Denison Dam

Denison Dam is on fire. Go and get you some. Daiwa SS Minnow, Live Target flippin shad, Rapala twitchin minnow and xrap. Keep the tailrace clean, stay within your limits, and dont bum rush a guy and fish a$$ to elbow with him just cuz you see him hook up and you're not. Just walk over and ask for advice and tips. The fish are moving all up and down that river. #getbent

Also, big surf rods and giant corks are not needed this time of year. Save yourself the exhaustion. #tipoftheday

You ain�t lying

Whoa! Nice little Grass Carp action there. Did you get a weight on him?

It was big. I couldnt believe it ate my big berkley juke shad jerkbait. I didnt know carp were predatory fish. Didnt get to weigh it but it was 30"+

It's definitely a nice one! Grass Carp aren't normally predatory fish, they eat almost exclusively vegetation. Common Carp and Buffalo are both omnivorous, and will take small baitfish and even flies! Fly-fishing for carp is taking off in popularity right now, and targeting them like Europeans do is growing as well!

Well.. no one will be playing nice now! See ya manana if I can find a spot next to nice fella that will let me fish next to him?

Nice pescado pics!

I always wonder, what type of rod and reel setup people used at denison dam?? they cast like a mile from the sore.. any recommendation? thanks for the advice!!

For the long casts, you want a light 9'-11' surf rod and a reel like a Daiwa Ballistic LT thats light and has major line capacity. Lighter the setup (usually means higher end gear), the better since youll be making hundreds of casts with heavy lures and such. Cant play ball if you dont pay. St croix mojo surf rod is a good mid entry level rod

Thanks for response, Different type actions such as L, ML , M , MH ects rods.will it change casting distance? wow that's set up somewhere in the $400

I went at it again today...no big fish, but numbers were there.

Got em again! No big mamas. All fish were btwn 18-26". Cork and jig was working moderately well. Jerkbait, swimbaits were outcatching cork and jig 2-1. Tried a topwater for a bit but no takers.

Most surf rod ratings are bogus. Youll either just have to trust the reviews of those that have used them or go and feel them out yourself. A MH power and Moderate Fast to fast action tip works well for me at the tailrace and off the jetties down on the coast. I usually throw 1.5oz-3.5oz on my surf rods. I have other rods to throw pretty much everything else, and i rarely throw anything over 3.5oz(lures).

Nice

Easy peasy. Took a picture of this one cuz it was probably the skinniest striper I'd ever seen. 25" anorexic fish was released to fatten up.

Caught on a Live Target Threadfin Shad Swimbait 4.5", 1oz.
Rod: Megabass 7'11" Launcher
Reel: Daiwa Tatula CT Type R

Any recent reports from below Denison Dam? I'm planning on heading up there tomorrow morning if the release thru the turbines is still going on.

My son and I went to Denison Dam this morning and we both limited out with 5 stripers each. Fish were in the 16" to 22" range. We started out at 7:00 a.m. and were on the road home by 10:00 a.m.. It was a beautiful morning to be fishing the below the dam today..

Very nice! Im finally back home after chasing fish down on the coast from POCO to Galveston during the windiest and most God Awful fishing conditions. Got to test out some new gear and tackle. Picked up a new egg beater while I was visiting Roys in Corpus. Cant wait to put her to work at DD this week.

Had the opportunity to fish below the Denison Dam this morning, 4-24-19, and again this afternoon. I did manage 3 stripers about 2 lbs each but I saw lots of fish being caught. Some with cork and jig and some nice fish on top water plugs. Most of the fish I saw being caught were on the Texas side on the wall and just down on the rocks. Color did not seem to matter. Largest that I saw looked to be around 10 lbs.


tight Lines

You mentioned a lot being caught - what was the average size? thanks!!

Going tomorrow morning.

TheGoat, please let us know how it goes. Thinking to go on Saturday morning. That is an 1-hour drive from Dallas, and want to make sure fish is still there.

Lol.... if you want to catch 12� fish all day long.. throw minnows close to the face of the dam and let drift a little down stream and repeat get there early for some reason folks love super small stripers

As long as I am catching, do not really care what size. 12" is fine with me. Of course 22" is better, and ~30" will be my personal best.

With all the rain i'd think that would be a ragging muddy mess.......?

Mostly smaller fish from 16"-22".

Water clarity is good

What size rods are needed right now? Do I need to bring my surfcasters, or 8' for down on the rocks? Jigs, topwater plugs, live shad? Taking the family up there tomorrow and looking for any info on the conditions currently.

Had the opportunity to fish below the Denison Dam again this morning, 4-27-19, and not much luck. Did manage one small striper from down on the rocks. Lots of folks fishing on the Texas wall this morning and I did see some fish caught but nothing big. At least 35 people on the wall on the Texas side and they caught about 10 fish during the hour that I was there. Total release is 25000 cfs so it is a little difficult fishing from the rocks below the wall. water color is good. Flood gates should remain open as more rain is due next week.

Tight Lines

I fished Denison Dam this morning and managed to get another limit of 5 at the generator discharge.. Nothing big but all were good enough for some more fillets. Saw lots of small fish under 12"-14" caught and I caught a few smallies myself. The action tapered off around 10:00 a.m. when the skies cleared and the sun was shining directly on the water.

Madness up there. Combat fishing. This picture doesn't even show the full amount of people up there... Lol don't waste your time.

I went on Saturday morning, very crowded more severe than the picture shows. But I saw quite a few fish got caught there between 7-9am.

Haha yes youre completely right. The amount of people is much more severe. If you hook up be prepared to go through 50 fisherman lines while walking the fish down the bottom of the wall. Good luck and happy fishing.

Dont have to be up there to catch fish guys....its a biggggg river. The fish are all making their way up.

Looks like moonriver in the background!?

Moonriver still going strong up there? Lol. Moonriver, if you see this, this is IGS from years ago. Good to see you're still going out there killing it.

cool stuff

the fish is on really good at the dam. fish are all over the dam now. bucktails and flukes or cork and jig are the ticket. go and get em

Thanks for the information. Plan to try again tomorrow morning after storm.

Will be there

Caught three, all small. Saw a couple of folks caught good sizes. Rainy all morning, had to give up early.

I have the old water release schedule that no longer works
Does anyone have the new website link for the release schedule?

I use the following link:

http://www.swt-wc.usace.army.mil/DENI.lakepage.html

Usually pretty accurate for current conditions.

Thanks

Is anyone catching anything in the evening? Or is this typically best in the morning?

ha ha I see myslef in there too.

Man fishing on Sunday 5/12 was pretty bad at the dam

Spent about 8 hours starting 4am and caught only 2 baby small stripers

Fish was not biting at all. Only few people caught some.

Some people complained when they release 20,000 plus water fishing is not good.

Don�t get me wrong this dam is an amazing place for striper fishing and I have been catching my limit from March but yesterday was just bit crazy.

People still catching some huge Cats though. About 40lbs and over

I only go in the evening.

I only go in the late afternoon to dusk.

Has anyone seen kayakers out there?

Thanks Goat! I took your Xrap suggestion literally last Saturday. Worked great for stripers and this drum. Swimbaits caught 2 more smaller stripers and a decent smallie... it was a pretty good day

Dfitz there were a couple guys on kayaks last Saturday.

O_o

How can you kayak that at 20,000 CFS?

Nice pescado pics!

Aka los locos! Be careful!

Stopped by Sunday to check out waterflow... Nice day but did not fish.

Nice video. I was curious, in the pictures I see a lot of people fishing on the Texas side but none on the Oklahoma side, does no one fish there?

