movers working, and plenty of good old south Texas dust.
He told us all about the plans for the lake, and talked wildlife etc. and history of the area. The guy was a fountain of information to say the least.
What I remember the most was he showed us pictures of his wife...She was an ex Dallas Cowboys cheerleader! thumb

Last edited by Jimbo; 06/22/17 12:41 PM.

Just one more cast!

Re: Current Choke Canyon Report? [Re: Bulletman99] #12306985 06/22/17 09:37 PM
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My family has a ranch close to Lake CC, and when I was a little kid, I remember one weekend we left the ranch and drove up to Three Rivers because my grandfather and dad wanted to see the Choke Canyon project. We drove out on a place you could look out at the dam build, somewhere close to where Southshore is, may have been the actual park already built at that point, I cant remember, but I do remember the hole in the ground and the amount of dirt moving blew my little kid mind. It is probably one of my earlier memories.

Then it was impounded and took forever to fill. Then a big storm flooded it and I was an older kid and it was over pool...not sure why we were there, but I remember some of the campsites being underwater.

Re: Current Choke Canyon Report? [Re: Bulletman99] #12307265 06/23/17 12:22 AM
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If you will recall. TP&W opened the rearing ponds before the lake caught water due to fish growing and the ponds drying up. I remember the catch what you can.


Snowflakes and entitled brats will be the doom of America!


Re: Current Choke Canyon Report? [Re: Bulletman99] #12307751 06/23/17 12:04 PM
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Lot of politics involved with that lake, and one of the big reasons it is where it's at was to protect Three Rivers from being in the bullseye of the Frio river when the floods came.
They still have to worry about the Atascosa, and the Nueces to the south but they have the levee to protect the town, and they still dodge a bullet when the floods come.

We were down there working on building my brothers house and we would go down to the river bed when they opened it up to fishing. No limits, take what you catch, but it was a circus and we found the fishing wasn't all that great, and didn't live up to the hype.

Last edited by Jimbo; 06/23/17 12:23 PM.

Just one more cast!

Re: Current Choke Canyon Report? [Re: Bulletman99] #12307782 06/23/17 12:37 PM
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Too expensive a lake to fish right now and being stupid doesn't help. Last time I went I was bound and determined to go up into possum. Turned off the channel and got hung the motor hung up on a huge floater. Cost me two transducers, mph think, and a prop. My fault I know but with it low like it is there has to be no pressure in that area and I never found out if there were fish there or not.

Re: Current Choke Canyon Report? [Re: Bulletman99] #12307875 06/23/17 01:52 PM
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Sorry, but I'm taking a trip down memory lane guys.
I remember when the lake first filled, we launched out of Mason Point, and when you stood on the ramp and looked toward the water, all you could see was a cleared area directly in front of the ramp maybe 75 yards out. There was nothing but jungle and some ribbons marking a lane to follow.
We launched and tried to find our way toward the main lake, and it was like being in the Amazon caught in a maze of trees.
All the leaves were on the living trees which made it spooky as you would turn off the channel and end up in a dead end not knowing where you were.
This was before GPS by the way, so no help there, you had to use your senses.
Going back, trying to get to the ramp before dark was even more challenging.
Saw a huge eagles nest which we used as a reference point, so thanks to that eagle.
Most all of the area of the lake except for the dam area was left untouched and spared the bulldozer, so that is one reason there are so many widow makers out there now.


Just one more cast!

Re: Current Choke Canyon Report? [Re: Bulletman99] #12308069 06/23/17 03:45 PM
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It's the most dangerous part of the lake (mason point)! When guys ask for info I always tell them to avoid this area or idle only through it, HUGE trees in this zone. If the lake ever fills again, parts will be jungle like again.


Opossum sucks unless it has some water in it, right now you couldn't get very far up it.

Re: Current Choke Canyon Report? [Re: Bulletman99] #12308199 06/23/17 05:25 PM
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I fished possum a couple times when the water first came down in maybe late 2013, it was so low you could see exactly where the creek channel wandered all through there. Muddy as hell and didn't catch a thing. When the water was up it was my go to spot.

To me the most dangerous part of the lake is the trip from Calliham to Possum. Navigating from Calliham to the upper river channel was fine, so long as you knew where you were going and had your previous paths marked on your unit.

Here is an old article with some history and photos taken just before impoundment.

http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/choke/

Re: Current Choke Canyon Report? [Re: southtexascracker] #12308983 06/24/17 01:46 AM
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Originally Posted By: southtexascracker
I fished possum a couple times when the water first came down in maybe late 2013, it was so low you could see exactly where the creek channel wandered all through there. Muddy as hell and didn't catch a thing. When the water was up it was my go to spot.

To me the most dangerous part of the lake is the trip from Calliham to Possum. Navigating from Calliham to the upper river channel was fine, so long as you knew where you were going and had your previous paths marked on your unit.

Here is an old article with some history and photos taken just before impoundment.

http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/choke/



Thanks, awesome site! The size of that chain... eeks

Re: Current Choke Canyon Report? [Re: Jimbo] #12310380 06/25/17 10:46 AM
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Originally Posted By: Jimbo
Sorry, but I'm taking a trip down memory lane guys.
I remember when the lake first filled, we launched out of Mason Point, and when you stood on the ramp and looked toward the water, all you could see was a cleared area directly in front of the ramp maybe 75 yards out. There was nothing but jungle and some ribbons marking a lane to follow.
We launched and tried to find our way toward the main lake, and it was like being in the Amazon caught in a maze of trees.
All the leaves were on the living trees which made it spooky as you would turn off the channel and end up in a dead end not knowing where you were.
This was before GPS by the way, so no help there, you had to use your senses.
Going back, trying to get to the ramp before dark was even more challenging.
Saw a huge eagles nest which we used as a reference point, so thanks to that eagle.
Most all of the area of the lake except for the dam area was left untouched and spared the bulldozer, so that is one reason there are so many widow makers out there now.
Yep I remember those days, all you could see was trees and more trees. They had cut boat lanes so they were called marked with ribbons. But once you got on the fish, hold on to your rod it was a blast. Awh, the good old days... fish

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