This baby is fat!!!

[img]http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/pics...codymeyer_247.j[/img]

This might be similar to what occurred at Alan Henry.

https://www.bassmaster.com/news/alabama-spotted-bass-invade-tennessee

It hasn't happened like that YET at AH. At least not the fish I am catching. These that I catch, for the most part, have a paunch on them, a little heft. Not all, but MOST of the fish I am catching, anyway. May happen in the future like that, but not so that I notice it now. Tight lines, keep safe and good luck.

Thad Rains

Thad, not trying to be a turd but every time an Alan Henry post starts you defend it and say that it�s not a bad lake. Read the TPWD surveys. The lake has consistently t decreased in largemouth numbers over the past 8 years. Almost all bass that were sampled in the surveys and electrofishing boats were less than 15 inches in length. The health of that fishery is extremely poor.

I think you are a good dude Thad but that lake is in BAD shape. TPWD is planning to stock threadfin shad for the next 4 years because the forage base is in terrible shape.

SO, starting from your original post, this is a BASH Lake Alan Henry post? Didn't know that when I started defending it. Have you even fished the lake? It STILLL is a beautiful lake, regardless of what fishes are in it. Us locals seem to know a few things that other people may not know and THAT is a reason we catch some better fish, SOMETIMES, not all the time. Like I said earlier, we had 12 Ts last year and caught 6 over 6 lbs. Biggest was 6.97 and this is in only 4 hours of fishing. Maybe they ought to hire a local to do some shocking surveys, do not know about that. I can still go catch 3-4 lbers and an occasional 5-6 lb fish off the lake. LOTS of 2-3 lbers, too. Is it the lake it used to be? NOPE, but what lake is. They run in cycles according to TPWD statistics. That, and they bad decsions they make for everyone to suffer from.

Not getting on you, just stating facts about your beginning post. If you KNEW all this, why did you ask? To BASH my home lake, I guess. Sorry to go on, but it seems pretty obvious from your other posts that this is what you wanted to do, so why not name it BAD, BAD, Alan Henry, instead? Dunno, maybe that was not your intention, but reading all your posts in here, it sure seems that a way. I would NOT travel from Garland to fish this little bitty lake, maybe in it's hey day. Remember, it had a few years as good as Fork did, back in the days. Of course, they were catching them on water dogs, but they were catching some 13 lbers. Lake record is still 15 lbs and the lake is just over 20 years old. They started impounding it in 1994 and finished in 1999, essentially. It is about 75% full now, too, the lack of rain in this areas has hurt as much as some of the decisions made by TPWD, IMO. Let's let bygons be bygons and go fishing.

Tight lines, keep safe and good luck.

Thad Rains

Just curious and this seems like the feed to ask. When I was a kid, Toledo Bend was like a magic land. Schooling fish everywhere, limits by 10. 20+ guides at the Fin. Bass fishing was recreational. Fun for kids. What makes the North American Strain so bad? That�s what they were. Any place I�ve been to with them in Central US during the fall, it was amazing and fun. Why can�t we at least use a lake in Texas as a beta to stock them? Does Florida 15# mean everything? I�ve read and heard about cross F1 Tiger Bass and just get excited to go to one of those places in few years. Think Texas will ever see F1? I don�t know. I just wish my kids could experience that once. I don�t believe it�s all pressure now compared to then. I believe it is breed. What say you?

I caught one close to 6 on the Coosa where it runs into Weiss Lake on a spinnerbait.. Fought like a beast!

I also wonder how easy it is to shock fish that are 25-50' deep.

No doubt the locals still catch fish, but does that mean it is a good lake? I think when locals are the only ones that can consistently catch fish, id consider it a bad lake to fish if there are other options.

i kinda like the challenge and it is a beautiful lake.

I spend more time on Alan Henry than any other lake, but have the worst results on that lake.

I can probably count on 1 hand how many 4+ lb largemouth ive caught on that lake.

Ive caught way more 3 lb spots than 3 lb largemouths (can probably count the 3 lb largemouths on 2 hands).

Ive kept my boat at Alan Henry and have been fishing it since August 2014.

Yet Ive had no problem catching good fish on almost any other lake Ive fished.

