Planning a trip to Wright Patman Damn/spillway today. They are releasing 10040 cfs. I have posted here before about using 3/4 to 1 ounce yellow bucktail jigs in the fast water to catch buffalo.
I learned this method while stopping at an Ohio stream in flood stage. The damn was about 8 feet high with maybe a foot of water flowing over the top. I was just watching the water and the people fishing when this old couple with fly fishing vest on started fishing right at the bottom of the damn.
They were using those yellow bucktail jigs and started catching fish. The first one the old man hooked up and with pole bent double must have fought his fish 10 minutes before bringing it to the net. About a 10# buffalo.
I almost lost my upper plate gaping at that fish. It never dawned on me that buffalo would bite artificials.

Anyway, thought I would take a little trip up that way and see if it still works.

good luck! i will hopefully get some time on wright patman over the years as my father has invested in some property about 15 minutes from the lake!


post some pics and let up know how you do

hi grampa .buffalo will sometimes hit a lure .heres one i caught while bass fishing .certain times they will hit jigs or minnows too . i have also caught drum on plastic worms ,so it can happen . i would think that a wheat bread ball would be better in your situation because even the cats will like that , good luck

by the way ,i was there a few weeks ago , we scouted the dam and other areas but ended up fishing a few hours at the atlanta state park .i even met a man who used to live in dallas and fished w/r lake haha. that sulfur river was something to smell too ! we got a kick out of that , hope to have more time one day and really check that lake out

skunked
But I did catch a guy snagging when I pulled up. Like a fool I walked up to him and tole him that snagging was illegal in Texas.
He gave me the Idon't care and what are you goingto do about it.
I just pointed up to the lake office and told him the park rangers, and game wardens were right up there and maybe I might just drive up there and tell them.
He hemmed and hawed around some more and I went on down a ways and started fishing. Next time I looked up he was leaving.

There are a couple of stories each summer about someone going after white bass (sandies) or hybrids with slab spoons catching one or more buffs that were into some shad schools.

I remember a couple about catching with plastic shad tails as well, so they definitely will go after lures.