Whats the deal with this lake? I know its closed because of the navy base Anyone have more detail or if there is any hope of it opening.

My understanding is that you can not keep fish from it, there is still a boat ramp that you can use so can you fish it at all?

I heard of people fishing it before. I remember someone telling me that a long time ago a jet crashed in it and jet fuel got in the lake. I may be wrong but this is what I have heard. I bet the fish in there are HUGE because not that many people fish it.

Hope this helps.

thanks, I think that there may be some good fishing there for that very reason

My dad watched that plane crash-that was in the early 70's. I don't think it actually went into the lake.

I've fished it before from the bank around the hot water discharge area and we caught a lot of sandbass. Knew of others who caught many crappie in the spring out there too but I never kept any of the fish. Went to school at DBU and there is a boat ramp there but I have heard that your vehicle is very succeptible to being broken into there as well. Some not so good people hanging around the ramp area the few times I drove by it.

there is a consumption ban on MC. The ramp is still open but kinda shallow. Most of the fishable structure is on the north end of the lake near the runway and there are some biggies in there.

Wasn't sure if the plane crashed in the lake or around it but, I knew it had something to do with the consumption ban.

kd,it's not closed!It is very shallow,the ramps are not maintained and there is a consumption ban but the areas by the landing strip and dam are at reasonably deep!Which is all realitive these fish are acustom to shallow water and there are some big bass,crappie,sand bass,drum,carp,gar in there.It's also a powerplant lake so it's heated in the winter when they are generating electricity.I've attached a few pics from last summer we were on the Grand Prarie side close to LTV we launched at the ramp close to DBC







pics are of my brother David,I'm family photographer

There is still an airplane in the south end. When it went down (I have no clue when it was) the south end of the lake was still covered with reeds and I guess they just left it there.

I've caught crappie from around the tail poking out of the water when I was a kid.

It is sitting in water 2 feet deep and in mud about 6 feet deep.

where is dbc?

Assuming your talking about Dallas Baptist College. It's on the east side of the lake at Kiest Blvd.

fwbret/txfishes--was that the Navy training jet that you're talking about? I was told it didn't go in the lake, but I was just a kid then, so I didn't pay much attention to the news.

I lived close by, but never fished there because was told even then there was a ban.

From the looks of it it is was not a jet. The tail (all I could see) was white and rounded-ish (I was a kid too, so memory may not be that great).


I remember an F-4 (I think, it was NAS Dallas at the time, and it was too long ago to be an F-14, it could have been one of the T-38's they flew out there I guess too) going down in a field somewhere out in GP after clipping one of the radio towers out in Cedar Hill. Also don't seem to recall many details about that one.


This may have been what I saw out there:

http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19750304-0

although the plane was sitting well south of the runway and not consistent (to my knowledge) with "overran the wet runway into Mountain Creek Lake".

Oh well, I know there were some decent fish out there, gobs of largemouth, crappie, white bass, and freshwater drum. I recall a nice channel catfish population too.

I think TPWD stocked Reds out there in the 70's too. I never saw one or saw one caught though.

oh my nice fish!!

Its a shame the state has not gone in there and cleaned up the lake!!!!

Here is what fish the state stocked into the lake and when.
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboat/fish/action/stock_bywater.php?WB_code=0513

I bet the bridge that runs across the lake is swarming with slab crappie!!

I will have to agree with monkester. What ever happened to the clean water act.

there is a jet in the southwest side...I have touched it!

Part of the ban is due to hydrocarbons that were drained to the Tarmac and soil which has since seeped down hill into the lake waters. PCBs were some of those hydrocarbons, they were used in heat transfer devices. PCB are not easily biologically destroyed, but start in the smallest fish and move up the food chain concentrating in the top of the food chain. PCBs collect in sediments, bottom feeders will see especially heavy exposure to those PCBs. PCBs were a major cause for the Bald Eagle demise.

FYI, the Clean Water Act applies to all but federally owned properties. Last I knew federal installations which no longer have a federal useful purpose cannot be sold unless the buyer is willing to clean up the "Brown Field" as part of the bargain.