Both side are extremely busy these days. It�s just when they are releasing water more than 10,000 cps the water pressure is very high and people can�t fish on the Oklahoma side unless they go further down in the river.

Right now they are releasing about 27,000 cps which doesn�t affect the Texas side much but crazy on the other side.

When the release is crazy like it is now, kayakers should avoid it. However, trim down that release just a little and it can be fun. I have seen kayakers that will paddle upstream then drift back with their line in the water. This really works well, but it is hell on the arms as you work to get upstream.

Thanks for the report!

i fished early this morning on tx side. caught 7 decent sized stripers and 3 large catfish. i kept my limit and released the others along with catfish. all caught on flukes with 1.5 oz bucktail with fluke. only fished for 2 hours. I have noticed alot of people saying they are having a hard time catching or they aren't catching alot. try using something little more heavier. i did see top water hitting very good mid wall. i atleast 90% of the 20 people i saw this morning limited out within the 2 hours i was there. I've notice the bite is very good early morning and at night. so if that answers the question above. there ya go. pretty much anything will hit right now as long as you have something heavy enough. see y'all out there tomorrow

Bonus Smallie! Very nice.

I do believe ill be out there tomorrow morning for a few hours.

This looks like a calm day compared to some action back in the 80's and 90's when the top section was fenced off and cable half way down the hill.
You had to cram into the top corner to get a cast to the back wall, the hole and the shoe. Then quickly rotate down the wall for the next guy.
It was a wild time and Twenty pounders were quite common , no joke. Getting big fish past the cable was very tricky.

My signature is named after those type days and my buddy caught a 40 lber back in 1989. Still the 2nd largest Striper for the Red River.

Good memories.

action is good everywhere at the dam. lots of fish being caught on texas side. go get chu some

Hey poverty, what were you catching them on? I got skunked on Saturday night. The guys around me only caught a couple small ones on chunk bait.

1.5-2oz bucktailwith fluke. waters to strong for poppers right now. jigs are the ticket. i use anything with a white body. just watch the guys down on the rocks. also you need to know how far to cast and where to cast. everyones catching right now. hope to see you out there next time.

Went yesterday morning and got skunked. I noticed a couple of people were able to catch good size strippers, and only those people could. They cast very far, near the wall on the other side. That is ~250 feet. Unfortunately, I can only cast 200 feet and that 50 feet delta happens to be where it holds those big fish. The water flow there is also slower and so lure can stay there longer. I wonder what kind of rods those people use. Those rods are long, but not as heavy as surf rod.

Check out these surf rods, easier on the arms and lighter to handle:
Tsunami Airwave Series
Lamiglas
St. Croix
Penn

Check out the Okuma Rockaway surf rods also. Very light and relatively inexpensive compared to some of those listed above.

GoT2BeFishin and redloon, thanks a lot for the advice. Have checked. Thinking to get that Okuma Rockway, 12', medium power, moderate fast action and can cast up to 3 oz lure. The rod weights only 11 oz. That suites me well.

I fished at the dam today for my first time and similarly couldn�t get to were the big ones were. Water was so high it was slow for everyone. Pretty much the only thing that I saw working well was live bait. I finally got off the snide by using a Caffeine Ghost Shad and a colored bucktail. Babies but better than nothing!

On the way out I saw several full stringers so maybe stay on the rocks?

tried on the rocks a couple of times, but only got catfish. Maybe I did not try hard enough.

The stripers are in there. Heard several shout outs of "Fish On" from people on the concrete ramp and saw poles bent over with big fish on. I managed to catch one of them - 9 pounds and 28" long along with 2 other shorter fish in the 20" range. I'll be heading back up there Monday.

Has anyone had any luck further downstream? I�ve heard about carpenters bluff bridge being good. Advice?

I think I need a bigger cutting board - here is the 28" striper I caught Saturday morning.

Redpoon, nice!!

Still bucktail with white flukes?

you're welcome lol. report fishing is even more easier. limits are pulled all over the place. lots of cork and jig action. go get you some

i have fished from 8 am this morning til now. not one person on the river did not have a their limits. large striper are up and everywhere. fishing is beyond phenomenal. throw and catch til you limit. i literally limited out in 10 cast lol. please pick up your trash as you fish. that is all.

Oh yeah! ! ! The trash left out there just kills me. I try to take out more than I bring in.

I did a little better today, after losing a monster to someone snagging my line I landed this 26�. Sort of a make up call!

I probably could have used the 12� for bait, ha!

Fixing to get me a new rig what size rod and reel and line do y�all suggest??

As someone who needed to upgrade to fish at the dam I went this route.
Fiblink Surf Spinning Fishing Rod... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0719D1RSH?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
KastKing Summer and Centron... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017TQTZ5I?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
And 30 lb braid with mono backing and leader.

All for about 100$ I can cast from wall to wall with a 2oz weight. So far so good.

Thanks!!

10ft or 9ft on the rod? And reel model 4000 or 5000 if you don�t mind me asking?

I went with 9� and 4000. I drive a civic most of the time so I wanted the 4 piece and a little shorter. I�m sure you can get more line onto the 5000 but I didn�t want to get too big. Cheaper means it�s bigger and a little heavier than the lighter weight higher end models but I like it so far.

In addition to getting a long rod, I would also recommend to check on YouTube, there are video's that demonstrate skills for longest casts. I think they are helpful.

that is some awesome info
really
wall to wall?

Well, maybe not with girly-arms

I have a "ugly stick" that has a similar spec - 9' and Medium Heavy. I tried a 1.5 oz popper and could not make it to the wall. That makes me girly arms, I guess

Not literally hitting the wall I, ha.
Some casts were better than other for sure, ha. But as long as it wasn�t operator error I could get to the sweet spot about halfway between the far wall and the current where I�ve had most of my luck. Has to be 2oz though, 1.5 wont make it. Put a cork on there and your as close as you want to be. Actually hitting the wall cant be good with that much weight. This rod is supposed to handle up to 5oz so I trust it so far.

Seriously though, good info.
Balancing a rig for distance takes time and effort. Often it�s solo trial-and-error to find a combination that works with what you�re fishing for.

Any updates?

i just got back from the dam. fished from 9am-3pm. fish are all over. everyone had their limits. topwater plugs are producing. cork and jig also. my largest fish today was 27inches. i threw back a bunch of 20inches

Do these fish come up from down river when water is released? Or do they survive being pulled down from the lake? I have always been curious.

fished from 9am-3pm ...

Wow! I recall someone used to tell me that fishing is fun only when you can do it once in a while. I suppose that does not apply to you.

I to am curious to this.

Also, where can one find those weighted corks to get that distance in casting? To get to the big guys you really need to be in the far wall to current spot... saw 1 guy using heavy weights and minnow sitting bottom whom caught a couple 24+ , but other than him it surf rod, weight bobber and jig... the Vietnamese fellas have it figured out and it shows by their success.

Anywho, I can't find the bobbers they are using there, can anyone link us to it.

Lone Star Ski & Tackle has multiple sizes of weighted bobbers. They are the gas station located at the intersection of 91 & 75.

I make them in 1, 2, and 3, ounce sizes. Click on my signature and look for weighted floats in the index drop down or just follow this link http://stores.mtpocketstackle.com/weighted-float-1oz-3oz/

Exactly what I was looking for I will be ordering tomorrow thanks for posting!!

Exactly what I was looking for I will be ordering tomorrow thanks for posting!!

Does anybody know exactly how far the wall is when casting from Texas side??

The worst thing a newbie to the dam can do is be fishing at the bottom of the wall and throw upstream toward the generators and cross everyone's line.

Dave ski and tackle aka lonestar star ski and tackle...

