# Fishing bridges?



## Sunbeam (Feb 24, 2009)

I see lots of post about the bridges on Conroe. They seem to be fish magnets.
I know that I have fished under many bridges in lakes in the southern part of the states. Most hold fish at different times.
Crappie especially like the pilings of most bridges.
Lake Livingston has one of if not the largest population of game fish in the state. It also has one of the longest bridges spanning the mid-lake area.
The pilings are unique. Not only are they vertical columns but all have larger bases and under water cross braces. A real fish condo if there ever was one.
The water depth is from 8 feet at the end of the levee and dropping to 27 feet as you move west. The river channel is approximately 45 feet deep under the longest span.
There is always some current since the upper lake water must flow under the bridge to make up for the lose through the dam gates.
Sounds like a real fishing paradise. Just one thing wrong. There seldom any fish around the bridge pilings. 
Now I know I am going to get plenty of retorts to that statement. it is the purpose of this thread.
What I am saying is the bridge is not a noted fishing area. Why not?
In the 45 years that I have been running under that bridge i can count on my fingers the number of boats I have seen fishing there.
I always watch my finder as i go under the span. In fact in the last year I have intentionally chosen a different span each trip.
Never have i seen what looks like fish concentrations.
In the spring there are always some shad under the shallow section but at that time of the year there are shad every where.
A few weeks ago BBjim and I ran a string of jugs on the south side of the bridge. We spaced them so at least one jug would pass under each span.
As the jugs started to drift we caught one nice blue about 100 feet from the large pylon on the river bank. The rest of the jugs drifted under the bridge and out on the north side. Not one bite. The jugs started getting hits again when they were 100 yards north of the bridge.
We picked up 12 jugs and reset them on the south side near the area where we caught the first fish. Nothing until they were well north of the bridge pilings.
We all know that crappie fishermen who are catching fish must send off a pheromone like a doe in heat. If you catch fish in the same place two trips in a row on the third trip there will be 12 boats sitting on the spot.
Never happens under the 190 bridge.
I think it is due to the noise and vibrations caused by the traffic. The expansion joints are very wide. A car or truck traveling at 60mph makes a heck of a racket on the joints. The noise under the bridge is very load. Much greater than one would expect.The concrete pilings will certainly transmit that sound into the water.
I would like to hear every ones opinion and past results fishing the 190 bridge. Maybe we can find a pattern or system to catch fish around the pilings.


----------



## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

Livingston is the only lake I have fished were the bridges were not good for fishing, I agree with 100%, it has always baffled me. 
I came up with the same idea that the vibration is disturbing to the fish some way, maybe because it has X bracing it sets up a different kind of vibration. I DK, but it has always seemed weird to me.


----------



## FISHROADIE (Apr 2, 2010)

Sunbeam i dont think sound or vibration has anything to do with the fact that the fish are not on the 190 bridge, the 1097 bridge on Conroe has a very loud expansion joint , that was right over my head, the fish did not seam to care. The one thing that the 1097 bridge has that the 190 bridge does not have is shade. The 190 bridge is very tall and it cast its shadow way out not right over the pillings, I have never caught a crappie on the sunny side of the 1097 bridge, they are always on the shady side. This is my opinion for what its worth, good fishing every one


----------



## Lone Eagle (Aug 20, 2009)

I have fished the 190 bridge at least 25 to 30 times over the years. I can count on my fingers how many fish I have caught while doing this.....7. None of them were Crappie either. Like everyone else; I am at a loss for why they are not there. 
As far as shade goes. I'm sure it helps. However, I have caught Crappie on this lake as well as other lakes while fishing in the sun. Drifting (controled with my trolling motor) is one way I fish for crappie. There is no shade in the center or edge of the creek channel. 
I have also fished the Hwy 19 bridge and have not caught crappie. Was told by three Riverside locals that they catch crappie there.
Something tells me that there has to be crappie there at some time or another but I can not put it together.


----------



## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

I don't subscribe to the vibration theory...just my opinion. Fish get nervous when confronted with strange, unusual sounds, sights, & vibrations. The vibrations on that bridge are routine, recurring and continue night and day. Fish become accoustomed to that and in fact become expecting it as the norm rather than the exception.

I fished that bridge many times years ago back when it was legal to park on the side and walk up and down...we would catch a lot of white bass and yellow bass and cats, but never a single crappie that I recall. 

