I was walking around the South end of the lake with the littlest Wood girl this afternoon and was looking at the area past the spillway, but before it makes that turn for the East and goes over that final stair-step fall. There's a nice little "pond" there that does attach to the creek(s) that run south of the lake. Anyway, I see a spot I think I can get my yak into. Anyone ever fished it? Next to the concrete walls under the bike trail next to the 7-11 I watched about a dozen large (12-18") fish just sitting there right under the surface. It's like they were asking me to go home, get my gear and to please throw a worm their way.

So, anyone ever fished it?

later,

m

Its illegal to fish in there, so I'm assuming putting a yak in there's an even bigger no no... From what I know living in the area most of my life is that the cops will be on you probably before you can make 10 casts.

...so book it on that ninth cast....

How many casts did you get in?

Illegal? Are we talking about the same area? The area I'm talking about can be accessed from the creeks that run behind the dam. I'm not talking about the area of concrete but the little pond just past that. I saw signs about no fishing from bridges, walkways, etc. if it were no fishing period, wouldn't they say that? Not trying to argue, just make sure we're discussing the same spot.

Looking at google maps, the only pond I see behind the spillway is wnw of the spillway with a electricity pole in the middle of it.
Personally, I like the look of parking in the lot off Winsted, then hauling the kayak on White Rock Trail under Garland Ave. bridge past the spillway, then fishing all the way to Tennison Golf Course. Might be a bit sketchy parking off Winsted. There is another spillway further south just before you get to Samuel Blvd--would not run a kayak over this spillway.

Here's the area I'm talking about. I can't get the image to post properly, but here's the link

http://flic.kr/p/h7t5C2

Thought you might be talking about that area. No way would I put a kayak in there.

Why no yak there? Illegal or other reasons. I'm all over the north side of the lake and creeks above the lake. Just curious why the south side would differ. Again, as I know the actual spillway concrete section is off limits, but this area can be accessed from the creeks on the south end. I'm not looking to get a ticket either.

The people that walk around WRL have a low threshold of calling the game warden or 911. That area has a concrete drop off embankment/secondary spillway. Some form of law enforcement would show up quickly if you put in that area.

Ok, so let me get this straight... You're talking about putting in somewhere downstream of here, paddling up to it, then climbing/portaging UP it to access the area on the left?



There's a reason you don't even see bank fishermen in here. The bike cops and cruisers are always in this area and they will get to you quick if you're past any of the various boundaries that are clearly trying to keep people out. Years ago, you could access that pool on the left via the jogging/biking trail that runs up to the dam. Now they've got that blocked off. I think the drownings had something to do with it. After all, White Rock gets a lot more runoff than most other area lakes. It's small and shallow so it doesn't take much to get water over the spillway. It's rarely low. Small rains get the water flowing all the time. Solid rains get it downright dangerous in there. It's not uncommon for it to look like this after a good rain..



I guess the city figures that if you don't block off access ALL the time, then people will figure it's okay to get near when the water's at dangerous levels...

I dunno. Tickets can be paid and dismissed. If you really think it's reasonable to try and access this way, give it a shot. I'd certainly be curious to hear your report. But don't say you weren't warned if you find yourself in trouble...

The creeks at the north end of the lake can look pretty mean after a rain as well. Common sense would dictate when it's ok to get in there.
I'll continue to monitor....I'll keep you guys posted. I just saw some things yesterday that really made me want to fish that spot.

m

I've studied this spot for a good while as well. I've seen bank fishermen under the bridge fishing from the concrete. There is a gate that is open (from parking lot) to accessing this area which I find interesting. The time I've walked it, I spotted a ton of carp hitting the surface. No need for a kayak, you could reach everywhere you'd need to hit just by casting.

Travis
http://travisodee.wordpress.com/2010/03/27/white-rock-lake-bass-record/

Yep. That's what I'm seeing as well. That's why I'm not sure about the talk of being illegal to be there in a yak.

That's why I don't fish INSIDE the Metroplex. You can load your yak and drive an hour in any direction to avoid this. If you can't afford the gas, post on here, and you can usually split the cost of a trip with someone. There are way too many good places to fish within an hour or two of DFW to go through this kind of lunacy...and the fish taste better.