I guess they use to selll baby sunfish/bluegill...i called and they no longer do

Where else in the areas from dallas to texoma can i reliably get some?

Thanks in advance.

I was in that store last week and noticed they sell minnow - small, medium, large, and ultra large. Do not know the price, though.

I think it is about $9.00 for a dozen large minnows. Get the biggest ones they have. Big Bait - Big Fish.

Yes, it was me on the background

I am still going strong my friend
I went yesterday morning, the bites were kind slow, I managed to catch 12 of them. They were not big, the biggest one was about 7or 8 bang. I fished from 6:30am to 1:00 pm. I was tired as a dog.

Thanks everyone for your input...
I caught 20+ stripers in 6 hours...its been 4 years but it was worth it...from 1lb to 7lb fish all day my elbow is killing me...
New underwater bush monster claimed at least 15 sinkers and hooks 😭😭😭

fishing is and has gotten be to the best right now. fish are being caught all hour every hour. everything you throw will catch fish. go out there and get you some

Yeah that one got me too.

Small (2-3lb) fish were easy. Bigger fish were tougher.

Went out for a couple hours with the kiddos on Saturday morning. I only managed one on a swimbait. It was good one and the kids had a good time.

Yesterday fished there around noon saw couple of good sized stripes and lot of drama. Saw top rod section and lure flying over the river. It�s happened another fisherman trying to cast, his lure caught/ hooked and lost another guys rod. Please take care while casting and look around before casting. It�s better than say sorry. Stay safe and good fishing.

too many lines tangling. its mayhem out there. I agree with coffee break everyone is fighting and cutting lines. this is not the way to do things. I literally saw a hispanic man cut a white mans line yesterday and they was about to fist fight. I think this is the most drama I saw in along time. anywhoo lots of big fish are being pulled everywhere fish averaging 5-8 #'s some guys are catching fish over 30 inches. please be courtesy and pick up your trash that is all

oh to answer all the private messages. I'm using 1-3oz bucktails color doesn't matter. flukes Carolina rig.

Combat fishing at it's finest

This is getting good! Hispanics and white folks are not the only folks with attitudes!

Freaking idiots it�s a damn fish!!!!

Even-though there are good fishermen helping each other.

LMAO

I don't like that spot and I caught way more fish way downstream too.

Yes sir coffe mostly what I have seen is each other helping land fish when needed

I mean, there's fifty people fishing a short section of wall. Of course there are crossed lines and tangles. If someone's not ready to deal with that... I dunno what they were expecting.

People have been largely friendly and helpful to me, including some charitable bait donations.

Last night was slower, but the fish were bigger for me.



Of course on the cast right after I landed my first fish of the night my only rod broke, so... that was a bummer.



Anyways, that was the Amazon/Fiblink rod recommended upthread. It's mega cheap for a reason, I guess.

how come they
didn't go?

Glitchmo, This bums me out as the guy who recommended it! was it the 9' one or the 10' one?

How did it break? Casting? How much weight was on?

last Saturday, I saw a guy who bottom fished with live bait. The strong water flow pushed the sinker downstream, and so the line became parallel to the bank and no one to his right could fish without crossing his line. If this guy retrieved and re-cast constantly, it would be OK, but unfortunately he just let the line stay there.

Siberiacmac, check PMs

Went Tuesday night. Steady action and helped some folks pull up their fish from the wall. Not too much drama or any at all and I was helping a few pull up fish.

1oz bucktails for me

Tonight was nuts! I�ve never seen so many people, and almost everyone was catching fish. I got skunked Thursday night and asked a guy who was limiting out what he was using and he gave me a couple Zoom pink Bubble Gum flukes to try. I got some more tonight and caught a 25�, 20�, and another 25�+ I couldn�t pick up out of the rocks fast enough before a knee high wave scooped him up, ha!

The guy next to me tonight asked me how I caught my first one and shared my pink flukes with him and he went from no fish to 5 fish in about and hour! So yeah, it was a good night!

For the comments earlier about almost fighting, tonight someone volunteered their net to help me get my fish up the wall, plenty of sharing space and understanding with tangles, bait and info sharing, etc. just good vibes all around!

Spent the morning fishing with my son who came down from Oklahoma City. We waited for the rain storm to pass and then started fishing about 6:30 a.m.. We both limited out with solid fish in the 24" to 26" range. It took both of us to carry the cooler from the car into the house. Couldn't ask for a better Father's Day.

Water was turned off around noon, but flood pool is still 40% full.

Wonder why?

someone drowned Saturday night so they shut off the gates to retrieve the body on Sunday.

I was really hoping that wasn't the reason.

Dang I was there Saturday night didn�t didn�t know somebody had drowned!

I went there to fish for a couple of hours after lunch, just to find out that the flood gates are shut down.
Sad to see 3 airboats coming up and down the river searching for the body yesterday.

On a positive note, I had a blast catching them on topwater and limited out.

yeah the story was that two friends were on the rocks fishing. one went to sleep in their vehicle to come back out to see his friend missing and his hat was in the water....very sad....be safe out there everyone.

I was watching the boats as I fished close to the first stair and saw them come to a halt around 4pm.
The guy fishing beside me says they just found the body.

https://www.koco.com/article/28-yea...outheast-oklahoma-officials-say/28059436

Prayers go out this young fella's family...like sand bass man says be safe out there...no fish big or small is worth our precious lives.

Condolences to the family of the victim, prayers are with you and be safe out there everyone, those rocks when wet are slippery especially at night without lights if not fishing by the concrete wall

Agreed. Had to leave early last weekend because my 8 year old son slipped on a rock and hit his head. He tried to brace his fall with his hand, but it slipped and he landed on his shoulder and head. I was further down river by the 3rd stairs. Only one big slippery rock, and of course he steps on it. He was fine except a bruised shoulder and bump on the noggin. But that goes to show how easy it can happen.

sad to hear. RIP.

I hate to be the one to change the subject but, has anyone been fishing recently and how is it?

I was just up there this morning. It was a little slower than last weekend but stripers were still being caught. I kept one 26" fish and released several smaller ones. I saw several limits being caught and a good number of 24" to 28" stripers.

The road to the parking lot by the power house is closed so it was a long walk from where you can park to the wall.

I was there at 8am yesterday. Live bait ruled.

This morning I went there and it�s so sad to see piles of thrash everywhere near the Texas side and lot of cut baits and so on. We cannot stand there because of remains of cut baits smell so bad every where. Please those who use live and cut baits take care off that place other wise it�s gonna going to close that area as well very soon

People forgot that all the trash they leave there will end up in the water. Plastic bags and water bottle are the worst because it will eventually dissolved in the water and consumed by fish through the food chain and guess what? We eat those fish.. Dispose of your trash properly or you literally will be eating it.

At several occasions, I saw people picking up trashes. They were not fishermen. I suppose they were volunteers. Regardless, a big thank to them.

throw away what you bring and then some....people have no respect out there

All you Dam veterans, please help me interpret the corps flow chart, with regards to where the water is going!!

The main question that i have is: what is the representation of flow over that spillway on the oklahoma side. water flowing over this side really influences whether I can use the fly rod, and when the water is flowing there as well as the texas side, the water is just too crazy for me to even fish over there with a surf rod.

so on the diagram below, which reading would tell me whether the okla outlet is flowing, and if so how much??

hope i did not mess up the attachment

bg

In that picture the generator (close to TX side) is about 5k, and the remaining 32k is spillway (OK side).

Which will look about like this on the river.

Water is being released at 37,000+ cubic feet per second, I don't usually bank fish this but want to try. Is this too much water flow? Or what is ideal?

Oh and I'm just trying to catch bass.