One possibility might be that the current is always pretty good in the open part where there are pilings. Much of the bridge is more like a dam and actually blocks flow along the transverse sections and funnels it all through the open part. Just a possiblity.


----------



## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

It has a hoodoo hex!


----------



## dbullard (Feb 13, 2008)

who knows!! I guess we just need to fish the underwater bridges !!


----------



## Lone Eagle (Aug 20, 2009)

dbullard said:


> who knows!! I guess we just need to fish the underwater bridges !!


Tried that a few times also. Never caught any crappie there either. We did catch some LMB on the Old 190 road bed and bridges located there back in the 70's. Have not done that since though.

Two of us did catch 3 LMB on one of the old creek channels that old 190 crosses last year. Caught them on carolina rigs as they dropped off into the creek. Only happened once though.


----------



## Fishon21 (Jul 16, 2010)

*Catching crappie*

You my not believe this but when i was a youngster , we would camp behind kickapoo marina and we would buy as many as 8-10 bags of
minnows at one time, we would Paddle our john boat over the channel to where there was a large cane brake that ran along side of the bridge , 
we would spread the cane aside move our boat up into the cane , set out lanterns and catch crappie 2 at a time all night . we caught 300 crappie in
one night. there was a machine that looked just like a front loading washing machine that all you did was cut off the head and pulled out what guts come out , throw the fish in turn it on and it would scale the fish using high pressure water. by the way when we caught those fish
there were no limits. it was catch and eat.

Do any of you remember fishing that cove or s.side of the bridge and looking out and seeing so many lanterns that it looked like a city on the water with lanterns hanging out of every tree .

Those were the good old days , that's my story and sticking to it .

Fishon21


----------



## Sunbeam (Feb 24, 2009)

The thing of interest is that TP&W never stocked crappie in Livingston. Our strain of fish are pure Trinity River basin native stock.
When we were working on Triple Creek Marine, I could walk down the creek bank and catch just about any type of fish with nothing more than a cane pole rig.
The lake was just filling and the creek was only about 40 feet wide where the launch ramp is now. 
In the spring of 1969 the hand size crappie were thick in the creek. You could catch as many on worms as minnows.
It still amazes me how this lake never stops evolving. The fishing by species seems to change every six to eight years. Livingston is like a snake that keeps shedding its skin.


----------



## Listo (Jun 26, 2010)

Very interesting guys. I grew up fishing the San Jacinto River Bottom out off F.M. 1314 that goes from Conroe to Porter. My Gramdpa Thornberry and I caught a lot of catfish out of there when I was little beleive it or not. By the time I was 12 I had saved up enough money and bought a beat up Jon boat with an 8 h.p. Evinrude. I killed the bass and crappie around the marina's on lake conroe. My brother and I also did really well under the 1097 bridge catching crappie, white bass, and catfish. But right after that I discovered salt water fishing and got away from the rivers and lakes. I am looking forward to river and lake fishing again. Not that I want to give up the blue water. I just miss the good times and having fun with your buddies. 
Lake Conroe is dangerous and crazy during the spring and summer. Are there a lot of go fast boats on livingston?


----------



## wwind3 (Sep 30, 2009)

Listo said:


> Very interesting guys. I grew up fishing the San Jacinto River Bottom out off F.M. 1314 that goes from Conroe to Porter. My Gramdpa Thornberry and I caught a lot of catfish out of there when I was little beleive it or not. By the time I was 12 I had saved up enough money and bought a beat up Jon boat with an 8 h.p. Evinrude. I killed the bass and crappie around the marina's on lake conroe. My brother and I also did really well under the 1097 bridge catching crappie, white bass, and catfish. But right after that I discovered salt water fishing and got away from the rivers and lakes. I am looking forward to river and lake fishing again. Not that I want to give up the blue water. I just miss the good times and having fun with your buddies.
> Lake Conroe is dangerous and crazy during the spring and summer. Are there a lot of go fast boats on livingston?


I've seen a couple of the go fasts but dont seem to be a prob on LL. Even the open water on Livingston has some stump areas that will bite you. Conroe is scary with the cigarette boats and the small size of the lake. Should be outlawed if they arent already.


----------



## tbone2374 (Feb 27, 2010)

There are a few, but none of the really big blasting show boats like you see on the South End of LC. IMO, the faster boats, on LL, as a rule, tend to have more brains behind the wheel. I'm sure there will be some LL people to disagree with that last statement. And again, it all depends what part of the lake you want to fish. Up until lately I had never fished the nothern end of the lake, so most of my experience was limited to what I've seen on the south and mid-lake areas. Most of the bigger boats come out of Houston, just don't think they want to haul'em that far!


