Hello,

Yesterday I took my 71 year old father to lake Wright Patman in East Texas. They were letting water out by about 9500 cfs so it was a good place to fish and folks were catching fish. Saw a 12 year old buy catch a 22 pound blue and there was a fellow that had a 30 pounder in his cooler on ice that was loaded nearly to the top with fish.

My question is what is the best way to set up your rigging to fish in a situation where water is being released out of the gates? Most folks were using a 3 ounce bank weight and the hooks were 4 and 6 feet off the bottom. We went to the bait shop and got a dozen 3 ounce bank weights and gave it a try. Needless to say we kept getting hung up in the rift raft rocks and were would lose our rigging. After 8 times of losing our stuff in the rocks we kind of got frustrated. Is that just part of it when fishing in that type of environment?

Would someone mind sharing what they using when fishing below a dam when water is being released? I would greatly appreciate any pointers and insights!

perhaps use a weak knot on the sinker, so you can pull your hook/bait/FISH! loose

If you're losing weights like that it gets expensive fast. Find rocks you can tie around easily and you won't mind losing them.

There is nothing you can do. just got to be lucky with your cast. What I have tried doing was use a 12 ounce weight and cast it into the running water at dams. That allowed it to hold up in place and where the big flatheads were. Also, I have used .5 weight and cast it into the running water and let the current take it.

How long are your poles?

Fishing the heavy current from the bank below the generators/dams: Use 1 rod (10 - 14 ft. rod) with heavy line (40 lb, minimum). Tie a 5 to 8 oz wire sinker on the bottom with a dropper loop 1.5 to 2 feet above the sinker. Attach your favorite hook (a circle hook or 7/0 kahle works well) to the dropper loop and bait with a tough piece of cut bait like a shad head or fillet. Throw out and let the wire sinker catch on the rocks in the current. When a fish hits it will usually pull the wire sinker loose when it hits. If you do not get a bite you will need the bigger rod and line strength to jerk the wire sinker loose from the rocks.

Fishing the wall and throwing into the boil: The second rig the rod length and weight size is limited to how far you are wanting to throw. The same rod length and line weight above will work well when standing on the wall and throwing against the wall behind the boil of the generators. The only difference in the rig is use a river or bank type sinker with enough weight to reach the bottom (usually a 5 to 8 oz works well) and since you will need to set the hook for this type fishing do not use a circle hook, a 7/0 kahle works well. Rig the same way but hold the rod in your hand and let the sinker bump the bottom but don't allow it to hang. Eventually the bait will make its way down river reel back in and try again if no bites were had.

Another option is to fish with a big slip cork, set to a depth to keep the weight off the bottom.

If you are fishing the back swirl below the generators you can go down on rod size and way down on sinker size. Letting the bait drift around with a light weight will produce a lot of fish in the area as well.

Thanks everyone for sharing their knowledge but I hate to sound stupid but just exactly is wire sinker?

Also called a claw sinker, we just call them wire sinkers. Works well in the rocks fishing heavy current.

Oh okay...What about a bottom bouncer sinker? Anyone ever used them while fishing below a dam while water is being let out?

Spider weight.

I haven't tried this yet but I intend to. Instead of using a 3-way rig with a light weight leader i'm going to stack barrel swivels, and put light line on the weight leader. The purpose of stacking swivels instead of using a 3-way is so the fish can still run with the big bait, in theory. Kind of like a fish finder rig in the surf. Same concept without the crimps. May not be worth 2 now'n laters but i'm gonna try it.

Rig it like 77777777 says we been fishing below dams since we were teenagers drop-loop with a wire sinker

Anyone ever used these?

all you need is the right tool for the job.
your rigging is incorrect for the environment.
Weight is key with faster moving waters.

keep in mind, you will need to change rigs for each environment depending on the area.

one thing that you might want to look into is a slip float rig.
they work almost anywhere and are very versatile.
the trick is learning how and when to adjust them.




Pay close attention to the Thermocline and the weather.

You don't wanna be hiding your bait on the bottom / dead zone where the fish cannot see / get to it.
It will lay there hidden and limp, not moving.

Whereas, the rigs shown, will keep it out of that area, and also keep it moving, which will trigger a strike.

Jay,

Thanks for your suggestion...I am just trying to keep from hanging up in the rocks below the dam while they are letting water out. I was using 3 ounce bank sinkers but they kept on getting hung up in the rocks. Needless to say that gets somewhat expensive.