I spent another Saturday morning at Denison Dam today. Had my limit of 5 nice stripers by 9:30 a.m. which is a good thing because it starts getting hot as soon as the sun starts to climb in the sky. All were caught on live bait.

I saw the top water guys were still catching big stripers also.

i went last night and fished from 9:30 until 11:30. didn't see too much action from the others but my buddy and I were able to pull up a cooler of keepers until I ran out of line. those that are fishing up on top of the wall be careful...there is a nasty nest of dead line out in the middle that holds roughly at least a dozen buck tails/lures. I donated 4 of them to that pile LOL

gear: 20 pound braid with 1oz bucks with plastics

A big shout out to Tyler (local with a big red beard), he contributed a nice striper to me Wednesday. I've a question on rods. I want to purchase a 10ft rod for the "wall" but I don't know what to buy. I'm very many long thin rods that cast a mile. Any help is appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

Depends on your budget but below are a few that people are using there. These surf rods are fairly light, affordable and comes different lure rating and length. Just google search and pick the one you like.

1.) Tsunami Airwave Elite
2.) Okuma Rockaway surf rods

Lots of great info! Finally made it to Denison Dam and Texoma Saturday and Sunday... was a tough go. Struck out... bummer but at least learned a new tip to add to the arsenal of lessons learned fishing the area. Have a Q&A video posted to answer a Reader's question concerning Texoma and Denison Dam. Also, re-capped the video outline on our blog... Q&A: How We Fish a Tailrace... Denison Dam Tailrace #denisondam #tailracefishing Blog post has links mentioned in the video, too.

May be of interest to some thinking about fishing the area. Not an expert of the area, just took lots of notes from the old Denison Dam thread that was deleted way back when and then added our own updates to it. Good Luck and Good Fishing!

PS: Working on the new tip learned this round; will get a video posted later. Gotta work the day job first.

water release appears to have slowed down.

yes it does seem to have slowed down some on the release. maybe it's a good time to venture down by the rocks to try and catch a few

Thank you Dam Legend! I was looking at the Okuma rockway series. Now the question is 9,10 or 11 feet length. MH up to 3oz lure weight.

3oz right now would probably be too heavy as the water has slowed down greatly

I was there last Sunday evening and saw this guy get snagged cast after cast and haven't realized that a heavy lure is just getting trapped by dead lines out there.
Meanwhile a bunch of us where killing them small stripers with crappie jigs on carolina rig. We occasionally hook up 2-3 lbs. Loved the action coz we can see them hit our jigs on top. You dont have to cast far as well to get some action going ...

Saturday morning I got out below Denison Dam for the first time in a few years. They cut the water flow off at midnight so by first light the water was low and not really moving. The fish were blowing up all over the place about 6 a.m. but couldn't get any of them to hit my topwaters. Strung up the fly rod and started fishing a small gamechanger a few inches below the surface and got hits nearly every cast for about 90 minutes. Fish were between 10 and 21 inches, with most in the 14-15 inch range. There were 30 or so people lined up along the bank on the Texas side but I didn't see any of them catching much. I was fishing the Oklahoma side pretty much all by myself (saw only one other angler on that side) which is where most of the action seemed to be. Eventually some boats came in and anchored within casting distance from me, but the fish kept biting until 7:40 when they blew the water release siren (an hour earlier than forecasted) and I called it a day.

I went out on Friday and had similar conditions. Caught small stripers on top water and casting spoons. Moved up to the dam after the water started but not enough flow but I threw a swim bait to the dam wall and jigged it back to me catching small cats.

Are the days of multiple 20 + inch fish over?

Great reports... love this thread!

Looks like they stopped discharging water at Denison Dam and have done back to generating power on a demand basis again. Made it Sunday and caught and missed a few before they started generating power. Put out a couple of videos that may be of interest to some!

Another early post of our weekly video... this one is a "twofer" plus one! First is a video that details how we decide to fish a dam... Denison Dam in this instance. Lots of content and info we hope Viewers find useful when fishing their area. Second video is the trip to Denison Dam on Saturday July 27, 2019. Was a fast bite at first light, then had to adjust after the Power Plant started generating. Plus one is a snippet at the end of the first video where we announce a randomly selected winner of the Paracord Fly Rod Tube Rack!

Do check them out when able, and do subscribe for more "Learn to fish by our trials and errors" videos!
Dam Fishing - How we decide when and how to fish (Denison Dam)?

Fished Denison Dam early AM Sunday. Was non-Stop action. Lost count of how many were caught and released. Estimated over fifty striped bass after we quit counting!

Caught them between 6AM to 10AM till alarm sounded warning us power plant would be generating soon.

Do join us this round for Denison Dam Fishing - Five Tips for Fly Fishing and learn to fish by our trials and errors!

i assume top action lures would work? like poppers and the likes of

Should work!

How is the water below Denison? Have not fish there awhile

Read the reports just above your post and you'll find out.

I went Saturday AM to try some top water but it was a bust. The only guys that were catching anything were on the OK side with flies. The fish that were getting pulled out from what I can see is about the size of a palm.

I fished Texas side yesterday 6:00 am and got several 10-12 inchers and lots of 10 and under using heavy duty jighead and tiny fluke on weighted bobber. Then I drove to the OK side soon as generation started, to see what the commotion is all about up the wall. Well they were killing them with live and dead shad. I saw a guy throw an 8" live shad and schools of stripers started chasing it for a good minute or so and then BAM!!! a 20+ incher decided to commit and took it. If I had the OK license I would try my hand tied feathers and get some fast action but all I can do is watch them. Left at 9:30 am and they are still catching them at the Wall OK side.

Even though you will see fish feeding on or near the top I have not had any luck on topwater flies or lures the past month and a half. I would stick to subsurface presentations.

Stratification of Lake Texoma has the release water coming out murky and smelly. Fish are still around, but it's not as good as it has been.

Anyone been out there in the last few days?

Millions of dinks. Saw a few bigger fish roll but no luck getting them to take any of my offerings. Rapala shadow rap, yo zuri crystal minnow, megabass vision 112, 5"-7" jerkshad on 1/8-3/8oz jigs, 3"-6" swimbaits, and a few live target 2019 new releases. All striper from 8"-14"s.

Caught a River Unicorn last night. Revived and released after about 10mins of reviving. It was a long fight on my ML Bone Daddy rod, Concept Z and 10lb braid with 10lb leader. Snagged him right in the snout while fishing a Megabass Vision 112. Thought i hooked up to the world record striper for a second. Lol.

Never heard of this fish. Sounds like it was a blast to land. Would have freaked me out

Was water being released when you hooked into that spoonbill? Those are some very good eating fish and easy to clean. I used to catch them below the Lake Oolagah dam up by Tulsa when I lived there.

Wow! A real live dinosaur!
I’d have sent him back too (just because is enough for me).

Just generating. No flood gates. 4600+- fps

Huh. Cool. I've never seen one of those, though I had heard they were in there.

Is the water still off color and sulfur-y?

Must have been quite a fight.
Good job especially on the light line.

Those are a blast to catch. I caught them a lot in Louisville, KY below the locks/dams on the Ohio river. Never kept one, just enjoyed the CPR. Congrats on your catch!!

Stratification of the lake is near. Still smells bad, but water clarity is improving. Lots of smaller fish and a few bigger ones showing up later in the day close to dusk. Having better luck on subsurface lures and suspending jerkbaits than jigs and topwater.

Late to the party. I got a chance to finally try Denison dam this year and managed to pull 2 good ones, for me. The largest being 3.11. I hope to get more time on that body of water.

Low water = very bad



No stripers, and I didn’t even see any buffalo or gar.