----------



## Lone Eagle (Aug 20, 2009)

Sunbeam said:


> The thing of interest is that TP&W never stocked crappie in Livingston. Our strain of fish are pure Trinity River basin native stock.
> When we were working on Triple Creek Marine, I could walk down the creek bank and catch just about any type of fish with nothing more than a cane pole rig.
> The lake was just filling and the creek was only about 40 feet wide where the launch ramp is now.
> In the spring of 1969 the hand size crappie were thick in the creek. You could catch as many on worms as minnows.
> It still amazes me how this lake never stops evolving. The fishing by species seems to change every six to eight years. Livingston is like a snake that keeps shedding its skin.


While TP&W never stocked crappie here; back in the days of the "Original" Crappiethon we did stock crappie that came out of Mississippi. I think we released 40,000 fingerlings in the lake. 10,000 in the Penwaugh area, 10,000 in the Wolf Creek area, 10,000 in the Kickapoo/Triple Creek area and 10,000 up in the upper White Rock Creek. This is not many fingerlings for a lake this large but I think it did help us a little. The money for this stocking came from donations by competitors in the 60 day Crappiethon event. The year was either 1988 or 1989.


----------



## 200ZX (Dec 14, 2009)

X2 on the current. I've seen people fish on the east side near the diversion ditch and catch cats but not anything else. Maybe it has to do with no structure for the fish to travel when going to the bridge. Like the stories told earlier there was more structure like trees, cane and anything else that was there b4 the lake was filled and maybe the current totally ripped the structure away. The fish need some sort of cover to hide in to stay away from predators and thats why they stay in the creeks and docks for cover. Hey I just contradicted myself. Anyways, that's my opinion because on other lakes you always catch crappie near brushpiles or some other type of structure. Maybe its the visability and the fih just do not like the way the water looks and might be scared that Sunbeam and Shadslinger are out there lurking. At least that's what the fishes momma told them!!


----------



## Boatless Potlicker (Oct 5, 2009)

I caught a blue by tossing a fresh filet against the down stream side of a pillar, using the trolley. I remember it so well because it's the only fish I've caught there after trying many times. That being said, I don't catch that many fish anyway...except at the baited pier :biggrin:


----------



## slabseaker (Dec 7, 2009)

Did you ever see any structure around the bridge pillings when you cruse by or has anyone ever looked. ? just curious. theres alot around the 1097 bridge pillings on LC, thats what could be the diference. if no one ever fishes it sense it is so long. JUST A THOUGHT...NO STRUCTURE...NO FISH....maybe to much curent to keep it. thats where I catcj most of my crappie on conroe...you cant beet eh pillings. it will be good ones it gets cold....cant wait. heading down to Hackberry Sunday for three days and get my saltwater fix first...SS


----------



## Lonestar Proud (Oct 26, 2010)

This is a good thread. I've always wondered why you never saw boats under the 190 bridge....still wondering why the crappie aren't there. 
As for structure under the 190 bridge, I want to compare it to the 155 bridge that runs over Palestine, not alot of brush under it....about the same depths...it has cross members....it's right at 1 mile long.....it is very noisy underneath it......BUT the 155 bridge sets lower to the water and provides more shade AND there isn't as much of a current under 155 on Pal like there is under 190 on Liv. I've caught crappie from practically every set of piers/cross members on the Lake Pal bridge....do y'all think it could be that there is too much current for crappie under the Livingston bridge?

-LP


----------



## Boatless Potlicker (Oct 5, 2009)

Maybe there needs to be some big structures sunk under the 190... On both bridges


----------



## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

Lonestar Proud said:


> This is a good thread. I've always wondered why you never saw boats under the 190 bridge....still wondering why the crappie aren't there.
> As for structure under the 190 bridge, I want to compare it to the 155 bridge that runs over Palestine, not alot of brush under it....about the same depths...it has cross members....it's right at 1 mile long.....it is very noisy underneath it......BUT the 155 bridge sets lower to the water and provides more shade AND there isn't as much of a current under 155 on Pal like there is under 190 on Liv. I've caught crappie from practically every set of piers/cross members on the Lake Pal bridge....do y'all think it could be that there is too much current for crappie under the Livingston bridge?
> 
> -LP


