Joe Pool

Is Loyd Park ramp open?

Nope. Only ramp open is Lynn Creek Marina and possibly Britton.

If you launch at Lynn Creek just be aware there will be 10-12 trailers trying to pick up their boat right at dusk. It's a mad house. My boat's at the marina on a lift so I get to avoid it, but just crazy to watch so many yahoo's trying to back down a trailer on a 3 trailer ramp all at the same time. I'll be fishing tomorrow, Fri, and Monday so if they are hitting on a particular bait DM me. I'll do the same. I avoid the weekends.

Fishing has been good at Joe Pool! Lot of traffic but eager fish.

Yep. Went yesterday. It was pretty good for Joe Pool. I caught some really nice slots on the humps along the creek channel...main lake.

They weren't shallow I can testify to that. Last week, I fished everyday and caught fish every day. Yesterday I blanked. Water temps on the south side were 3-4 degrees warmer than the north side.

Steez, how deep were you fishing and what were you throwing. I had been having great success with a swim bait over flooded grass but the lakes down 2 feet so that's out. Another month they'll be in 10-20 FOW but this is the in-between time I always struggle. DM me if you don't want to post here please. My boats on a lift at the marina so I fish it a lot. Saw Blake (owners grandson) coming in about 5:30 and. he said they had boated 10 up to 4lbs so they were biting just not where I was. Weather's not helping.

I don’t mind sharing. It’s not like I have a secret spot there. Lol.

I was throwing a watermelon red zoom lizard on a 3ft leader/c rig. The boat was spot locked on top of the hump in 20-21 ft. Surrounded by 30-35ft water. I was casting towards the creek channel and dragging the lizard up the sides of the hump. Bites were coming in 25-27ft of water.

The hump is circled.

I also caught a few fishing the old road bed that I drew. It’s much straighter than I can draw with my finger and has a 90degree curve midway through. Just put the boat in the middle of the road and cast 11 O’clock and 1O’clock , dragging the bait up the road side ditches along both sides.

The bottom contour shows the exact road location. There is also an old bridge right after the curve in the road heading north.

Thanks so much Steeze. I've had issues sharing spots where I told someone a spot and I swear for the next month there would be 4 boats spot locked on it so I'm a bit careful now. I avoid the weekend, but will be back out tomorrow morning and/or Monday. I got a 7.25 last week over flooded grass and another hit so hard it literally ripped the pole out of my left hand which has never happened before. So that bite was sweet but that area is almost dry ground now and will be in the next few days. I guess fish have already moved and I was a day late yesterday.

-- cheers

I bet they moved out a little more with these cold nights, thats a tough spot to fish with high winds or when the party boats come out even with spot lock

That hump is what I call the helicopter pad. Good spot, north side is rocky, timber on the south west end of it. It’s part of the haul road they built to the dam.

Yesterday was one of the rare, slick as glass days on Joe Pool. I am really surprised to hear that there are fish out that deep now. I think that when the lake came up, they were starting to go on the bed and that rising water just kiboshed it. Now that the water is going down, maybe they will go back up.. Steez.. were those fish prespawn or post? I was like Greg.. I got skunked. I tried shallow pitching a creature bait, merthiolate weightless worm, red trap, chartruese and white spinner bait.. nada. I tried a little deep with a drop shot but didn't get out to the 20' plus range. I almost fished a deep hump that I know but it was getting late and I didn't.. hmmmmmm.

BD

There is a large population of fish in that lake, or hell maybe every lake, that never get very shallow, I think they even spawn in deeper water than we typically expect

Yea, I've seen a lot of people fishing the helicopter pad. Think there are sand bass that live there too. Looking at Navionics looks like there is a creek bed just to the east side of the roadbed as it turns the corner and goes north by Lynn Creek Park. I need to do some graphing in that whole area. Also, when the old Marina on the Grand Prairie side flooded I heard they pulled it out into the lake and sunk it. I've not looked over there either but I need to see if that's true. I finally upgraded my graphs few months back and need to see what I can see.

Fixing to launch the boat right now, I’ll PM you a little information later tonight.


They were definitely PRE SPAWN bass.

There are plenty of shallow fish to be caught as well. I’ve caught a 6, 2 7’s, an 8 and multiple 2-3lbers in the last week or so. Edge of the flooded stuff on what would be the original bank.

Yea, I did really good last week shallow fishing flooded areas. Wed. was no-bueno. I think the weather sent them deeper. When Bill and I both blank, tells me the fish just weren't there. We're no pros but we can fish a bit. Also they were draining the lake. Water was down 2 feet from last week. Most of the lower parking lot was accessible at the marina. Last week it was completely flooded. I'm fishing in the AM. I'll be in a white Skeeter bay boat. They may move up some tomorrow but then another front is coming in Friday mid day. Weird April for sure.