Amazing fish! Great catch! Spoonbills are illegal to harvest in Texas. They’re a protected sp

ecies. I caught one there from the wall on pretty much the same gear and I had the same reaction thinking it was a record striper. This was in the bitter cold of winter.

Anyone been up to Denison the past week, thinking about hitting it Saturday morning but don’t want to waste a drive if there’s nothing biting.

dont waste your time if they arent releasing

I poked around there last week for an hour in my kayak. There is no water, caught one White Bass, did not see anyone else catching. A few small schools of Carp/Buffalo were easy to see in the shallow rock areas. Loaded back up to finish my day on the lake and did much better.

Lots of small cats with a few keepers at the face of the dam with minnows

Hey guys, thinking of taking my kids to do some fishing below the dam this weekend. Hows the water levels looking? Any deeper pools downstream a little?

Any reports from below the dam? I took a drive up there this morning and saw a few people fishing at the wall and a few on the rocks. Didn't see any catching.

Hey Guys! I've been checking the discharge report and noticed they are releasing 15k csf of water now. Has anyone been by to see if the stripers are back on?

Answering my own post here... No fish. I asked everyone I saw up there and there was no fish. There were birds feeding but no one was catching anything so must be too early still.

Thanks for the update. Sad how this thread has died. I really enjoy fishing this area. Just haven't been in a while as I have been busy with kids sports and building up my boat.

Hm. I'm pretty confident they're in there, but I haven't been up yet.

I'm waiting for the releases to drop back to the normal generation cycle so I can get out there with the fly gear.

Water still very cold

I'm never had a problem catching stripers in cold water below spillways, so that I don't think that would be the issue.

I will mention that the river completely changed last fall, like in the course of a week - water clarity was bad, algae sprouted overnight on rocks in the water where it wasn't before, and the fishing shut off.

That's actually bacterial sludge, not algae

Much grosser.

Maybe, but I don’t think so. I’m familiar with bacterial sludge, and this still looked like an algal bloom, not sludge.

Has anyone been lately? I would love to catch some stripers in the tail race and fished this spot years ago (with no luck). It is about 1.5 hour trip and figured I would ask before making the drive. If reports are no good at this time then I will likely wait a few weeks for the spawn to turn on full steam. Thanks in advance for any input. Tight Lines - Ken.

I'm curious what the conditions are like as well. I know that we are about to get some rain the next couple days which hopefully will get the water level up a bit.
Next week is spring break and I'm hoping to get my boys out fishing with me.

awesome
thanks for reviving him

Since were still waiting for the water to warm up, question on line: Has anyone had any issues throwing 10lb braid when the water is being released? I'm reevaluating my line choices lately to go as small as possible to gain distance. I was looking at that Paddlefish Fish-Whisperer landed on 10lb braid and seems like I shouldn't be that worried. Thoughts?

Was there Sunday during the day, water wasn't running. Didnt catch anything.

Thanks for the update.

I'm hearing they installed a new fence blocking off the dam. Is this true? Anyone been up there this week?

Apparently they installed a chainlink fence with barbed wire on top blocking off access to the dam. The only access is the pavement after it slopes down and the rocks. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The fence blocks off everything past the yellow handicap rail. This isn't going to help with the overcrowding.

Wonder why it’s so overcrowded!?

I heard they did that to protect stripers from getting virus with a fishing distance.

So we can still fish below the dam?

Yes we can still fishing .

People please don’t trash public property. It is Bad for you and your family. Please think how it gonna bad for yourself. Alot of water bottles, beer can, some whole party togo boxes. Need some tickets for those who trash the place .

Is it fishable be,ow the dam yet?

Flood gates open . No fish last 2 days

The fence was installed due to people parking in no parking areas the Crop is working on the generators and needs the room to bring in material. Had people followed ther rules clearly marked the fence and gate wouldn’t have had to have been installed.. as for the fishing report there are fish being caught it’s slow but steady no giants being caught but some nice fish coming off the Texas side. Cork n jig and Weighted fluks are producers as normal. Go out catch dinner and be safe.

B_Vandy thanks for the update! Any colors outworking the rest or the usual white, white/green tail, chartreuse, bubble gum pink?

How many people are out there now? Any concern for overcrowding yet?

Can anyone confirm they closed the entrance?

I have to presume the a sense of content suggest's that fishing below the dam is not happening. Correct me if wrong, report any news if there is a any. It's a long drive up there, so, some info. Is appreciated.
Thank you in advance.

Absence

I have been up there a few times fossil hunting with the kids. Not seeing any action on the banks.

Thank you.JJ.

Anyone have a report? I see there’s tons of water moving through there right now. I’m not sure if it’s too much or just right. Gonna try my luck in the morning regardless. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!

Good luck, give us a report please

Memorial Day Sunday I was there and the flood gates were open and the parking lot was full. Stayed about 30 min. and did not see any fish caught but I did see some on stringers so I know they were catching some. Most everyone was using jig and cork and some top water plugs.




Tight Lines

great job

Thanks for the update texoma123. Long drive for me so I won’t be going up anytime soon but nice of you to post an update. Ken

will test it out this week

Headed out there today at 5am. Got there at sunrise with almost nothing of water movement caught a small striper and saw some guy in this tiny pontoon fly fishing about 50 or more same size.
Fishing for me was bad not worth the 3 hr round trip.

Fished Denison Dam this morning... caught several Buffalo. Else, no striped bass. Did see others catch a few but was a tough round. Will get a video posted. Did a live video while there... short snippet with spotty connectivity but does give some idea of the waterflow.

Here is the video from Tuesday. Fishing Denison Dam – Tough Go #flyfishing #buffalo Had a fun but tough time fishing Denison Dam Tuesday morning. Windy conditions and lots of waterflow from the power plant.

They were releasing water but was able to work different areas on the Oklahoma side.

No striped bass but did see others catching them. Did catch as well as lose a Buffalo or two... was able to sight cast to schools that were feeding in a protected cove in the shallows.

Fun stuff!


PS: Went back the next day - Wednesday June 10, 2020... they were not releasing water. Another tough go. Still editing video but did another onsite update. See below.

Somedays can be tough but even so, persistence resulted in "roaming buffalo" Thanks for sharing with us.

Thanks psalty! Here is the video of yesterday's action at Denison.... Fishing Denison Dam Again... More Exploring than Fishing!

Made the run up to Denison Dam Wednesday morning. Fished the day before when they were generating power. Wednesday morning, they were not generating power... river was low and waterflow was minimal.

Planned to fish with bait - frozen shad and live shad to be caught with the cast net. But, bait store was out of shad, and no success at catching any with the cast net.

After trying a Jig and Fluke under a float, Bomber Crankbaits, and a Rattle Trap on the Oklahoma side, went to the Texas side and started wading river and fishing pocket, runs, and pools with the Discount Switch Rod - Maxcatch 2wt 10' Fly Rod and Orvis SL1 Fly Reel.

Caught one White Bass on a Chartreuse and White Craft Fur Clouser, had another strike but lost it. No sure what it was... and then had several Gar look and chase the Bass on Bed Fly.

Overall, good to get out on the river and work the areas normally underwater. Plan to get another video to show differences when they generate power and when they are not... More to come!

Thanks again-definitely got your exercise in.

If the striped bass fishing isnt great, there are a ton of 10lb+ blue cats. When the generation stops, on Texas side, last staircase towards the right pass those wooden pylons. Cut sunfish or gizzard shads on the bottom.

Thanks! Always a good fallback plan when the stripers aren't biting.

