Oh, I left a few things off, that you asked about. Beer and bait can be purchased in that small town of Willis. There's a gas station/shop at the end of Downtown Willis. There's a stop sign just before you veer right when following 47.
As for night fishing, I guess you can. Never really had much success at night, especially for Hybrids.
Just remember your beer cans.
If you have really good luck, you can drive another hour or so and try your luck at the casinos in Shreveport or Bossier City. Just be sure to keep your fish on ice.

JP/ Redfin,

Dance, butt wiggle or whistle will certainly catch people's attention. Heck, you can do that even if you're not catching fish. Come to think of it, it may be better if you're not. That way, someone can come over and show you how.

Well in my view, you get one on, stick the rod in the water and QUIETLY land and string or release the fish. That is unless you want to be shoulder to shoulder with people casting across your line the rest of the day. It gets real crowded down there when they are feeding. Also the game warden watches the area like a Hawk from above the dam. Don't chance going past the cable line and DON'T keep any game fish if you happen to get some in a castnet while netting bait. I have been there several times when people have been hauled off to the pokey, even reported a few illegally netting myself. On a side note I stopped by there to net shad to use on Fork one year, got my bait and headed on down the road, all of a sudden this truck that was coming down the highway towards me went broadside across the road in front of me, turns out it was the TPWD officer who had observed me put a large number of big Gizzards in my tank, he couldn't tell thru field glasses whether they were sandbass or not, he stirred thru the tank and looked though, checked me from A to Z. First and only time I was ever roadblocked checked.

roadblocked checked a la Dukes of Hazzard... He was probably just practicin' some of his training moves...

I am gonna make a TFF whistle that sounds like a mad tom cat after a cat in heat!! either that or the Hokie pokie may work!!! he he he. I can usually tell a TFF because his head is so full of knowledge from this site!!! There is a sense of "in the know" written all over their faces. It is just 47 out of Willspoint.
epfishon is right Brohab and it is real easy to park. You see what I did on my first outing there!! You can also get some killer bait & tackle at Holiday marina which is on your right coming from Wills Point.

Brohab. What about Barden Spillway you were talking about?

thehughes55

I bet that guy was just stopping you to see what kind & size of shad you were catching so he could go back and load up himself!


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"Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime"

I was fishing below Tawakoni dam about 5 years ago on a Saturday morning and had caught about a dozen large Sandies when I caught and landed a 24 pound Buffalo which is normal for this place. Well across the other side of the chanell was a man that asked if he couuld have the fish. I of course obliged and waited for fish to die, then he cast his line across channel and I tied fish to his line. With current running quite strong it was a sight to see a man fighting a dead fish, talk about a fish taking drag . Anyway about the same time of year was fishing near bridge when I caught and landed a 28 pound Buffalo, beside me stood a game warden who rightly predicted what kind of fish that I had hooked. I asked him if he could help me land fish, but he said no, thanks. I tried to give him the fish but he laughed at me.
The best way to fish towards spillway is use a surf rod rigged with a weighted cork, make a 100 yard cast with jig about 3 feet under cork and let current bring bait to you. But fish are not always next to spillway,the few limits I have gotten there have been downstream about 200 yards on the turn in deeper water.
Boy, today would be the day to go.

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Billy Seaman(guide Service)

Thanks for the tips guys. I think I will give it a try once the roads clear up and the sun comes back out. I dont mind the cold so much but the roads are really bad today.

A couple more questions... Do they always release a good amount of water there or is it only good after some rain? You guys say this is a good place to net those big gizzard shad so what is the best place to throw a net for them?

Its good to know the Game Wardens watches the place close. They dont bother me one ioda. Its a shame they almost have to be present to keep some people honest.

JP the bardwell spillway is a great place. I have had lots of luck there in the past. I have been watching the water release reports there but so far have not seen them letting much water out. When they do I will make the trip.

Brohab,

From what I understand the spillway is just that a spill from the lake overflowing and I see a little pipe that I am sure they regulate some coming out the side of the dam.

What effect will this ice storm have on the fish. Will they stay where they are, find deeper holes until the water warms? Bart

Bart,

The fish will stay where they are. I don't think the water temp. will change all that much unless the temp. persist for several days. The fish may be sluggish or may not be active. If you noticed the bellies of those fish caught, they were big and fat. That's the sign of the spawning run. They don't know any better than to head upcurrent. Rain or shine, those fish should be runnin' up there within the next few days or so.
Bart, read your post about the planer board. All you need is a net and your 16ft. boat with outriggers will look like a shrimp boat. Having that many poles in the water is too much work for one person, especially when the fish are biting. I last fished Lake Tawakoni around late Aug. I tried to bait up 4 poles. After all lines were in the water, 2 reels started screaming. I set the hook on both of them and reeled each Hybrid one at a time. Before I can re-bait the 2 lines, the third rod went bent. I lost a few fish because I wasn't fast enough to set the hook. I was too busy trying to bait-up the other poles. After the second lost fish, I said, "the heck with it" and only fished with 2 rods. I caught my limit of good sized Hybrids in less than 40 minutes. It took almost 1 1/2 hours to catch palm sized gizzard shads. If only catching bait was as easy.