I have thought about the unusual visual and physical difference of the big 190 bridge from all other bridges where I have caught crappie lately as I ponder this thread. 
The thing is unreal(190 bridge), and people often ask me about it when they come fishing "Why it is so high?", I don't really know, but it seems that at one time they were going to move barge traffic all of the way to Dallas on the Trinity, hence the lock and dam. 
And the 190 bridge had to be that high by a tug/barge regulation. It is a good thread, and really has me wondering about it.
The mud martin population that lives there is one of the highest concentrations in North America from what I have heard from an avid birder.
Maybe it's all of the harsh PH of the droppings?


----------



## Lonestar Proud (Oct 26, 2010)

shadslinger said:


> I have thought about the unusual visual and physical difference of the big 190 bridge from all other bridges where I have caught crappie lately as I ponder this thread.
> The thing is unreal(190 bridge), and people often ask me about it when they come fishing "Why it is so high?", I don't really know, but it seems that at one time they were going to move barge traffic all of the way to Dallas on the Trinity, hence the lock and dam.
> And the 190 bridge had to be that high by a tug/barge regulation. It is a good thread, and really has me wondering about it.
> The mud martin population that lives there is one of the highest concentrations in North America from what I have heard from an avid birder.
> Maybe it's all of the harsh PH of the droppings?


I thought more about the 190 bridge since posting last night. There is a bridge on Grand Lake of the Cherokees in NE Oklahoma called "Sailboat Bridge" it is very tall and long like 190. I used to fish Grand all the time back in the late 80's, I was pretty much a bass guy only back then, but I just don't ever remember people fishing under that bridge fishing either. They would catch crappie from all the other bridges but I just don't remember people camped out under Sailboat like all the other bridges......


----------



## Sunbeam (Feb 24, 2009)

In deed SS, the 190 bridge was designed and built several years before the barge canal project was killed by we, the tax payers, of the counties bordering the Trinity River.
As for current it is always present. It matches the flow at the dam. Right now the 900 cfs would be very hard to detect in such a wide opening from the north to south side of the bridge,
Last year and during the strong discharges this spring the current was very evident. That hundreds of acres of trash and vegetation that was in the lower lake all came under the bridge. I stood at the free 190 ramp and watched a lot of it go by.
The fact is, the crappie are in the vicinity of the bridge. My favorite jugging spot during the early spring windy days is the flat along the north side the of the approach levee.
Shad are very plentiful. I fish jugs at 3' and 6' set 20 to 50 off the edge of the concrete.
Last spring i caught huge crappie on my jugs using small dead button shad. Never more than one per trip but a total of six over about a six weeks period. Never in a confined area but all along the nearly one mile stretch of road levee. 
Yes, before you ask, I have done a very detailed bottom search to try to locate any structure that might be the mother lode. Nothing but flat mud bottom from 12 to 25 feet deep. These post spawn crappie were a good 1/4 mile from the high bridge pylons. It appears that those large 15" crappie are free swimmers that are out with the blues chasing shad near the surface. 
Whether they are individual fish or in schools is a mystery. But catching more than one under the same circumstances sure indicates a fairly large population.
Livingston crappie do not have much in common with other Texas lake crappie except for having spots.
They appear in selected spots in the fall, feed for a month or so and then move up into the traditional spawning grounds. But unlike other lakes they just disappear around mid April. They do not hang around bridges, deep water timber or all of those crappie "condos" every one works so hard to install. They are not under or around the submerged bridges on old 190 nor the many docks and boat houses.
There are a few caught while fishing for other species but by far they just seem to disappear into the vast expanse of the lake. They will have to come to me, 83,000 acres is just too much water for me to search.


----------



## tbone2374 (Feb 27, 2010)

Good summary of the disapearing Crappie dilema. I can't imagine why they're just not normal, like us. It seems to me the more we think we know, the more we have to learn, but we keep trying. Ah, that's the reason they call it "Fishing" LOL


----------



## Reel Time (Oct 6, 2009)

tbone2374 said:


> Good summary of the disapearing Crappie dilema. *I can't imagine why they're just not normal, **like us*. It seems to me the more we think we know, the more we have to learn, but we keep trying. Ah, that's the reason they call it "Fishing" LOL


Now that's funny! 
I have never met a "normal" fisherman!! :rotfl:


----------

