Here is the latest info, with a new rain event taking place today it does not look good.

-The Park is closed.
-There is no running water.
-Main water lines ran along Fly Shop Bridge and Evening Hole bridge.
-ODOT is coming to structurally assess the Swim Beach bridge and Jim is
doing the same with the Fly Shop bridge.
-Evening Hole Bridge and Cold Hole bridges are gone and will need to be replaced.
-Culvert for Cold Hole bridge is about 20′ downstream.
-You cannot get around in the Park.
-Very high and unstable bluffs all along Spillway Creek which is now about 60′ wide.
-Lake is still practically at full flood pool and rain is in the forecast.
-Even if there is no more rain, if the Corp gets Pine Creek down, they may open the gates back up.
-The Park�s priorities right now are to get basic necessities back.
-The ODWC has been out already to look at the damage and get an idea of what is in store for them. They may be back with some of the higher-ups, the Director, Barry Bolton (Head of Fisheries), and/or the Wildlife Commission. That doesn�t mean they will do anything, it just means that they have seen the damage.
-Clean up is not going to be done until the gate opening chances have completely passed. There will be a time and a need for volunteers to help the Park but that is a ways out.
-There is no time frame for getting the Park open other than ASAP. If you see anything different elsewhere, ignore it.

I just looked thru a new set of photos shot from a helicopter surveying damage along the LMFR and all I can say is WOW! The devastation is way worse than any of us could have imagined! From what I have seen we will not be fishing the river anytime soon. Spillway creek from the dam to the cold hole is un recognizable! With very steep sides and no access! I don't see any way for the LMFRF to replace the diversion logs with the river now being 60-70 feet wide with very seep sides. I suspect the re-construction of the cold hole crossing will take 4-6 months minimum. As for lost creek I don't see water running thru the man made creek ever again, the river channel at the cold hole is just too deep and fast now. There were no pictures of the bluff area but I suspect there is a huge amount of trees, gravel & soil choking the bluff area. I'm also guessing that the island where the river split near the lost creek exit is now also gone. The pictures of the evening hole are heart breaking, there is so much debris and gravel piled up against the bridge that the only water flow is thru the torn out sides of the road next to the bridge. I'm sure the 40ft hole at the end of the evening hole run is also choked full of trees and debris. This is not a quick fix. It will take years not months to get back to the quality of fishing we used to have. The worst part in all of this is that there is more water that needs to be released form the lake! If they get another 2-4 inches of rain above the lake they will be forced to re-open the flood gates. If you would like to,see the pictures they have been posted on,the LMFRF Facebook page......

Wow, I had a feeling it would be that bad. 2009 was bad enough afterwards, and this was 10 fold. Those bridges are roads and going to be the first thing they fix and that looks like that could take a while.....hard to imagine repairing Spillway Creek.....that is insane.

Would be nice if they continued stocking below old park dam while they get the rest of the park cleaned up.

Sir, with all due respect, let's have some perspective here. By any historical measure these are exceptional circumstances. The TX governor is calling these, the worst floods in history of the state and the OK governor is expressing similar sentiments. Last I checked some 40 counties in TX & OK had been declared disaster areas by FEMA.

In light of the size of the areas affected, the death toll has been blessedly low. The reservoir system is literally doing the heavy lifting right now and keeping countless homes and families safe in most areas and in others at least slowing the water down enough for orderly evacuation. There are many variables that are taken into consideration on the how, when and where decide open the gates at these reservoirs. I can assure you with the type of rain this part of the country has had, the park and the trout are not very high on that list. The ACE Engineers are looking at interconnected rivers basin levels from Arkansas to Gulf. These are very much life and death decisions being made by the ACE and again, with all due respect the low death toll speaks volumes about the job the ACE and all the first responders are doing.

If you can get a hold of Moses and the Almighty that would be helpful, but short of that say a prayer for the OU and A&M Engineering grads with the calculators and transit levels. While you�re at it say a few words for the countless local S & R teams, Volunteer FD's, National Guard and other first responders. They are giving it there all. I'm sad to see all that hard work be destroyed, but let's remember why these reservoirs were built in the first place.

Seems like the news is saying a different stroke to the number of deaths and homes lost.

You build dams, levees and restrict flow of water, you are asking and creating a bottle neck, and when that bottle neck fills up, you are left with a great disaster. They (Corp) control and build these bottlenecks, maybe they should rethink things.

When the lake is filing up (over the course of several months) and they release a large amount of water a couple months ago, things were okay. They shut the flow back after fixing the turbine, they start generating, but not all day and not 24/7.....rain continues.....over and over. Weeks go by and the lake is steadily rising, and last Friday before the flood out, the lake still had a long way to go before reaching the top. As far as I know, there aren't any houses, businesses, ect on the lake.....except one marina. Yet, you have millions of dollars of livelihood below the dam.

Does any of that make sense? Common sense prevails here. Sorry, no science or mathematics can cover the what Mother Nature can dish at us.....you can't control her, measure her, or predict her. Typical womin!