Our club has fished Henry every year for the past 15 years. Except this year! No one wanted to go back!
Sure, there are occasions where it took 20/30#�s to win, but I would guess 90% of the time 6-9# on 5 fish
won. Especially the past 7 years. Not worth the $30/day fee to go there when we can drive another hour to
get to better lakes

6 over 6 is not good IMO. I�m not knocking the fisherman. I�m sure the same group of fisherman could have gone to white river or buffalo and caught 50-100 over 6. It is a beautiful lake but it has been horribly mismanaged. There ain�t no food! We should all be throwing 5� spotted bass swimbaits. That is what the big girls are eating. I also truly believe there to be a shortage of male lmb in the lake for whatever reason that is. During the last 5 years it is more often than not where you have 2-5 giant females on the same bed with one 6� male. Lucky guy!!! during the same five-year span the average spotted bass is way smaller.

Don't know if this was directed at me or not. I will reiterate what was said before I posted this. 6 Bass just over 6 lbs in 12 tournaments is NOT good. I also don't believe that there are lots of 2-3 lb fish being caught. It is my home lake as well. I had a yearly pass to that lake for 6 years prior to last year when I quit fishing it.

I don't know why people are questioning TPWD opinion on the lake. I mean they are the experts after all. And whatever struggle there is electrofishing bass from deep depths was there when they did it years ago as well. Catch rates are still declining. Having said that, 95% of the people I have met and talked to about LAH say the exact same stuff I am saying. The lake is a not even shadow of what it once was.


This is all pulled directly from the survey report.

"Electrofishing catch rate of Alabama Bass decreased from 51.0/h in 2015 to 29.0/h in
2016, and to 20.0/h in 2017"

"The electrofishing catch rate of Largemouth Bass was 21.3/h in 2017; this was
similar to 2016 (19.0/h) but lower than 2015 (42.0/h)"


"Catch rates since 2001 show a decreasing trend, and the current largemouth regulation implemented September 1, 2002
has not resulted in an increase in CPUE of largemouth over 18 inches (Figure 11). Creel survey data
from 2015 showed that black basses as a whole comprise 52.0% of angler effort, and Largemouth Bass
are the dominant black bass species sought by anglers (12.0%; Table 11). In 2018, directed angler effort
for Largemouth Bass increased to 28.3%; however, directed effort for black basses decreased to 36.5%
(Table 8). When effort for all black bass species is combined the percent totals are similar from year to
year (65.1% - 2015, and 64.8% - 2018; Table 8). Low electrofishing CPUE (Figure 11) and low angler
catch rates (Table 11) indicate a low relative abundance of Largemouth Bass. Four Largemouth Bass
ranging from 11 to 18 inches were measured during the 2018 creel survey, and there was a total
estimated harvest of 174 fish (Figure 12). An extensive electrofishing survey was conducted in 2010, and
the results indicated that the majority of Largemouth Bass sampled were found in the upper third, a
mixture of Largemouth Bass and Alabama Bass in the middle third, and predominantly Alabama Bass in
the lower third of the reservoir (Appendix D). Sampling for 2017 showed the same general trend of black
bass habitat preference (Appendix D)."



"Fisheries Management Plan for Alan Henry Reservoir, Texas
Prepared � July 2018
ISSUE 1: Declining CPUE of forage and black basses combined with poor body condition of black
basses appear to be the result of the reservoir�s low productivity. Managing sport fish
populations given low productivity is a major concern in this reservoir. Data indicate
black bass populations are limited due to lack of forage species."

Sorry if I ruffled your feathers but this was not a bash any lake post. I was curious after watching Barry's show and merely asked for info.

My sentiments exactly. It's beautiful. It's the least amount of drive for me. Yet, the worst lake in the area. Buffalo springs is now better to fish than LAH. Heck I used to drive right on past LAH to Oak creek and Lake sweetwater all the time while I lived in Lubbock. LAH is just not worth fishing anymore.

I think you make a good point. Native largemouth don't get as big but they are easier to catch than Florida bass. Back in the 70s and 80s a 5 pound bass was a lunker, and my wife has her dad's bass club coveralls with the patches on them to prove that. A 7 pound fish was a giant. Now so many of our efforts are focused on stocking Floridas, which while larger are also a more finicky and temperamental fish.

I like catching big fish as much as anyone, but what started my love of fishing as a boy is still in me today, and that is the enjoyment of just plain catching fish...any fish. Some of us are looking for big stringers for tournaments while a lot of people are happy getting a lot of bites and having something pulling on their lines. I hope we can maintain a balance of both.

The North end of toledo is full of native strain