We tried the "helicopter pad/hump" that Steez pointed out for a little while early yesterday (Fri 4/17) with no luck. We then moved straight south to the visible timber and caught a few including a 5.6 in about 4 ft of water close to the shore. We had a pretty decent day and left right after the front moved in--temp went down, wind went up. I think we saw Greg W in the bay boat on "helicopter pad/hump" a little while after we moved away. We are in the blue hulled G3 bass boat, usually me, the wife, and the dog. Good luck out there.

Went for 90 minutes tonight and caught 3 up to 5.6 and missed one. Fish were shallow tonight. I do think it helped that the pressure was under 30 and it rained a bit but winds were pretty calm.

Greg do you know where all the water went? I think I seen you up in party cove was in a red boat catching dinks

They are draining it 24x7 right now. I'm amazed how fast they can drain the lake once given the approval. Yea, that was me over by the road bed. You were fishing out on the point. I was surprised it kept raining on and off as I didn't see that in the forecast.

how much water have they drained out, 3 or 4 foot?

Down 3 feet in the last week. https://www.waterdatafortexas.org/reservoirs/individual/joe-pool Because the core of engineers let's Pool flood it never gets grass. As soon as grass starts to grow the lake floods and kills it all off again. There's no houses around Pool so it's the spill over lake during flooding episodes. Last year it was 8 feet high and to get to my boat at the marina they had a barge that took you across the parking lot. Whole damn thing was underwater.

Found this site to track release information on area lakes

https://www.swf-wc.usace.army.mil/c...MBqCGq3&page=Reports&report=fish

Greg, we have talked a few times out at JP. I am at the end of D dock, drop me a line sometime or swing by and give me a shout! Fixing to head out there in a bit. At times it's nice when flooded, we have a private lake without the jet skis and wake boats

I may go out as well. Rain is through. Winds won't come straight out of the north until 6:00.

I'm headed out tomorrow, been catching them in flooded water last time we went guess the bite will be different now. Hopefully soon they will open Lynn and Loyd park, b/c it's getting to be a hassle loading and unloading at the marina.

My son caught his new PB . If he was not 6'3", the fish would look a little bigger.

Went tonight for 2.5 hrs. Last week I had a good night with a 6.75, 4, and 3. Tonight it was dink fest. In 150 minutes caught 7 bass and 2 sand bass on accident. Only 2 were keepers. One sand bass was basically bait. How he thought he could swallow my square bill is beyond me. Too bad a big ole bass didn't hit him on the way in. Oh well, considering water temps are colder now than a week ago guess at least I was catching. Broke a bigger one off on the hookset on a c-rig. Should have tied on 12 lb leader instead of 10.

Drove by there tonight, it was a zoo, hopefully all ramps open soon and things get back to normal, B/C it's a pain dealing with all the traffic at the marina now.

I have a slip so I don't have to deal with it. If I did, I wouldn't go. It's a total f'ing zoo at the ramp. I did have a guy in a deep center console go by me at 10 mph within 20 feet. Huge wake about pushed me out of the boat. First time I've flipped the bird at someone in a long time. Not proud of it, but damn. I was down on the south end and he had an entire arm of the lake to go anywhere on, but hey, let's buzz the fisherman spot locked.

Greg, nice that you have a slip out there, so our fishing has slipped a bit, what's going on at the marina kinda reminds me of when Joe Pool opened, today would be a nice day to go out, but then again not considering the amount of overload on that ramp.

Agreed. I am a firm believer that there are groups of fish, especially on a high traffic lake like Fork & JP, that will never see the shore line. I have witnessed bass spawning on the cross members of the 515 bridge in 30' of water when the lake was 7 feet below normal. I think those fish dump their eggs and swim off.

I also think there are 3 waves of spawning fish. There are fish in JP (and pretty much every other NETX lake) that spawned back in Feb that have been out in 20+ feet of water for a while.




Check out this fish my buddy caught at Camelot Bell on Feb 21. The water temp was 51 degrees and had not warmed above 55 prior to this day. Her tail was dripping blood and her belly is empty. My guess is that fish had dumped her eggs a week prior to Feb 21.

JP Sunday around 3:30PM when leaving.....boats waiting to launch backed up on the road. Have had a slip since 2010 and NEVER seen anything like this, not even on major holidays!!!!

If I can stand it I'm going to hold out until Loyd Park opens back up.. that ramp and parking lot are just way to crazy for me.