I'm keeping a close eye on the river waiting for the C.O.E. to cut the flow down once the lake nears normal level. As of Sunday July 12th the lake is a mere 2.64 feet above pool level. Any day now they will reduce the flow and when they do I plan to fish the river hard the following Saturday.

Huge releases of flood water since late May has likely put a ton of new fish in the river. It should represent an opportunity to catch stripers. hybrids, white and black bass like we haven't seen in years. Possibly by next weekend we could get the golden ticket to a trip down the newly enriched river.
Anyone thinking the same as I am? Who can make this trip.. Saturday July 18th? If a shuttle is arranged we could do the 8 mile float to Dick's Outpost.. otherwise it's a down and back sort of deal..

If it's anything like below PK right now it will be awesome.

Sounds awesome, I will be there.

Sounds like a plan!!

I checked the site. The lake is 1.84 feet above normal and releasing 9797 cfs.

Talked to a COE worker, while he was using a bobcat to make the road barrier (they were at 14k cfs) and he said anything below 9k you can still get to and use the parking area, above that they close it off so you have to park "on top" and carry kayaks down the road.

This Saturday is "ify" at best.. I just don't know if the COE will cut the flow enough for us to safely fish the river this coming Saturday the 18th. Certainly by Saturday the 25th it will be a go for the whole float to the outpost 8 miles down from the dam. I am really looking forward to fishing and floating the new Brazos. That much water flowing for a month or more will have certainly changed a few things..

This was last Friday, but the guy said they are taking on PK water. Don't know for how long. But he said it takes 56 hours (once they shut PK down) for that water to make it through Whitney. Might keep an eye on what PK is doing, to know how it effects Whitney.

I'm interested in making a run when ever this trip takes place. Kinda new to this whole thing, so I would like to go with a group.

Here's a great opportunity to fish the Brazos.
A number of us will be fishing this tournament

Backwoods Kayak Tournament Series
August 1, 2015

This will be a fishing tournament on the upper middle Brazos River with participants paddling a kayak, a canoe, or a paddleboard. All anglers will launch at the Whitney Dam and take out at the 2114 bridge. Anglers may not fish above the dam (only down river), but they may fish past the 2114 bridge and paddle back up to the take out. This is not a roadrunner event. At no time may anglers trailer a boat to move to another location on the river in a motor vehicle, nor can they be towed by a motorized boat from one location to another on the river.

There will be both conventional tackle and fly fishing divisions and a 5 fish limit. You must declare your division when registering. There will be 100% payout of the entry fees in each division with a 60, 30, 10 percent split for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishers. How large the cash prizes are will be determined by the number of participants in each division. The Big Bass pot is open to anglers in both divisions, but there will only be one winner.

Entry into either the conventional tackle or fly divisions will be $30. Big Bass pot entry will be optional for $10. Check in, day of registration, and Captain's Meeting will take place at the Lake Whitney Dam launch area. ALL PARTICIPANTS MUST PROVIDE THEIR OWN HAWG TROUGH MEASURING DEVICE. NO OTHER MEASURING DEVICE WILL BE ALLOWED.

Tournament timetable will be as follows:

4:30 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. check in.
5:00 a.m. captain's meeting.
5:15 a.m. launch and first cast
3:30 p.m. score cards in at Dick's Outpost at 2114 bridge
Award ceremony and location TBA

Additional information, full rules, and online registration coming soon.

http://www.backwoods.com/

The COE has the lake down to 534.60 (1.5ft high) and has reduced the release to 3365 CFS. I suspect that is more water than we are use to in the Brazos below Lake Whitney but not so much as to be concerned with kayak fishing. Many friends have expressed great interest in doing this float either this Saturday (18th) or the next (25th) or both. It is a long drive from Aggieland to the river so we will plan to launch around 8am or so and be back to the vehicles around 6pm. We will work out the shuttle details with Richard at the outpost or among ourselves if possible. It sounds like a kayak kart or two might be helpful with both putting in and taking out.

You guys that have those battle yaks fully loaded might want to pack light for this float trip. If the south wind picks up it can make for a very difficult ending. The last time we made the entire 8 mile float the wind picked up making the last two miles a nightmare. Dealing with a 20+ mph headwind and whitecaps wasn't what I call fun. My "sit inside" yak is a fast paddle and does OK when dealing with a headwind but it still is very hard on this old mans arms. The higher profile and wider stance that many of the better fishing yaks have is a serious disadvantage when it comes to a strong headwind.. Just something to consider and prepare for when doing a Brazos river trip like this..

In addition to your usual yakin gear, you should invest in an anchor and a length of rope, at least one spare fishing pole, plenty of water/drinks/snacks, and of course a good PFD that you will actually wear most of the time. Going with a buddy or group of kayakers/paddlers offers the best protection for all and often is what creates the lasting memories..

All the details ain't firmed up yet but there will be a good group of folks driving up from Bryan/College Station Saturday morning to kayak fish the Brazos river. If anyone would like to join up with us on the river we welcome the company.. we hope to be on the river by 8:30am or so and down to the outpost by around 6pm to end the day..

For those of you considering fishing the upcoming tourney August 1st this would be a good opportunity to see what might work best for you.