I ran across ya'lls post about Mountain Creek this evening searching for something else. I figured I'd throw in my two cents. 01/06/1962 my Dad, a Navy Lieutenant did crash into the lake. I think on the north side of the bridge, not sure I was two years old. Yes he died. There are other aircraft in the lake besides his. On the south east side in the cove is a tail of a jet sticking out of the water, and I have been told some others are back in the woods (also not sure cause I've never been back in there). The Navy was only concerned retreiving the pilot's and left the planes, which now was no use to them. The lake is closed for consumption due to fluid run-off of fuel and oil. Also on base are buried tanks installed back in the fortys I'm sure have seeped into the waters. Search the net for info on Dallas Naval Air Station and you'll see what I'm talking about. But I love to wet a hook just like the next guy, so I think It's cool to fish there just don't eat em...
Best of luck,
leftlane

Just found this site this morning and wanted to chime in. I met a new neighbor this morning and he has a business near mountain creek lake and in the process of googling it on the map, I soon found myself searching for those jets in the woods too. Then, googled jet crashes in Mountain Creek Lake and ended up reading yalls forum. I'm leftlanes sister and we always heard growing up that there were other jets in those woods that crashed and the navy could not pull them out. If you've ever been in that lake years ago, you'd know the bottom is like quick sand, too soft for heavy equiptment even near the banks. I was hoping the new google maps would show the jet tail, but I couldn't find it. To the gentlemen, who touched it before, do you have any memory as to what part of the woods it might be? I noticed a park area over that way and thought it might be fun to venture out that way sometime this summer with rubber boots when the waters low. Don't know why its so interesting to me, just curious I guess. I remember learning in geology class and relized that certain chemicals will multiply by double each year in your body, if you get them into your system. I can't remember all the names, but you can search it on the internet. I know mercury is one of them, because it's such a common item, that's why they always told us never to break a thermometer in the house and they get concerned about high levels of mercury in fish. It doubles in there system too. So, don't eat the fish. If you read the history of the naval base you'll learn they had all kinds of businesses on that base over the years and all kinds of chemical runoff is in it. It's the combination of those chemicals that make it toxic. We used to fish in that lake years ago, as kids. My mom would take us on Sundays, before it was dangerous to hang out there and fish from the banks and I've jet skied in it a few times back in the 80's, but it was too shallow to ski near the woods at the time, but I'll keep watching the google maps for the jet tails if anyone has a clue. Sorry to be motherly, but I would consider washing off the lake water really good after getting it on my skin again, just incase it still has toxic levels in the water or soil. If anybody goes out to look, please post pictures. Thanks, T

I use to fish the creek that runs from Mountain Creek to Joe Pool. You use to be able to jump curb off I-20 and drive a good piece down before getting out and walking. I never caught any crappies but caught plenty of small bass (3 lbs less). In the late 70's me and my dad went to Mountain Creek to test out his outboard. We caught tons of schooling sandbass. I have not been on that lake since. I always thought it was ripe for development.

Reggie

An F-8 Crusader Navy jet exploded in mid air, not into the lake, on 7 June 1956.

A prototype tilt rotor aircraft crashed into the lake May 10, 1967, killing 3 crew.

An executive aircraft owned by LTV crashed into the lake. I am not sure of the date.

An F-8 Crusader crashed into the parking lot of the Bagdad LTV building in the 1970's. I cannot be sure of the date. It did not go into the lake.

I also heard many sea stories of earlier aircraft crashing into the lake from the NAS before my time with LTV. I cannot verify dates and aircraft.

However, none of the crashes are the problem. The reason you cannot eat the fish is the carcinogenic chemicals released into the lake in the bad old days before we knew better. Both NAS and Vought - later LTV- were very careless with chemicals. The problem is so extensive that clean up is not practical. The soil is polluted. The water is polluted.

None of that should prevent catch and release fishing. Just do not drink the water or eat the fish.

I have fished Mountain Creek several times...the south side holds 2 rivers..1 goes all the way to Joe Pool .

The whole south side is only about 4 ft. deep.

The Bass are everywhere..best fishing lake in DFW...only 1 problem....

You would be lucky to find your trailer or truck or both still by the ramp when you return from your fishing trip.

I was broke into twice, and my buddy at high speed beached his boat as the idiot was taking off his steering ignition to steal his truck and trailer.

Its a very bad neighborhood on either side!

just my 2 cents worth.