Lucked out and was able to fish Denison Dam - tailrace to Lake Texoma, two days in a row. First day, temps were in the 90s and the river was flowing while they were generating power. Next day, cold front rolled in, dropping the temps to the 60s. No power generations, minimal water flow... able to observe what a difference a day makes - specifically, the river and the change in water level. Do listen in on the Podcast - iFishNews at https://www.iFishNews.com, or check out the video version on our YouTube Channel - COAF Field Team at https://www.youtube.com/coaffieldteam

Learned a few things this round... like where there are sandbars and channels that are hidden when the water is flowing as well as the "it's illegal" sign that prohibits transport of bait fish from the area.

Long video but lots of info that may be of interest to some!

Fishing Denison Dam - How to check the river waterflow before you go... #cliffnotes version

An abridged version aka cliff notes on how we check the river waterflow when we make plans to fish Denison Dam.

Posted a more detailed video that shows how to check the waterflow at various dams in the area. This video focuses on Denison Dam and the quick check we do before heading to Denison.

By checking, we are able to prepare to fish low, medium, and high waterflow situations. Do check it out.

Pretty cool channel, got yourself a subscriber. FISH ON!

Thanks TheNightFisher!

I saw a guy catch a 17# blue cat fishing with a fly rod from a float tube below the dam a few years ago.

Made it to Denison Dam... only caught one striper - 19". Did see others catching small ones with shad. Here is a short onsite update!

Catch and Cook Denison Dam Striped Bass #denisondam #stripedbass #recipe

Had a fun time at Denison Dam - tailrace to Texoma, on Saturday June 20! Opted for live bait of Bluegill and Sunfish to try for Striped Bass and Catfish.

Turned out only one Striped Bass. It was a nice one that went 19" in length. Went for a 3" Bluegill. Did a few more bites but nothing solid.

Go to bait for others that were limiting out on small "schoolies" was frozen shad, shrimp, and chicken livers. Next round, will make it a point to bring bait and not go all in on live bait.

That said, the Okuma 12' MH Rockaway Surf Rod and Pflueger Spinning Reel worked well... can cast far with minimal effort. A much lighter combo compared to the 10' Rodmaster and Penn Battle II 6000.

Given only one fish this round, posted a catch and cook showing how we clean and prep and then cook a striped bass. For its size, we opted to steak the striped bass and skillet fry it... tasty!

Ingredients:
- Soy Sauce
- Tuna Fish Sauce
- Ginger
- Garlic

Fry 4" to 5" each side

Great video and recipe!

Thanks SandyChaser!

looks like water is flowing very nice now

Fish steaks looking good.

Thanks! Was hoping for more but fished yesterday and only caught gar.

Denison Dam Fishing for Gar... by Chance Anyone?

Fished Denison Dam Saturday morning. Initially, planned to bring a Switch Rod to fish Clousers in the runs, pockets, and pools before they started generating power.

Quick check of the real-time hydroelectric data and the planned schedule showed two generators online for 24 hours Friday and into Saturday, and possibly Sunday.

Adjusted to surf casting gear and fished Shad and Chicken Livers... no strikes when fishing a bottom rig. Action was all with Shad fished 2' to 4' from a float.

Fished from sunrise to 2PM in the afternoon... No Striped Bass. It was all Gar that were biting this round!all fish caught and release were Gar. Looked like the Striped Bass were not wanting to bite this round.

Do check back will add details on the float rig we used in the video. Float used was the... Launcher Float size 5", 1-3/4OZ

Fun times!

very nice sir

Enjoyed the video.
Looks like you had some fun with those gar.
Wish you could have got one of the larger ones in.
Did you get the shad with your cast net there or bring them from somewhere else?
Stay Safe.

They were definitely biting for us on the Texas side wall. Key to success was getting distance into the flat water and work it in with some action.

Thanks Ocelot... big ones did pull hard while they were on the line. Cast net there for live bait, else purchased frozen.

Good to know... brought jig and fluke rigs but stuck with bait this round.

FYI... follow up video on the fishing rig we used. May be of interest to some.

Good to know....
TPWD answers our question about Shad! Can I catch shad with a cast net from one lake, freeze them for later use at another lake?

We like using Shad for bait but at times cannot purchase them because the local bait store is out of stock. This is why we like to catch our own plus it saves us money – cost of the cast net and time and effort to catch them, etc…

However, due to restrictions related to aquatic invasive species and the transfer from one body of water to another, we have followed Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s (TPWD) regulations that limit using Shad for bait to the same body of water where they were caught.

Our understanding was the same body of water limitation was for live, fresh, and frozen shad. For clarification, we contacted Texas Parks and Wildlife Department via their online “Submit a Question” form.

Looks like we can catch Shad from one lake, remove any of the water with the fish, using a net to move the fish from one container to another so no water is transferred from lake to lake!

The easy fishing season on Oklahoma side is here. You will need 3-7” shads or sunfish frozen or live (live always a plus) 30lb line to pull fishes up the wall ( may need net for bigger fishes). # 2-5 hook. No weight or float needed. People hit limit in 1-2hrs last couple days . Make sure you come one hour earlier than generator schedule to hit the fast bites . Bring 3-7” shads , #2-5 hooks, rod with 30lbs line Stand closest to the dam on OK side. make sure call or check online for generators open time to make your trips worth. Not sure if i can add link for schedule here but you can google it. They will bite 24/7 when the water smell bad.

How about Texas?

TX good for first 1.5hour with 5-6” pencils(top water) while they’re on their way coming up then supper slow. Meaning if the schedule open at 1pm you hve to be there at 12:15 .

I tried this morning and hooked several gar that got my blood pumping. Couldn't land any and by the time I hooked into a striper it broke off probably from the Gar chewing on my braid. Only landed a Drum but no one else there was catching anything. Granted they weren't generating at the time so that was probably why.

How do I read on the schedule when they are going to release water? I just see current condition?

Not sure if i can post address here. Go there and click on dates , next day schedule will post after 4pm . The phone # in the site too. https://www.swpa.gov/generationschedules.aspx Make sure you there 1 hr earlier than schedule to hit the hottest time. On my way home with the limit . I use 30lbs braid and have to have mono leader.

Thanks!

Also after I stopped getting bites I hiked around the low water to find a weighted float if I could and found a couple top water lures that had been modified by drilling holes and putting in weights/rattles. Does everyone do that?

I have seen guys putting extra BB's inside or lead "stickers" in the back of top water lures to allow the butt end to sink. Seems to attract bites when the butt end sinks.

Most of them add extra weight for extra distance because distance is the most important from below the walls. Live sunfishes and bluegills are hot at the Oklahoma wall. You will get bites if you there at 12-2pm 5-10pounders 2-6 for 2-5pounders.( have to cut baits for 2-5 pounders)

Well the low water fishing at least is over for now. Lake is stratified, so the water is murky and smelly. Maybe they still come up for generation, but I didn’t wait long enough to find out.

Fished yesterday at first light, water was low and minimal water flow. Only a couple of bites. Did see a Gaspergou (Freshwater Drum) caught. Around 10:30AM they started generating. After things settled down, managed to catch a Gar, and then lose a big one, too. Here is the livestream while on the river yesterday before I caught the Gar. Spotty coverage at the River for me, video is not high quality.

Like i said earlier. This is easiest time for everyone at Oklahoma wall . I got the limit most of the time I went. I use 3-5” live sunfish/ bluegill cut or whole depend ....again only 10-18 yards at the wall (Oklahoma) that they will bite. Go down stream if you like to exercise, stand on the wall if you want fishes for dinner.

Went by the Oklahoma wall 2 weeks ago and saw no one catching!? Of course I was working. Live shad, fresh dead and lures were not producing = don’t waste your time

Will have to give it a try next round.

