Choke canyon lake level

Not sure what the frio got but the nueces rose 12ft in 2 hours this morning. Frio looks like it could've got just as much. Hopefully it did and choke gets a needed rise.

https://www.ksat.com/weather/flooding-rescues-underway-in-uvalde-county

May watch this and get some info.

https://waterdatafortexas.org/reservoirs/statewide

Seems like every time I think Choke will get some water from a good rain it never happens!
This time it will be interesting to see if it will happen.

I think it’ll soak in before it ever gets to Choke, they need the entire region from north to south to get pounded. One of these days....maybe.....or I might die first....

highly doubt it. Choke needs Tilden to flood, Jourdanton to flood, and concan to flood for a week straight to stand a chance. Either that, or a hurricane.

So far the Frio at Derby is 0 cfs, Frio at Tilden is O cfs, and San Miguel is O cfs. It's raining just west of there now though.

I don't see how the frio isn't rolling too. The nueces where that campground footage came from isnt far from concan to the west. That area got 7"-9" in a short period

When Choke got the big jump in water level right after it was opened, it a Tropical Storm.

It takes a ton of rain with run off in the Nueces and all the big creeks and drains near by.

I'm not going to say it won't fill again in my life time, but it filled about 10 years quicker than it was supposed to because of the Localized rain and tropical storms. I stared fishing it as soon as it opened. We had some serious rain back then. I lived in Corpus in those days and its never rained in the area that much since then.

Derby, Tilden, and San Miquel are a couple of days, water wise, from where the flood around Concan was. There may be some water flowing through those gauges later in the week. Need a lot more though for it to make a difference for Choke. Will happen some day!

Relying on hurricanes and tropical storms to fill and maintain water levels, like Ivie and Choke Canyon do, is never a good recipe for a reservoir.

Agreed, but Choke was mainly built for flood control anyways. Just doesn’t seem to rain in the right spots anymore.

The big rain was on the Nueces watershed, really don't see much coming for Choke.

I've pretty much given up on Choke getting a beneficial rain. It's been too long for it to not happen. There have been several systems in recent years that have painted every corner of the area except right where it needed to be painted. It's almost like Tilden and the surrounding areas have an invisible dome over them. I hope I'm wrong though.

I am pretty sure Choke was built for city of Corpus, Three Rivers, Beeville, and Mathis water supply.
The levee that was constructed around Three Rivers was for flooding.
Although many years ago when choke overfilled water was let out and some downstream houses did flood due to the release.
Just wishing it would refill before I'm to old to enjoy it again.

Choke was built by the city of Corpus Christi for water supply. They knew it would be iffy at best due to the small drainage area. It has to rain 10 to 14 inches between Choke and Hondo for it to catch any water. And looking at stream flows today, it didn't happen again. Chokes drainage is short and narrow.

Unless I'm missing something, even checking the Nueces which doesn't run into Choke, I don't see any significant water anywhere along the river. I think it's so dry it may have all already soaked in.

I don't know but a whole lot of water went somewhere on the nueces. It rained 7+ inches quickly around uvalde

The water spiked at Uvalde yesterday at 5 pm. The next station, Asherton, doesn't show any change as of yet.

The Frio near Uvalde only rose about 2 ft. for three hours yesterday.

Unfortunately the Nueces and the Frio come together on the wrong side of the Choke dam.

The Nueces runs into Mathis, and some times water is let of out Choke to get to Mathis for the water supply for Corpus. So indirectly, even rain in the Nueces can help Choke.

Yep, don’t confuse the name “Three Rivers” with Choke Canyon. Three Rivers was named for the confluence of the Atascosa, Nueces and the Frio Rivers but unfortunatly this confluence is just AFTER Choke Caynon below the dam. The Frio and San Miguel Creek are the major tributaries to Choke.....and have proven to be unreliable water sheds as far as keeping water in Choke are concerned.

So how is the fishing even with it as low as it is? Thinking of going Tuesday on my day off.

I went today, if I were you I would go somewhere else. My best 5 might have been 12 lbs. lake is looking pathetic and getting really murky. Caught about 20 but only 7 keepers. I did catch a 25 lb carp that had my attention for a bit, pretty fun battle! I probably won’t be back for quite a while unless it catches a bunch of water, it’s really low!

I didn’t beat the bank so maybe they are shallow, I doubt it though.

Total of 4 boats on the lake including me, and I think only 1 other was bass fishing.

Thanks Minner.

Planning on going Tuesday and give it a try. Got to get away from work and far enough away I won't be able come in if something goes wrong.

Bummer to see the lake is still this low. I don't think I've been since 2010. Need a big tropical storm to come through. Even then it will take a few years for the fishing to take off again. Just the way that lake is.

Any of you that were around when the lake was on fire, 2006-2009?, how were those big stringers caught? I saw Bass Champs results I think in 09 and 2 bass over 15 lbs were caught, just curious what the pattern was back then.

