Spillway Access Still Available?

Just found out one of my favorite fall/winter locations is now restricted and no longer available. (Behind the dam @ Lake Whitney by the power plant.) So I'm researching what other spillways are still accessible for bank anglers. If you know of any please list it here. Thank you.

Lavon, Texoma, Ray Roberts are a few that come to mind.

The only "spillway" I've been to personally is at Lake Grapevine, not the actual spillway on Denton Creek as it's restricted, but the pond/spillway a little Northwest of that. There are a few more that I've heard people fish/look accessible from Google Earth like Lake Lewisville, White Rock, Eagle Mountain, Joe Pool, and Lavon.

Is the pond in the top middle the one you are talking about at Vine?


Regarding White Rock Spillway, there are signs posted that it is off limits. Bummer, when you look down from the bike path, lots of big Carp, Buff and a couple Koi. But those fish would disappear quick if all of a sudden got a bunch of pressure.

That's the spot at Grapevine, sucks about White Rock, looked great and had easy parking as well! At that spot you're not allowed to be on the actual spillway and can't park terribly close, but if you walk to it every other side but the spillway one is accessible.

If you're looking for something similar to whitney, granbury and pk have very similar spillways. Clear water, rocks, a little moss, and similar flows.

Eric

I have not been able to find out how to get in below Granbury, Pecan Security turns people away.

Thank you for the comments. Regarding Possum Kingdom, I've heard conflicting reports that you can or cannot fish behind the spillway, does anyone know for sure? I'll be calling them Monday to find out, but wouldn't mind a trip there this weekend with all the rain coming down, there could be some stripers coming up from the river there.

For Granbury there is an old raggedy parking lot if you look on google maps satelite view, park there and walk down the hill. It's then a haggard trek down a trail on the cliff so you've got to carry your stuff a ways down then back up again.

PK unless something changed recently you can still fish there. All the spillways of Whitney Granbury and PK have a sign posted on the shore or cliff that is a boundary that you have to stay behind.

Eric

They changed the rules at Whitney this year. No one is allowed to fish from the shore and no one is allowed in the water unless you are launching a kayak or canoe. They have Corps employees there to run people off if they start to fish or wade.

Dirty...

Eric

You "CAN" fish below the dam. You just can't go beyond a cable crossing the river thats about 100 yard away from the actual dam wall. You can wade out to these boulders just under the cable and cast toward the discharge. If wind is right you can use balloons to drift your bait closer to the discharge.

The reason Whitney is closed is they changed the generators out to higher flow and non regulated release. When power is needed it just opens up and unlike before it will open up instantly rather than the slow release that increases over 30 minutes.

So why can't bank anglers fish by the power plant like in years past? Makes no sense to me. However....I just hope we don't see "employees" fishing that area like what happens behind Richland Chambers dam. I've driven by there a several times and you see employes on the stairs fishing behind the dam in the "restricted" areas. One time I pulled out my camera and they started yelling, giving me the finger, etc, etc. lol...

I can confirm this, a couple weeks ago I was 1/2 mile below Whitney dam when they started generating. The current quickly got strong , an airboat offered me a lift back to the ramp and I gladly accepted.

I hear ya on closing the dam behind Richland Chambers. It used to be one of the best spots for hybrids, sandbass and absolute monster crappie along the walls. Except when they are letting a lot of water out (which isn't very often) There is NO reason I know of that they shouldn't be opened back up to the public. They even leased out a spot where they allowed a guy to run a tackle, bait and snack bar. In it's heyday, sometimes the fishing was elbow to elbow. Another sad, sad waste of a great fishery.

I caught a hybrid back in the day that was only a few ounces shy of the record. Caught on lite tackle while attempting to fish for whites behind Whitney.

This is why or something like it.

Back in the day the White Rock Spillway was the place to go for Hybrid and Stripers . You could go to the spillway at catch tons of shad with a kids toy butterfly net the a little further down before the second set of spillways you could use the shad to catch some beautiful strippers and hybrid .

That sounds fun. Where did the Stripers and Hybrids come from?

haven't the slightest but the last time I remember catching them was the early 80's

Hybrids were stocked in White Rock during '75 and '77. (palmetto bass)

https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/action/stock_bywater.php?WB_code=0782

Stripers could have come up from the Trinity?

Some people will also transport fish and release them in other locations. Dad caught a hybrid on the Brazos below PK once and the game warden said it would have been released by someone else more than likely.

Eric

Where I'm talking about, you could walk down the stairs, fish right next to the power plant area. Some great fishing to be had. You could vertically jig a big ol chunk of cut bait and hook into a nice striper, catfish, etc. Totally safe even the water was generating. Granted..if it was too strong, it could get crazy. lol..