Denison Dam Fishing | Caught a Gar, Lost a Big Fish, Almost Lost GoFish Cam

Last Saturday headed up the road for some Denison Dam Fishing. Got there at first light. Learned they have bright LED street lights that make the area bright along the Texas side of the river!

They were not generating; water level was low, and the bite was slow. Did deploy the GoFish Cam and almost lost it to a snag. Lots of braided line. Dove in the river and retrieved it after cutting away the snag... lots of braided line in the water!

Around 10:30AM, they started generating power. Stuck around to fish the river in hopes the current would bring more fish to feed.

Luckily, did not strike out... caught a gar that went for shad! Later, had a few more good strikes but missed the hook set. Did get one to stay on but lost it after nearing the bank... it was a big one!

Do check out the video!

Thanks, enjoyed it!

So the only stripers being caught are on the Oklahoma side from what I’m hearing. Texas residents would need an out of state license correct?

If you are under 65 you need on out of state license. If you are over 65 you do not need an out of state license to fish in Oklahoma.

Went by last Saturday just to scout. Temps were hot, fishing was not. Plenty of baitfish out there while they were generating, but didn't see many catches other than the occasional small catfish.

Fishing report from OK side today. I went out at 11:30 anticipating generation but nothing happening. I ran into a kid I’ve followed on the fish brain app who had a cooler full of stripers from 6-7am on crank baits and crappie jigs. He gave me a jig with a small blue Smokey grub to try but I started off with my live bluegill I brought. The guy next to me was throwing a kind of trolling fly with big eyes, think a buck tail without the jighead, and a weighted float. He
was doing well, probably caught 5-6 in a couple hours. I switched to the crappie jig and had multiple bites but only landed one 19”. Then a gar bent up my crappie jig and I called it a day.
Shout out to everyone being super nice up there.

Dudes... I was just going through my fish bag which is in desperate need of organization, and I realized the guy was fishing with a Clouser minnow!! I even had 3 of them but I haven't even thought about fly fishing since I moved to Texas 8 years ago! He said he didn't know what it was called just he bought it off a guy at the dam once.

Same as you would usually fish with flukes and a bucktail with a weighted cork to cast but it was just the clouser minnow and he was smashing all of us at the OK wall.

Fly fishing below the dam can produce some big stripers and catfish. White//chartruese/red clousers work great.

I went back to the Texas side yesterday with my clouser minnow around 1pm. My surf casting rod broke again (I no longer recommend the fiblink discussed on this thread) so I rigged up the clouser with a small 1/4 oz weighted bobber to cast and caught 9 in about 2 hours. Nothing huge, all of them were about 3-8’ feet out from the bank, biggest was probably only 3 pounds but that’s a good day of fishing for me. I highly recommend it.

Hm. good to see they're still around.

Has the water cleaned up at all, or still smelly and brown?

They were releasing water and it is a lot better than it was even a week ago. You can see the fish again!

went today and fished between 2 to 4 pm. ~15 fishermen at Texas and Oklahoma sides. Did not see anyone catching.

Made it to Denison Dam for some fun fishing for Striped Bass. Will get a video posted; for now here is the update while onsite at the Dam!

Denison Dam Fishing | Lots of Stripers on the Fly!

Lotta fun fishing Denison Dam Saturday for Striped Bass! Brought the Cabelas TLR 6wt Switch Rod with the Echo Ion 6/7 Wt Fly Reel and the OPST Skagit Head. Bite was good on small stripers hitting on the Denison Dam Dawber, Bennet's Lunch, Bucktail and Craft Fur Clouser Minnows.

Fast retrieves using short pulls and fast pulls worked, then they wanted a 10 count delay, later a 5 count delay, and then later no delay in the start of the retrieve. Also, did get better hook up rates by dipping the rod tip in the water while retrieving. And then... later had a high stick, sweep the rod style retrieve that seemed to work well.

All of this before the started generating power. After they started generating, then it was cast upriver, let the fly drift downriver and swing the fly, and then twitch the fly as you retrieved in back upriver at an angle.

Learned lots while there... bottomline: vary your retrieve, change fishing flies, and adjust to the fish as the pattern changes!

Working on a catch and cook video of another trip fly fishing Denison Dam. Here is a quick update noting "free stuff" found at the dam (with waders of course).

Denison Dam Fishing | Catch and Cook Striped Bass

Finished the video... for ease of reference, here are key places to skip to in the video:
Catch Section - 2:41
Cook Section - 9:17
- Cleaning - 9:17
- Seasoning - 12:52
- Cooking - 15:37

Simple Recipe:
- Clean, scale, and remove head and fins
- Season liberally with Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, and Paprika
- Pan fry on high heat for 5-10 minutes each side

Do give it a try!

just so you know - the Texas side no longer generates power or releases water.

No more generation for good? THE DAM IS DEAD??

temporarily or permanently

Looking good and tasty-Thanks

just temporarily, according to schedule, it will restart tomorrow to the rest of the week.

Can someone reply with the generation schedule link? I'm looking to head out there this week.

Link below is referenced by fshng84, he has a video for it, but I cannot find it. Click on the day listed at the left and then the second item "DEN" for schedule.

https://www.swpa.gov/generationschedules.aspx

Schedule says no water release planned for the week.

well thats gonna make for some tough fishing lol

So no generation this week if I'm reading that right?

You read is correct. Based on the schedule, no generation this week.

You only see the schedule for the next day and they usually put that out around 5pm. For example today is Tuesday and only see Wednesday generation schedule. Thurs, fri sat Sunday were from last week . Look at the date
Near the top

Additionally, the lake is 4 feet low right now, so I wouldn't expect any generation to occur until it rains again and the reservoir fills up.

Don’t know which date . No generation. Fishes dying
https://www.facebook.com/groups/NorthTexasFishingAddicts/permalink/985031635312281/

That video is awful. It makes me super sad. Anyone know why the water level would drop so fast that so many get stranded?

Them stopping the flow?

Does this happen every year then? I guess I never knew they had this kind of kill off.

I see they are doing construction in the generator side of the dam, maybe they can release any flow where they are working at? Also as mentioned in previous post we haven’t had consistent rain in a long time

That really stinks! Sad to see all those dead fish.

On a side note, this would be a great opportunity for the states to get together and clean out all the lost lures, fishing line, trash, etc.

They are replacing some of the equipment in the dam. Not sure what the term for the equipment is but it is the generator things on the backside. As of Sunday three of the eight had been replaced. Word was that it was going to be three more weeks before they could release water again.

Regardless of whether they are releasing water or not, you can still catch fish each and every day, you just have to put in the work to find them.

Anyone try fishing the dam recently? Am heading that way with the kids this weekend and wondering if I should plan to fish at the dam, downstream of the dam a little ways, or from the banks of the lake? Never fished Texoma or the dam before and not sure how the weather will impact fishing. Thanks in advance.

Edit: just to clarify I saw the posts about the dam not being run so water flow is not ideal. Just wondering best opportunities to catch some nice fish

As mckinneylonghorn mentioned, you may have to hike down stream to find the holes where some fish will hold up. Another location is at the boat ramp on the other side of the dam at the lake. Hike past the gate to the point and fish all side of the point for cats and striper.

Thanks for the tips! Will report back after the trip.

" ... Word was that it was going to be three more weeks before they could release water again."

... Amen!!!

Stayed at a house on the river just east of the dam earlier this week and did some fishing. Water was pretty clear and there were lots of fish (paddlefish, carp, bass). Seemed most active early and late with afternoons being pretty quiet. Visited the dam briefly and saw a few fishermen there, but did not see anyone catching fish (was early afternoon on Tuesday). Saw an air boat each night on the river and appeared to be bow fishing but did not get the chance to talk to them and see how the night fishing was going.

