I keep a close eye on my home lake and the creeks that feed it and suspect that the drought has pretty much killed any chance of the whitebass making it up into the creek again this spring.

The Yegua is currently running high and muddy but at the mouth where it dumps into the lake it is flat and very shallow for about a mile or so before it reaches the actual lake at the current level 9+ feet below pool.

History is that when the lake is four foot below pool the creeks are effectively disconnected from the lake (and usually dry) but at 9+ low it's a whole other question. The water from the Yegua and Nails creek is filtering into the lake over the shallow flats but the question is whether whitebass and crappie will move through a mile or more of very shallow water.

Does anyone have any experience to answer this question or are we just going to have to fish it and see?


see the video:

What do you think? Will the whitebass swim through about a mile or so of very shallow water to get to the creek and spawn?

How shallow is " shallow "?

+1. That was one of the first things I thought of as well. I would think one important factor to consider is current. That water is going to have to be moving in order to have that draw into the creek.

I'm not so sure that fish will be heading up the creeks in larges masses this year anyhow. With the low water that we have/had, much of the areas that are usually underwater are now covered with vegitation. I would think that this "new water" in the lake is going to recreate the flood affect. Much of that shallow water will have higher levels of oxygen and sources of food for a little while.

Who knows? Bottom line is that in order to find out your going to have to just go out and fish

There is about a mile of water that varies from 1 foot to less then 6 inches and I'm not sure if there is a channel anymore that might direct the current all the way to the lake.. I'm hoping the whites will at least move up the lake and school near the shore.

I will be there this weekend and am looking forward to seeing the lake level rise a bit. Looks like it has risen 1/ft or so over the last few days...according to the website.

Please let us know how you do.. Good Luck!

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON/GALVESTON HAS ISSUED A

* FLOOD WARNING FOR MIDDLE YEGUA CREEK NEAR DIME BOX. * FROM THIS AFTERNOON TO TUESDAY AFTERNOON... OR UNTIL THE WARNING IS CANCELLED. * AT 615 AM SATURDAY THE STAGE WAS 6.6 FEET. * MINOR FLOODING IS FORECAST. * FLOOD STAGE IS 10.0 FEET. * FORECAST... THE CREEK IS EXPECTED TO RISE ABOVE FLOOD STAGE THIS AFTERNOON WITH A CONTINUED RISE TO ABOVE 11 FEET EXPECTED OVERNIGHT * AT 10 FEET... FM 141 BELOW THE CONFLUENCE WITH WEST YEGUA CREEK IS THREATENED AND BACKWATER FLOODING UP WEST YEGUA AND TURKEY CREEKS IN LEE COUNTY IS LIKELY.
More Information

... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HOUSTON/GALVESTON HAS ISSUED A FLOOD WARNING FOR THE FOLLOWING RIVERS...

MIDDLE YEGUA CREEK NEAR DIME BOX AFFECTING BURLESON AND LEE COUNTIES

FOR MIDDLE YEGUA CREEK AT DIME BOX, MINOR FLOODING IS FORECAST.

A LINE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A COLD FRONT MOVING THROUGH SOUTHEAST TEXAS DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS HAS PRODUCED 5 TO 7 INCHES OF RAIN OVER EASTERN BURLESON AND WESTERN BRAZOS COUNTIES. RUNOFF FROM THIS RAINFALL HAS PRODUCED A DRAMATIC RISE ON MIDDLE YEGUA CREEK.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

PERSONS ARE URGED TO STAY AWAY FROM THE RIVER UNTIL WATER LEVELS RECEDE.

MOTORISTS SHOULD AVOID ANY WATER COVERED ROADS AND FIND AN ALTERNATE ROUTE.

LIVESTOCK AND EQUIPMENT SHOULD REMAIN OUT OF THE FLOOD PLAIN FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS.

I'd say that the chances are getting really good for some Yegua creek whitebass fishing after all

That's very interesting. Good to hear. Glad to see you are still around HL&S. It's been a very long time since I have fished that area.

I'm still kickin' but the drought has just about killed my fishing..

I sure hope this rain helps. At least the chances to fish this year's white bass season on the Yegua are improving with each rain. With more rain on the way next week, I'm even more excited the chance at a spawning run there.

I appreciate your reports. your video was awesome.

fingers are crossed.

**Update**

I went to visit my lakehouse in Brich Creek Forest this weekend. Here is the latest:

1. One of the boat ramps at Birch Creek Park is now open (lane 1 of the long and deep ramp)

2. The creek that crosses under Park Road 57 is very full and running fast (all heading to the lake).

3. The lake has come up quite a bit and there is now only a small island between the park and Pecan Lake

4. The fishing pier has enough water under it now and has now been opened by the park rangers. The water should be about 4 ft deep under the pier.

5. By my calculations (based on the amount of rain over the weekend in Somerville and surrounding areas..the lake should rise another 1.5 - 2 feet over the next 4 days.

5. The bait shop at the corner of 57 and 60 (Freedom Ranch) has both large and small minnows now and Suzy's Grocery (closer to the park) has none still.

6. Yegua is flooding and running very fast... :-)

kfree, thanks so much for the in depth update on the lake and creek conditions. Very generous on your part. I (like you) live a long way from that area and it is very difficult to get information sometimes. With that info, it does look very promising.I have fished that area for 30 years and have really missed it because of lack of rain the last few years. Thanks again, Baldy Locks.

I'll bet that if the whites were ready and waiting to go.. they did! And it might be like 2009 again.. This flood is certainly bringing enough water all at once to make it very possible for the whitebass to bridge the gap between the lake and the creek mouth where it dumps into the lake.. They might get trapped as the water recedes if it doesn't continue to rain and or flood..

Lake is now at 230.85 and rising every hour...see link below for an hourly report.

http://www.swf-wc.usace.army.mil/reports/SOMT2.TXT

7 foot low and rising!

231.13!!! and still rising...only 6.87 feet to go!! :-)

anyone going to the creek some time soon?

I'll be heading up there this weekend. Some friends had planned a camping trip to Nails Creek and I have been watching a couple of threads, trying to decide if it was worth bringing my kayak. Looks like I will be making space for the yak now!

Never fished there before, but I was planning on putting in at Nails Creek Park and paddling over to the Yegua. Is the fishing any good from the bank near Nails creek? If so, I might bring a couple of extra rods for my buddies to use.

White Bass: Here I come!

Might be tough getting into the creeks from the park as there still isn't enough in the lake to fill the upper end. There is no deep water to fish from Nails creek park but the question is whether the whites made it into the creeks while it was flooding. I plan on walking Nails creek from CR 125 to see for myself. If the whites are in Nails then they will be in the Yegua. You can always launch from Newman's bottom into the Yegua creek and fish down to the lake but it's not advisable to go to far because the closer you get to the lake the shallower it gets..

here's a recent update video from just before the big rain fell.

Wow, thanks for the video. Having never been up there before, getting a scouting report via YouTube is awesome! I don't know if the yak will do me any good, thoughts? So with the lake being so low at Nails creek, can you just walk through the lake bed over to the Yeuga?

No not now with the upper lake flat filling in with flood water the whole area is a muddy mess. I suggest just walking into Nails creek from CR 125 or if Newmans Bottom is open then walk the Yegua. It's a lot of work to get the yak into either creek and until we prove the whitesbass are in there I'll hold off using the yak..

Nice video Hook-line&sinker. I didn't make it there last year because of the drought. Is anyone planning a trip in the next few days to see if the whites made it up? I'm curious.