I dealt with the Corp on Lake of the Pines, Ft Worth District. A Young man runs the lake....30 years old. He doesn't own a boat. He has been on the lake a few times. Never saw the boat lanes in low water. Then places a buoy with 30' of cable and concrete block in 2' of water dead in the middle of the boat lane. It almost ruined a few peoples lives. I was there.

BTW LMF flooded 2009, 6 years ago?

Texoma flooded the same year?

This isn't a storm of a century, this is REAL lately in the grand scheme of the age (of the earth).

Do we rebuild 2-3 years worth of repairs, then have this happen all over again in 6 years?

From the LMFRF website, things aren't as grim as you might think.

I want to thank everyone for their desire to help the Park and the river get back to some sense of normalcy � or at least up and running. Today I spoke with Mike Carter and Eddie Brister of Beavers Bend Fly Shop. They and the ODWC walked all of Spillway Creek and provided me with photos and a running commentary. Here are the facts (New Additions in Blue):



The Park is closed.
There is no running water.
Main water lines ran along Fly Shop Bridge and Evening Hole bridge.
ODOT is coming Monday to structurally assess the Swim Beach bridge and the Fly Shop bridge.
There will be much repaving to be done where it was eroded by the waters.
Evening Hole Bridge and Cold Hole bridges are gone and will need to be replaced. Culvert for Cold Hole bridge is about 20′ downstream. Cold Hole bridge is supposedly to be redesigned.
You cannot get around in the Park.
Very high and unstable bluffs all along Spillway Creek which is now about 60′ wide.
Spillway Creek is gorgeous! Mother Nature has done something wonderful. It will be even better after the scars have healed and the substrate and shrubbery return.
There are many sections that will not need conservation logs as the natural pools are now long and deep enough on their own.
The Cold Hole is beautifully enlarged.
Big, long runs along the Bluff area.
Lost Creek does NOT exist.
ODWC is ready to start stocking when trucks can get in.
Lake is still practically at full flood pool and rain is in the forecast.
Even if there is no more rain, if the Corp gets Pine Creek down, they may open the gates back up.
The Park�s priorities right now are to get basic necessities back.
The ODWC has been out already to look at the damage and get an idea of what is in store for them. They may be back with some of the higher-ups, the Director, Barry Bolton (Head of Fisheries), and/or the Wildlife Commission. That doesn�t mean they will do anything, it just means that they have seen the damage.
Clean up is not going to be done until the gate opening chances have completely passed. There will be a time and a need for volunteers to help the Park but that is a ways out.
There is no time frame for getting the Park open other than ASAP. If you see anything different elsewhere, ignore it.
The Park is working diligently to get the Swim Beach bridge and the Fly Shop bridge open. Then they will open the Park. They want the public to have access to the bend area where the trains and horses are.
Trout were rising at the fly shop and the Corp guys were throwing trout back into the stream from pools right at the base of Spillway dam as soon as the gates were closed.
I will continue to keep in touch with Jim Miller, Mike Carter, Eddie Brister, Aron Brister. They will be keeping me updated and I will post them here. Three Rivers Fly Shop and Beavers Bend Fly Shop web sites will be carrying the same or similar info as we are sharing.

I will continue to post updated photos they send me on the �Photos of the 2015 Flood� post.

think they'll let me go in and fish if i park my truck at the park entrance and take my mountain bike down the park roads?

Well, in a word...no. They are still very much in the evaluate stage but my sources have found out that there will be rapid movement on getting the park safe and open for the maximum amount of summer tourism.

Can I ride on the pegs?

I call handle bars lol. I think the damage in a negative concern has been exaggerated. With the steep grade of spillway Creek it may have been the best thing that ever happened. Lots of nice long pools that are very deep and ideal for trout now. Also back cast room for the fly angler now with the cleared trees. Sure it's going to take a bit to get back to glory but I bet the bulk of the wild fish are still around. It is just instinctive to deal with snow melt or tailwater artificial flooding. I bet there is not much silt in the river either. Hope most of the fry and wild ones made it past the park dam and found refuge. I have had some spectacular late summer afternoons of 18 in. fish slow sipping size 6 stimulators down there would love to see that again.

Thanks for the report, Bikedog! About Spillway Creek, if anyone wants to go over to the BB Flyshop site and look at the longest flood thread in the "General" category, Aaron has posted some pictures of the "new" Spillway Creek. It really does look gorgeous, like a western mountain stream, all rocky and cleared out. I was saying, shoot, they ought to try and get the Corps to release about 2000 fps for about 2 weeks each spring from now on.

I wonder how the Evening Hole has come out?

From what I have seen it maybe bigger and better and my hopes are still HIGH.
Some things in life we have no control over but the man up stairs has a plan.

Does anyone know if there is any place to unload a boat on the lake now? I called the Marina and Lakeview Lodge and they say all ramps are closed but both told me there are boats running around constantly. The Marina said there must be a place up north but that's all they know. I have a buddy that has a houseboat at the marina and I was going to go up this weekend but not sure if I can get my boat in the water...