Quick update from this morning's run to Denison Dam. Limited out on small stripers. Plan was to fish with the Switch Rod and Clouser Minnows for Striped Bass on the Texas side. Change of plans, fished the Oklahoma side and had fun catching them using a float and fly aka float and jig rig... tipped with shad for bait! Cool thing was the stripers were chasing and striking the Bennet's Lunch pattern after the shad came off, that is the stripers ate it. Do stay tuned; will get a full video out!

Fished Denison Dam on the Oklahoma side - specifically, the Oklahoma Wall for Striped Bass. Fun time catching them on a beefed up version of the Bubble Fly Rig - a heavy casting float and a clouser style minnow. Plan was to fish the Texas side with the Switch Rod. Had to adjust to the fish and the pattern. No fly fishing from the OK Wall. Luckily, had a back up bait casting rod and Dave's Ski Tackle was nearby for picking up a heavy casting float and jigs! Do checkout the video!

Denison Dam Fishing | GoFish Cam at the Oklahoma Wall

Made it back for more Denison Dam fishing for striped bass. Used our surfcasting gear to fish the Oklahoma Wall and worked the area using a Float and Jig/Fly Rig. Fishing buddy limited out; yours truly did not.

Lots of small stripers but did keep enough for dinner. No catch and cook this round but did get lots of underwater footage with the @GoFish Cam ...learned there are lots of small stripers along the Oklahoma Wall which we anticipated given past trips. But, also noticed lots of small catfish, too!

Longer than normal video... decided to minimize the edits and post more raw footage from the GoFish Cam in case viewers see something we missed.

So far, we noticed Striped Bass, Channel Catfish, Blue Catfish, a glimpse of Buffalo, and a Bluegill. Do comment if you see others we may have missed!

I went to the boat ramp at the lake by the dam once while water is off and only caught one small mouth Buffalo (BUT IT WAS HUGE! 22lbs!)

Then got tired of not catching stripers so I went back a week later with an OK day license only to fish the dam in a down pour. Caught 3 small stripers, one 19” striper and a baby cat.
Tons of shad and lots of small fish but I think they need to release more water on the Texas side to bring bigger fish up

I saw someone post on Facebook they released water last night and limited out in an hour! Anyone else get in on that??

yes, it seems the power plant has started to generate, like 5 days non-stop already.

Denison Dam Fishing | Before You Go Fishing Do This? | Re-Broadcast

Updates to our archived blog post that details reading the generation release schedule and data, and then suggestions before you go to Denison Dam. May be of interest to some.

Went yesterday morning and got skunked. did not see 2 others caught anything, either.

I see they are generating every day since the power came back online but I heard the shad all died off in the cold. Anyone had any luck on either side of the river?

I'm thinking of making a trip up there this week either Tuesday or Wednesday, so I'll report back. If anyone can chime in with the current conditions, that'd be awesome lol.

Generators may close on Tuesday and wed . Got limited on Friday and sat . Nothing on sun. Seem like cloudy , no moon days are better. 8-11pm

Thanks for the report Ppooppppeer, flukes? and Texas or OK side?

Thanks for the report. Are they still repairing one generator? How was the water level and temp?

I used popper and fluke on tx(depend on wind direction) . Look like they finished fixing generators. Water is below 1.24ft. Water temp is not effective fishing below dam.

Is it worth fishing the dam when the generators aren't running? I was going to head up there tomorrow (Tuesday 03/01/21) but the schedule doesn't show any planned generation.

May be just baby bass when water shut off.

Anyone tried this week? Haven't seen any generation after tuesday...

[img]https://ibb.co/NThqkC1[/img]

Someone posted this in a FB group this week... Lol no running water so he went and fished for lures.

Drove by there yesterday on 75 and it almost looks dry.

Am I reading this right they are releasing water at Denison now? Not sure how much 6400 CFS is but I know 20,000 is almost too fast to fish ha.

https://www.swt-wc.usace.army.mil/DENI.lakepage.html

Fishes are there when gates opened , must find their spots and use right rigs for different water cfs.

6400 CFS isn't bad. 10,000 CFS is do-able. I wouldn't even try fishing in 20,000 CFS.

I kayaked across below a dam year before last at 18000 cfs . Almost died . Caught fish I guess it was worth it lol

I did something like that one time, middle of December 2015, never again.

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Went for a couple hours today, hooked 2 only landed one. Has anyone been limiting out lately?

Can someone help clarify the regulations at the dam? Does it fall under statewide of 5@ 18” or the Texoma regulations of 10 with no length other than 2 over 20”?.. I can’t seem to find a good map with the boundaries. Also, I’ve seen several kept that didn’t appear to be anywhere close to 18”.

Went last night and wasn’t too packed. Caught a couple on rattle traps.. nothing hitting flukes. Also caught 2 drum on a crank bait.. first for me. We saw one guy catch a 20+ lbs cat on a spinner bait, but other than that, it was pretty slow..

Below the dam on the Texas side the limit of stripers is 5 of any size. The limit that you referenced applies to the lake side of the dam.

It's under TPWD Exceptions to the Freshwater Harvest Regulations for the Red River - see Fishing Regulations for Red River.

Perfect. Thank you sir.

They opened the gates last night at 5pm. Took about an hour for the water level to come up. I heard they’re going open on Sunday from 7am to 10 pm. Caught a few channel cat but no striper.

Was there Sunday and fished for about 2 hours and not much. Noticed other folks had empty baskets as well. Denison Dam can be weird sometimes. Maybe someone had a different experience the last couple of days. Hoping someone will post..

Is driving to the top of the dam on Texas side still allowed or do you have to park and walk up?

They make you park in parking and walk about 100-150 yds.

Now the water is running I've seen people catching a bunch of dinks. Anyone getting anything decent??

First time going to Texoma to fish. Planning on fishing these locations as well as Eisenhower to the west. Are these decent spots?

Also is there a parking fee that has to be paid here or just at Eisenhower?

Fished today, water is low, not many bites. Saw a ginormous catfish caught at the top of the dam. No striper.

No bueno today! Saw couple smalls caught at top but nothing below the cable..on both sides that I could see. flood gate still open and light generating. Tested my new 10’ moonsniper rod. Best bang for my buck. Got there around 11am til 1pm. Few folks out.

Today was better than it has been for me at least. Saw people catching topwater, someone pulled in a 30-40 pound catfish on a popper! I only caught on either cork and jig or a Carolina rig with 1 oz weight and white ice fluke. I landed about 7 total but only one over 20". Had 2 break off but decent day.

Today, 8-26-21, I drove over to the Dam on Lake Texoma just to take a look around and see if there was anyone fishing and if they were having any luck. Arrived around 8:00am on the Texas side and there were several people on the Texas side and they were catching a few fish. There were many more on the OK side and the wall on that side was packed. Lots of fish being caught there of all sizes. Most were using live bait but there were some using lures and doing ok also..

Went back to fish at 4:00pm same day, and caught 6 on the OK wall. 5 were small and one about 2-3 lbs. Plenty of others doing good also. Went to the Texas side and caught 3. One was a nice 3-4 lb. Do not know if the pattern will hold but they were there today. Best was AM.

Tight Lines

whats current release schedule. i went on site ,sometime on sometime off?

what's up y'all? anyone been going to the Dam lately?

Went after Thanksgiving and fished the Oklahoma side...

Answering the mail concerning one of Oklahoma's fishing regulations that some may not be aware of... check out the video!

Thanks for responding! Nice catches btw

Anyone got any recent fishing trips lately? Thinking of making the trip soon, just trying to see if they are hitting or not.