I used to fish it in those days when it was full. I sat and watched 1st and 2nd place in Champs one time culling 6 pounders one day. They were tied up 10 feet apart to trees in a junker bay boat and an even junkier bass boat and throwing swimbaits at bluegill beds. Never seen anything like it. I bet they each threw back over 25-30 pound stringers. I want to say 38-40 won. My 20 wasn't even worth getting out the weigh bag. A lot of other huge bags were caught back then off road beds and especially bridges on those road beds. Oh to have had the Structure Scan back then...Haha

Yep. Fished BassChamps in those tournaments. Boat draw # was super important. There were a handful of the kind of spots you could catch those bags on. Everyone knew it. You had to get a good draw and race to get there. If not, you just had to scramble a bit--and even then you could stumble across a big one or two.

Wish I would have asked Elroy before he died how he caught his 15. I don’t recap who caught the other one and rumor was in trees in 40’ of water. Never know who’s lying and who isn’t though.

Another guy I ran into 1 day claimed that he owned the BassChamps record for Choke and he caught them on a roadbed that crossed by a pond dam.

Wish I could have fished it back then, but my daughter was a baby and I didn’t get the time away. If it ever fills, those days will return and it will be a nightmare getting those fish out of the brush.

I think some were caught flipping trees in the river. I think 44 was biggest winning weight.

I heard hot lips DD cranks in tilapia color.

I figured offshore, but Ive heard the ol Spinner use to play a big part. Thanks for the replies, sorry Jaret didn't mean to hi jack.

Had big bass in may 07 basschamps. 12.34lbs. 40 lbs won it. Good fishing back then. Think rick shock broke 13lbs and derick kuyckendal broke 14lbs after that.

I remember the first summer when we moved to N.B. from Seabrook 08 I think. A tropical storm had come through, anyway the lake caught so much water they closed it for a few days. The first day it opened, me and my B.I.L. caught a 30 + lbs string wade fishing the swimming area on Horney toads tossed up onto the bank, fish were sitting in less than a foot in mid August.

How did you catch it?

Zoom ol monster 1oz egg wt. 12" leader. Pulling it thru brush piles in 6' of water on the west side of the south shore ramp. It was an all or nothing pattern. It paid off. Lol

It was 2009 when Derrick Kurkendall and Elroy Krueger both had 15 pound bass. There was also a 13 caught. We had around 29 pounds and only made it to 6th.

Cool stories!

If that lake ever came up again to full and stayed it would be epic fishing

Buddy drove over river in Tilden today and said it was bone dry. I will be down there tomorrow morning crappie fishing. I will report on what water looks like.

Lake is one foot lower than last time I was there in July. Some type of club tourney going on today with at least 25 rigs in parking lot. Crappie still bitting but water looks like hell. I think the water has finally fallen out of most of the hydrilla leaving windblown mud banks.

Is the concrete water tower sticking up yet towards the end of Calliham point? I think it’s visible at 28’ low.

I haven't been there since February 2010 and it was already down then like 15 feet below pool, its almost 20 feet lower than that now can't imagine what it looks like. Anyone know why they reduced the flood pool around 2013?

. This was before water turned brown. It's pretty close to the bank so hard to hit.

Yep I remember that as i was at that tournament. Dam exciting.

Yep, I saw that today also. Water is muddy and low. At least half way from Calliham to the dam, didn't go all the way.

What boat ramp was being used today & does it have a courtesy dock for launching solo ?

Calliham, and yes it has two docks both in good shape.

Leethefishking

What depth are you catching the crappie in?

Thanks

Alex

They are all over but I caught them yesterday from 8 to 25 feet.

Thanks

I'm pretty sure those big fish in 2009 made Bass Champs change their weigh in practice as some of those big fish did not survive being in a livewell all day. Kind of funny reading all the guesses on what depth and how those big fish were caught.

Just got back from half a day there. One bite and it broke off. Fought like a big cat and did not take long to wrap me and break 15lb big game. 25 foot in trees just off the river is all I can report/

I think the fishing was even better in the early 90s. I caught a ton of big fish just going out there and wade fishing back then. I would park at the Daughtery boat ramp and usually wade toward the San Miguel. Caught a lot of really big fish doing that. Also the duck hunting was world class back then because very few people hunted there and the number of ducks was just ridiculous. The fishing was very good around 2009 but it was different. The fishing up the rivers was not nearly as good, but really good on the main lake.

Crazy how neither Choke or Mathis caught any water from that flood.

Location, Location, Location... Wasn't on the watershed for either lake.

Debra

Are you sure the Nueces river doesn't flow into Lake Mathis?

It definitely flooded on the nueces just never reached Mathis.

I never could figure out why the river bite went to hell, such good looking water; but just didn’t produce like it used too. I thought it was just me, glad to hear someone else mention it.

Will choke finally fill with this tropical storm???

Lol, not even close. I’m not sure it will come up any at all, storms the wrong direction.

In the last hour its come up .02 feet. It is still down .03 feet over the last 48 hours.

https://www.waterdatafortexas.org/reservoirs/individual/choke-canyon

That rise came from all the guys launching their boats, damn sure not from rain.